European education gets failing grade in providing computing skills

Nearly half the jobs in Europe now require computer skills – but most employers don’t think the educational system is providing workers with the needed training.

That’s a conclusion of a Microsoft-commissioned report on computer skills by International Data Corp., a market research firm. It found that:

-40 per cent of prospective employers surveyed in Europe said a candidate without basic computing skills today would either be disqualified for a job, or their candidacy would be impaired. Demand for workers with computing skills was highest in Britain and Estonia, and lowest in Italy, Germany, France and the Czech Republic.

-Most employers aren’t much impressed by the computer training provided in schools. On a scale of 1 to 5, most employers gave a score of about 3 to the performance of the education system. The skills gap was perceived as greatest among manual workers – but even for IT professionals and developers, the level of school training wasn’t rated highly.

The mismatch between the job market and available skills is a perennial source of complaint among large employers. And the study does show that on very basic computing skills – emailing and word processing, for instance – about two-thirds of employers say a majority of their current workforce is adequately skilled, in part through on-the-job training.

But the skills gap is greatest for more-advanced tasks, such as e-business and programming.  Of employers in the 10 countries surveyed, those in France and the Czech Republic said their workers had the least advanced skills. Employers in Sweden rated their workers as most-skilled.

A similar theme was sounded this week in London, at a hearing of the Trade and Industry Commmittee of the House of Commons. Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, a food and drink sector skills council, said that of all training commissioned by employers in his sector, only 7 per cent happened at further-education colleges. The vast majority, 85 per cent, was delivered on the job, and the rest was delivered through private training providers.

“If we are going to increase the delivery from the public sector, then we have to address what employers are buying into,” Matthews said. “Training programmes have got to be much more relevant to the needs of the employer and the employee. It will mean that colleges will start to shift how their programmes are developed and delivered. For instance, you do not have to end up with a qualification. We need to address the question – does the skill and competence you have gained improve your ability to do your job?”