Isherwood 'putting money where my mouth is' on skills

Hewlett Packard Enterprise's managing director claims action must be taken to close the skills gap

Hewlett Packard Enterprise's boss, Andy Isherwood, has insisted he is "putting my money where my mouth is" when it comes to the skills gap, claiming companies have got to "do stuff" rather than pay lip service to the issue.

HP - before it split into HPE and HP Inc at the start of this week - has thrown its weight behind a number of schemes aimed at closing the skills gap in the IT industry, such as Tech Future Girls - which encourages girl to get into tech - and collaborating with universities on tech degrees.

Isherwood (pictured) said such projects are evidence of the company actually doing something to help solve the issue, rather than just talking about it.

"I believe that I need a diverse set of skills and a diverse workforce," he told CRN. "I am putting my money where my mouth is. I need those people in here. I don't need 50 graduates. I need 500. That will make a big difference and that will provide the demand because people will know technology is a good place to be.

"If you get all that right, it makes a big difference. But we are in the early stages. You've got to put your money where your mouth is. My leadership team in the UK, when I started, had one female on it. Now it's 50:50. You've got to do it. You have got to live it. You've got to make an effort. Rather than comment, you've got to do stuff.

"Hopefully what we're doing - diversity, graduates, interns, apprentices - is showing we aren't just talking about it, we're doing it."

He said that the industry has made some headway in closing the skills gap, claiming that people are "way more aware of it" now than they have been in the past.

Stressing that a job in the technology industry has wide potential is important, Isherwood added.

"In technology, you've got to explain to people it is not about programming," he said.

"Technology is a business now. Is Airbnb a hotel or a technology company? Most banks today aren't about cashiers, they are about technology. I think the way in which we make technology exciting will pull people in."