IT firms look for relative rookies

IT firms look for relative rookies

IT professionals with more than five years' experience may find it hard to find a new job in the current climate, according to new research from an online career resource.

Beyond.com conducted research into the average experience of people who are looking for a job, as well as the type of employees being looked for by companies.

In the IT sector, the company found that there has been a 54.5 per cent increase during the first quarter of the year in the number of professionals looking for work.

However, the majority of IT jobseekers had five to ten years' experience, but candidates with three to five years' experience were most in demand.

Read the rest of the article here.

-Ken

BCS and IAOP to define professionalism for the IT outsourcing industry

BCS and IAOP to define professionalism for the IT outsourcing industry

IT outsourcing professionals will benefit from a new understanding signed recently between BCS and The International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP). The understanding will allow both organisations to work together to collectively advance the profession and industry of outsourcing and offshoring.

BCS CEO David Clarke explained: 'Outsourcing is a vital part of today's IT industry and we need to ensure that those working within it have the opportunity to enjoy a professional recognition. By working with the IAOP, we can help cross-promote best practice and key issues affecting these practitioners; raising the standards and the understanding of the work across the business world and IT industry as a whole.'

Read the whole article here.

-Ken

Demand for new IT professionals plummets

Demand for new IT professionals plummets

But jobseekers should “brush up and excel” on skills that are hard to find, says e-skills

Despite the rising tide of redundancies across all sectors, the number of IT staff in employment is at its highest level for more than seven years, according to a report by sector skills council e-skills UK.

But the situation for IT professionals looking for a job is bleak, as demand for new staff continues to fall, according to the report, which claims the number of permanent and contract job ads fell by 24 per cent and 27 per cent respectively over the last two quarters of 2008.

According to e-skills, the largest decline in permanent IT job advertisements was for database-related positions. Other areas have also seen a drop in recruitment, such as systems design (down 33 per cent), internet-based positions (down 29 per cent), PC support (down 27 per cent) and operations (down 27 per cent).

Contractors were also...

Graduates 'overestimating starting salaries'

Graduates 'overestimating starting salaries'

University leavers estimate that they will earn around ten per cent more than is actually likely, a study has suggested.

The research, carried out by a PhD student at the University of Southampton, found that some graduates overestimate their starting salaries by as much as £3,000.

John Jerrim, the author of the report, pointed out that this sum is equal to the current annual tuition fee for most university programmes.

He added: "It is vital that students thoroughly research their future employment prospects when going to university, so they can make informed choices about the subject they study and institution they attend.

Read about this here.

To be honest I'm not surprised by this...

-Ken

Investment in ICT 'could create 700,000 jobs'

Investment in ICT 'could create 700,000 jobs'

An investment of £15 billion in digital networks could lead the UK to economic recovery, a new report has suggested.

The study, by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), suggested that up to 700,000 new jobs could be created and maintained with this investment.

It added that funding for ICT is more likely to spur on economic recovery than investment in physical infrastructure like roads. Robert Atkinson, president of the ITIF, said: "Nations that invest in ICT to transform fields like transportation and energy reap substantial long-term economic and social benefits.

Read the rest of the article here.

-Ken

Firewall pronounced 'dead' at InfoSecurity Europe

Firewall pronounced 'dead' at InfoSecurity Europe

The Internet firewall is 'dead', according to IT security start-up Palo Alto Networks. Speaking live on the third of E&T's exclusive video bulletins from Infosecurity Europe 2009, director of corporate marketing Franklyn Jones says that with enterprises increasing their use of online applications, the traditional concept of a protective traffic gateway needs reinvention.

View the video article here.

-Ken

IT professional development scheme launched

IT professional development scheme launched

A new professional development programme for people working in the technology industry has been launched.

The e-skills UK IT Professional Development Programme has been developed with the government and a number of companies including IBM and Centrica.

It is currently being piloted amongst ten employees at British Airways and features mentoring support, assessments and face-to-face learning.

Karen Price, chief executive of e-skills UK, said: 'In today's highly competitive environment, people entering IT professional careers in the UK need to progress to more highly-skilled and demanding roles faster than ever before.

Read the rest of the article here.

See the ITPDP page here.

-ken

IT should be at heart of national curriculum, says report

IT should be at heart of national curriculum, says report

Children leaving primary school should be "independent and confident" users of IT by the time they are 11 years old, a review into the future curriculum for primary schools in England has concluded.

ICT should be a core subject alongside maths and English, the review by former Ofsted chief Jim Rose recommends.

"Even now, a reasonable grasp of ICT is needed in education and employment, and it will become increasingly important to command ICT skills to prepare for technologies of the future," said the report.

Read the whole article here.

-Ken

No NPfIT black box to be found

No NPfIT black box to be found

If the NHS IT scheme, the NPfIT, were a jumbo jet, its frequent crashes would have putfear-of-flying courses out of business.

But because the NPfIT is not an aircraft crash there is no wreckage. The damage is not visible. Undiagnosed, sick, or injured patients have been on a hidden waiting list,lost in the systems. As delays in their treatments are below the radar of the general public they don't seem to matter.

The disorder we highlighted last week at Barts and The London NHS Trust, a year after it went live with the NPfIT Cerner Millennium Care Records Service, is the most serious problem to afflict the national programme.

Uncertainty

Read the whole article here.

-ken

Microsoft: Don't Wait for Windows 7 SP1

Microsoft: Don't Wait for Windows 7 SP1

SP1 is no longer the OS evolution milestone it once was

There's no need to wait for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 in order to embrace the next iteration of the Windows operating system from Microsoft. At the end of March 2009, analysis company Gartner revealed a similar conclusion, indicating that Service Pack 1 was no longer the OS evolution milestone it once was, especially when it comes down to Windows 7. Microsoft saw eye to eye with Gartner on this matter and revealed that SP1 would not be a milestone designed to mark the maturity of Windows 7 in terms of security and stability.

“Windows 7 is an operating system that from the get go will be as secure as possible, and even from Beta stage is extremely stable. It's not recommended for customers to deploy it in production environments just yet, however, they should not hesitate to test the platform in technology adoption programs. And we actually are...