ICT is critical for the Northern Ireland economy.
That was the message at the launch of Momentum’s, the representative body for Northern Ireland’s digital sector, ICT manifesto.
Attending the launch, Minister for Employment and Learning, Stephen Farry said:
“The ICT sector is of critical importance to the growth of the Northern Ireland economy and to achieving the aims set out in the Northern Ireland Economic Strategy. It is the driving force of a globally competitive economy, underpinning innovation, competitiveness and long term prosperity. If we are to realise the ICT sector’s full potential, it is clear that more needs to be done to improve the match between the skills of those people in the workforce and the skills our employers need to help our companies grow.”
Reminding employers of the work being taken forward to support the ICT sector, Minister Farry stated: “I have been working closely with other government Departments, employers and our local further education colleges and universities, under the guise of the ICT Working Group, to develop and implement an ICT Skills Action Plan.”
“The Plan has already produced a number of positive results in support of the ICT sector since its launch in summer 2012. We have developed a Public/Private ICT Apprenticeship Scheme which has seen 32 individuals employed in the sector, a second cohort of the Software Testers Academy has been announced with 24 places available and our local universities are now offering postgraduate MScs in Software, aimed at non-IT graduates with over 100 individuals enrolled. The introduction of a new Software and Systems Development A Level will also help to increase the level of skills and attract more young people into the industry.”