There will be 900,000 unfilled computing jobs across the EU in 2015, according to the European Commission, which also warned 22% of European citizens had still never used the internet and only 51% claimed to have medium or high-level internet skills.
Glyndŵr University Wrexham is targeting these issues head-on and has organised an open afternoon with prospective students this coming Thursday from 2pm-4pm at the institution’s £5m Centre for the Creative Industries.
John Worden, Principal Lecturer in the University’s world-leading Computing department (results from the most recent RAE research assessment) said a suite of degrees including Computer Science, Computer Game Development and Immersive Technology aimed at former BTEC pupils in particular are available at the north east Wales centre from this month onwards.
“According to the European Commission, more than 90% of professional occupations require some computing competence, but the number of graduates in computer science is not keeping pace with this demand for skills,” said John.
“As a result, many open vacancies for ICT practitioners cannot be filled, which is why we want to make more people aware of the issue and the fact we have places here available from this September at Glyndŵr University.
“We offer a full range of computing programmes designed to develop practical and applied skills and support students in gaining the experience needed to apply them effectively in the workplace, so if people are looking to get into an industry where there is so much demand now is the time to do it, and Glyndŵr is the place to learn.”
Other figures from the EC revealed broadband coverage reached 99.9% of EU citizens in 2012, with 95.5% having access to fixed connections. However, this number significantly dropped to 83% in rural areas. It also put out a warning around advertised speeds and the reality. While the average achieved by EU citizens came in at 19.5Mbps, it said this was only 74% of the advertised average speed, meaning users may be losing out.
The figures come as the European commissioner for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, confirmed more investment into next generation networks across Europe, hoping to bring all states in line when it comes to telecoms. Recommendations included guidance to national regulators around price regulation, the encouragement of alternative operators and a methodology to calculate the cost of accessing copper networks.
For more information on computing at Glyndwr University, follow the team on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Computingglyndwr or visit www.glyndwr.ac.uk
