Another of the sessions at the Architects Council was a workshop held between members of academia and the council members (largely from industry), to report on last year’s “Developing the Future” initiative, and to discuss the quality of people coming into the UK IT industry and how it could be improved. This was a hugely valid, and valuable discussion—particularly in the context of IT/business alignment. Undoubtedly there will be issues in other countries, but there does seem to be a dearth of high-quality post-graduate trainees in the UK, that really “get” what IT is for—to the extent that UK companies are looking abroad for skilled staff, not just because people are cheaper, but because, quite simply, they are seen as better.

The mind map (pops open a new window) shows the outcomes of the discussions, in terms of both the challenges and the resulting requirements. I thought the school system came in for a lot of stick, which was unfortunate as (or perhaps it was because) there was nobody in the room to defend it!