BCS warns over IT degree funding

The government is gambling with the UK economy by removing funding for graduates who want to retrain in IT, the British Computer Society (BCS) has warned - at a time when the industry is crying out for more skilled recruits.

IT is suffering from a well documented skills shortage - and industry bodies have warned thousands more tech and telecoms workers will be needed in the coming years to power the knowledge economy.

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Yet the government's decision not to mark IT as a subject important to the public interest means that as of this September, anyone with a degree-level qualification in another subject will find funding to study a computing degree or equivalent course dramatically curtailed.

Science, technology, engineering and mathematical subjects (so called Stem subjects) are exempt from the funding changes, yet IT/computing is not - despite its vital role in keeping the UK competitive.

The BCS warned the funding cuts are likely to deter significant numbers of people from retraining in computing as they will have to fund their own study, or else rely on employers being willing to do so. Employers are often reluctant to put their hands in their pockets, said Dr Mike Rodd, learned society director at the BCS.

He said in a statement: "Short term goals in this rapidly developing industry means it can be difficult to get employer support for education for the longer term."

Around half of the 141,000 new entrants to the IT sector every year come from disciplines outside tech, according to the BCS, and more than a quarter (43,000) are people re-entering the workforce after a career break, early retirement or unemployment.

Rodd said: "Given that the huge demand for IT workers far outstrips the pool of IT graduates, employers are looking for graduates from other disciplines. This funding change slams the door on many who would otherwise look for some education to support their job change. We are gravely concerned that the government is prepared to gamble on employees and employers picking up the cost, especially given the significance of the IT sector to the UK's economy."

He added: "Demand for people with the right qualifications and skills to work in IT is still strong, despite the economic downturn. The IT sector is highly vulnerable to a lack of educated and skilled workers, and is already suffering.

"It is highly ironic that these changes are being sought at a time when the BCS is trying its best to encourage more people to consider going into IT through a range of routes. There appears to be a real lack of understanding on the part of the government about what will happen on the ground if this funding is removed."

However the government defended its decision to remove funding for second degrees in IT, saying the cuts will enable more people to study for the first time in higher education which should be a priority.

Minister of state for higher education, Bill Rammell, said: "The government is right that public policy should give priority to students who have not studied for a first degree over those who already have one. Over £200m will continue to support ELQ [equivalent or lower qualifications] students. We believe we have struck the right balance between creating opportunities for first time students and those who need to return to study.

"We estimate that our plans to redirect £100m will lead to at least 20,000 people studying for the first time in higher education. With 70 per cent of the adult workforce without a degree or other HE qualification, and six million people with level 3 qualifications but no degree, we are confident that there is unmet demand for higher education."

In a committee report referring to the exempted subjects, the government said it "considered carefully whether to make any changes to the list but decided against doing so because the subjects which were put forward as candidates for exemption/protection are relatively popular as first HE [higher education] qualifications".

It added that it would be wrong to "rush into making special arrangements for any subjects" but said: "We do take the concerns seriously, and indeed even if the change to ELQ funding rules were not being made we would want to keep a close eye on how demand to study key subjects evolves over time."

The BCS said it recognises that prioritising funding for those without a first qualification is a fair principle, and is keen to encourage employers to pay for training. But it warned the expected long-term impact of this change on the sector could cost the government and the country a great deal.

It said government figures show the IT and telecoms industry currently employs one in 20, or 1.5 million people, and generates 55 per cent of the UK's gross value added, or GVA. The GVA per IT and telecoms job is three times the UK average, it added.

Professor Lachlan MacKinnon, head of the school of computing and creative technologies at the University of Abertay, Dundee, also recently slammed the government's funding cuts for IT - warning that without significant government intervention, higher education would not be able to turn out enough graduates to meet the industry's growth targets.

He warned: "We're going to hell. It's not a good place to be."