This week’s training news in brief
• Skills shortages are posing a serious threat to the expansion of the
Internet, according to the Data Networking Association (DNA).
Officially launched by small business and e-commerce minister Patricia
Hewitt last week, the DNA said that the lack of IT networking skills is
delaying projects and pushing up costs.
Research by Cisco Skills predicts that by 2002 there will be a shortage of
almost 6 million qualified networking professionals in the UK. The DNA is a
government-backed initiative formed by leading network providers and academia
with the DTI aimed at plugging the skills gap.
£4.4m training boost for Yorkshire and Humber
• The Yorkshire Forward Development Fund will plough £4.4m into boosting
skills and training in the region in 2000 – more than over a third on the
previous year. The money, an increase of £1.1m in this year’s allocation, is
aimed at addressing key skills shortages in deprived areas in the Yorkshire and
Humber region. Application packs have been distributed to training
organisations in the area.
Tec reveals Londoners are keen to develop skills
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• Over three-quarters of South West London’s workforce is considering
training now or in the future, according to Aztec, training and enterprise
council for Wandsworth, Merton and Kingston upon Thames.
Only 21 per cent of 1,300 of those residents surveyed said they would not
consider training, compared with a London average of 28 per cent. Aztec chief
executive Ian Parkes said, "It is extremely important to attack the causes
that lead a small but significant proportion of the local population to avoid
developing their skills and growing their prospects in the job market."
