The UK’s IT and telecoms (IT&T) industry is failing to attract the next generation of workers. Applicants for single subject computing courses have halved to 16,000 in 2006 compared with 2001.

And even when UK students choose to study IT&T, many have a change of heart and enter other sectors, with only 52% entering the IT&T workforce within six months of graduation.

A report into the health of the sector by Intellect, the trade association representing the UK technology industry, identified “attracting talented and skilled individuals into the workforce” as one of six key challenges facing the industry.

“Employment in the IT industry is growing five times faster than the UK average, while technology related education is declining rapidly,” the report said.

It estimated that 140,000 new entrants taking computer science degrees are needed each year to keep up with the industry’s growth, highlighting the significance of the present shortfall.

“Seventy percent of our workforce for the next 12 years is working already,” the report claimed.

Intellect also expressed concern over the industry’s growing gender imbalance, currently at 18% female, describing it as “one of the worst in Western Europe”.

“Numerous reports show that companies with a higher proportion of women in senior management experience better financial performance for both return on equity (35%) and total return to shareholders (34%).”

UK IT analyst Richard Holway called for more role models to tackle the perception that the industry was only for “nerds or geeks”.

“What about Mark Zuckerberg (founder of Facebook), or [those who set up] Skype and Google, they’re all STEM subject (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) individuals," Holway added. "We need to get that over to young people.”

Further reading

Tech talent heading to Asia - HP’s Hurd

IT seen as antisocial

A question of gender Examining the dearth of women in IT

Risky business What does the future hold for the UK’s IT professionals – from the trainee to the CIO – in a global economy?