Latest research from E-Skills UK finds that although a third of those working in the ICT sector have undertaken training in the last 13 weeks, IT training activity is still in decline.
The e-skills Bulletin, a Quarterly Review of the ICT Labour Market produced by the E-Skills UK, the Sector Skills Council for IT, Telecoms and Contact Centres is based on research assessing the general state of the IT market, looking at employment rates, training, demand and supply of skills and general expenditure on hardware and software.
The survey found there had been a drop in IT training activity during first quarter of 2003, but same courses remain in demand, with Windows 2000, SQL server, Oracle, web and management courses remaining popular.
The percentage of staff working in ICT reporting having undertaken job-related training in last month fell to 13%, the third quarterly fall in a row. Despite this, 57% of UK employers considered their ICT staff not fully proficient in their job.
However, 34.5% of ICT staff had received some form of job-related education and training in the last 13 weeks, with the most likely venue for training being employers' own premises. The most common method of delivery was attendance at conferences (47%). 12% had undertaken their training at home through e-learning, and 18% had funded the training themselves.
The study also reveals skills shortages have increased slightly in some areas with sales and technical IT skills proving hardest to source for ICT firms.
