New government-subsidised postgraduate IT course ‘will broaden business skills’

A government-subsidised postgraduate course will help IT staff broaden their business skills in a tough employment market, according to IT skills council e-skills UK.

The IT Professional Development Programme, run by e-skills UK and currently on offer at two universities, has been designed by employers to “fast-track” new graduates trying to bridge the most reported skills gaps.

Four in ten employers have complained that IT graduates do not have enough business management and interpersonal skills, e-skills UK said, and this course aims to help students develop the skills.

Undergraduate students on a separate degree course, also run by e-skills UK and called IT Management for Business, last month told Computerworld UK the course would help them develop the management skills to be more employable.

On the new postgraduate IT PDP course, students follow six modules that address project management, commercial and IT issues. The modules are: IT professional foundations, problem solving for business analysis, leadership and personal skills development, management of change, IT project management, and business solution design and development.