More than 300 IT training providers came together to share best practice and innovation at e-skills UK's annual ITQ conference. ITQ is designed as a flexible qualification aimed at enabling those who use IT to develop the skills most relevant to their particular needs.

The conference explored the impact ITQ can have on business productivity, and provided examples of successful ITQ delivery through a series of workshops and debates. Expert speakers at the conference included Ben Wishart, change and information director, Whitbread; Christine Lewis, director of efficiency and productivity in further education, Becta; and Colin McDonald, head of curriculum development, learndirect.

Margaret Sambell, head of strategy at e-skills UK explains the importance of the event: "This event builds on the success of last year’s conference, enabling providers to keep up to date with the latest developments in teaching and assessing IT user skills. This will help them to meet employer needs for increasing levels of IT user skills as technology becomes ever more prevalent in the working environment."

e-skills UK's research 'Technology Counts: IT and Telecoms Insights 2008' shows that 77 per cent of people now use IT in their job, and highlights the link between competitiveness and the ability of business to effectively exploit new technologies.

This employer designed qualification is now widely used across all sectors of the economy. With support from the Learning & Skills Council, uptake of the ITQ has more than doubled in the past two years, with over 40,000 people starting the qualification in the last 12 months.