08 Jun 2010

IT investment 'not being fully realised'

Companies are failing to get the most out of investment in IT infrastructure because they are failing to adequately train their staff in the use of these new systems, it has been claimed.

Michael Dean, head of marketing at the National Computing Centre, said businesses and workers alike could benefit from improved IT training, as it would improve productivity in the workplace and furnish people with skills they could use later in life and in other jobs.

He commented: "A lot of the budgets for training, because it typically comes at the end of the project, often gets cut and maybe not all training is delivered as deeply as it could be."

According to research from the Confederation of British Industry, two-thirds (66 percent) of employers are presently concerned about the IT skills of their workforce.

Indeed, it found that almost a quarter (22 per cent) of companies are having to arrange for remedial IT training when they take on school leavers and 45 per cent are finding it difficult to recruit staff with skills in science, technology, engineering and maths.