Action urged as IT teacher numbers fall to all-time low

CA claims the government and IT industry need to do more to inspire youngsters to work in IT

CA Technologies has urged the IT industry and the government to do more to get young people interested in IT as new research shows that the number of ICT teachers in the UK is set to hit an all-time low.

The vendor's chief technology officer Colin Bannister (pictured) said that the government has done "too little, too late" to encourage young people into the industry.

Figures from the Graduate Teacher Training Registry (GTTR) show that for the 2013 intake, the number of applications to become an ICT teacher stood at just 72, the lowest intake of all the subjects recorded.

The subject also experienced the biggest drop in figures for the same period - 58 per cent. Physical education and English enjoyed the highest intake of trainee teachers, with 2,826 and 1,852 applications respectively.

Bannister said that while the IT industry is keen to bemoan the skills gap, more action needs to be taken.

He said: "I believe that schools, and indeed the National Curriculum, have a responsibility to nurture young talent and encourage them to understand just how exciting and rewarding a career in the IT industry could be.

"However, the industry also has its part to play by reaching out to the community and offering young people the chance to learn more about IT. I also think it is important to consider how reaching young people at an earlier age, even during primary school years, would prove beneficial to encouraging IT skills among future generations."

Bannister added: "It seems that the government may have done too little, too late.

"It therefore rests upon the shoulders of the IT industry to re-double its efforts, working with the government, to turn this around and get young people interested in IT again."

The news comes after the government yesterday announced that computer science would count as a science subject on the new English Baccalaureate.

The qualification, which is set to come into force in 2015, measures the performance of secondary schools depending on the number of grades A*-C they achieve in certain subjects, one of which will include ICT.