Press Release

BA graduates off to a flying start with the e-skills UK IT Professional Development Programme

1 May 2009

IT professionals at the beginning of their careers now have the opportunity to fast track their development with the e-skills UK IT Professional Development Programme. The course, which is currently being piloted by 10 graduates at British Airways, gives graduates the ability to be more productive in a business environment, more quickly, while achieving a recognised post graduate qualification leading to an MSc.

The innovative programme has been designed with employers, including BA, BT, EDS, Government, IBM, Sainsburys, SFW, Centrica, CarphoneWarehouse and Oracle, who have specified the skills needed from new graduate recruits entering a range of IT professional job roles. It is supported by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and is being developed by e-skills UK in partnership with employers, universities and training providers. Full rollout of the programme will begin in October this year, with around 100 graduates from a variety of companies set to follow BA’s lead.

The programme is designed to be delivered through a blend of face-to-face learning and e-resources, assessment, mentoring and employer support. The course covers a broad range of topics at masters degree level, which include teaching graduates how to assess the contribution of technology in the business environment; understand and work towards the business objectives behind IT projects; and select and use appropriate methodologies or tools to support project needs.

Paul Coby, BA's CIO and Head of Financial Shared Services, said: "Here at BA we are determined to develop the IT professionals of the future, however challenging the times. The ability now to combine our excellent in-house graduate IT development programmes with the Open University is a milestone in the professionalisation of the IT industry in the UK. IT enables nearly every industry these days and growing IT skills at all levels in our economy and society is the entrance ticket for the UK to the 21st century."

The Open University (OU) is currently piloting the delivery of the IT Professional Development Programme, with the University of Lancaster starting its delivery in the Autumn.

Glyn Martin, Head of the Communication and Systems department in the Faculty of Maths Computing and Technology at the OU, comments: "In the current economic downturn an appropriately skilled workforce can give an employer competitive advantage and help to ensure that they are strongly positioned to take advantage of economic recovery when it comes. This collaboration will help us to ensure flexible, high quality and relevant programmes are available to meet the needs of both employees and employers."

Karen Price, CEO 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. The IT Professional Development Programme provides a flexible, fast track route that helps employers accelerate the development and contribution of IT professionals in the early years of their career."

Find out more about the programme at www.e-skills.com/itpdp