IT exam results still not important say UK businesses

* 83 % of candidates still lack basic business skills
* 72 % of HR managers prefer work experience to IT qualifications
* 30 % of IT departments not involved in IT recruitment

There is a huge boom in the UK IT industry, with the recruitment industry sometimes struggling to keep up with high demand for good candidates, says Julian Divett, COO at FDM. However our education system is still failing to provide the rounded skillset needed for the modern workplace and needs to rethink IT training if the UK is to meet its goal of becoming one of the leading technology powerhouses worldwide.

Technology qualifications are of little value to jobseekers looking for employment in IT, according to a survey carried out by Vanson Bourne for international IT services company, FDM. Previous relevant work experience is still the most important item HR managers need to see on a CV, despite recent government moves to overhaul technology qualifications for the modern workplace.

Nearly three quarters (72 per cent) of HR managers surveyed for FDM preferred to see proven IT work experience on a candidateís CV rather than a technology degree or similar A level. Time in spent in IT employment was also more important than key programming and technical skills, such Java and .net, which have long been seen as core basic requirements for the IT industry.

Yet over one third (38 per cent) of HR managers surveyed felt that candidates then require basic technology training once employed, as these key programming and technical skills are often lacking.

This is a stark warning to the UK education system. Work experience is now seen as more important than actual qualifications by employers, meaning many courses still are not providing students with the skills they need. There seems to be a real gap between learning on paper and actually implementing these skills in real life scenarios. And UK businesses are currently left to pick up the pieces, either by providing training in-house or using external agencies, says Julian Divett, COO at FDM. The survey also highlighted a lack of business skills in IT candidates. 83 per cent of HR managers interviewed said that candidates needed additional training, citing communications skills, management ability and general business awareness as highest on the list. Employer confusion over IT skills remains Despite most HR managers polled looking for work experience on candidatesí CVs, 17 per cent of respondents confessed they did not know the top three relevant IT qualifications to look for. 20 per cent of HR managers actually admitted to having a poor knowledge of technology and a large proportion - 73 per cent - felt they were not the best-qualified person in their company to recruit technology candidates at all.

It would also seem the IT department is being left out in the cold during the recruitment process. Only 55 per cent of HR departments polled for FDM leave the final decision in technology recruitment to the IT department. A shocking 30 per cent of IT departments are not involved in the recruitment process at all.

Julian Divett comments: There seems to be a real disconnect between what modern businesses think they are looking for, in terms of IT recruits, and the skills of the candidates themselves. This urgently needs to be addressed from both sides.

Candidates must work to ensure they possess programming and technical skills, experience on the job and the rounded communications skill set needed for the modern workplace. To learn this, a combination of training and work experience is essential. In return, UK business must ensure that the recruitment process is tightened up to ensure that qualified candidates are not slipping through the net if the UK is to remain a player on the world stage.

Yet IT sector is on the up
However it is not all doom and gloom. Nearly half (46 per cent) of HR managers surveyed felt that the quality of IT candidates has improved over time. IT still appeals to younger applicants with 60 per cent of respondents stating they were seeing a steady stream of young people applying for jobs in technology. And despite ongoing news of the influx of migrant workers to the UK, 63 per cent of those polled felt that the strongest candidates came from the UK, with the US a close second.