The Office for National Statistics has recently reported that unemployment figures have dropped by around 72,000, to 2.51 million. But it seems that the UK is still missing a trick when it comes to helping the long term unemployed and school leavers into work.
Resource On Demand (ROD) has previously spoken out about how we need to rethink education in the UK, by pushing for Universities and Technical Colleges to offer more diverse IT courses,which should include some of the key cloud computing technologies on the market today.
In this respect, the US is already way ahead of us, as we see the likes of Harvard and Stanford all offering various cloud related courses. Whilst here in the UK, individuals pay on average between £3,000 and £6,200 to privately gain certifications in their chosen cloud technology.
ROD’s Director, Theresa Durrant, recently commented that she welcomes the day when cloud providers start offering training and education in mainstream Technical Colleges and Universities. “I am approached on a weekly basis by school leavers, or unemployed technical people about how they can gain cloud skills. At the moment, I usually point them in the direction of the private training courses provided by the cloud technology companies, but for even the most talented of individuals, their financial circumstances means that gaining certifications is often beyond their reach”.
To add to this, a recent survey of UK based companies reported that approximately 14% of employers would not entertain school leavers, whilst 11% said they would not consider those that were considered to be ‘long-term’ unemployed.
Durrant went on to say “There should be a mechanism that enables the government to see future demand and shortages of skills within the UK. Technology moves at a staggering rate, but we can see a critical shortage of skills in the next generation. We implore education authorities to start planning for this shortage by partnering with technology companies to provide more cloud courses. Certainly school leavers should be encouraged to extend their education into cloud IT, whilst the local government could look to offer cloud training for those who have been deemed as long-term unemployed, as a way to build confidence and provide individuals with a new and relevant skill set that would make them more attractive to potential employers”.