Press / 2005 / 29th April
Digital Skills Summit sets agenda for IT Skills Management
Conference at Microsoft, Reading, UK showcases success stories of organisations managing IT skills for business advantage
London, UK, 29th April 2005: The Digital Skills Summit, running at Microsoft Reading, UK on 20th June, tackles a key issue facing the IT industry today: how to manage and develop the skills of highly valuable IT professionals in line with business goals. The free one-day conference is organised by InfoBasis Limited, a leading provider of skills management technology.
"The keen interest already shown in the summit illustrates the importance attached to this issue," says event chairman Donald Taylor, Strategic Alliances Director at InfoBasis. "Employers know that developing their IT staff is crucial for success. The good news is that companies already involved in skills management such as EDS, Deloitte and Norwich Union are ready to share their experiences and best practice at this event."
EMEA Senior Project Manager Frankie Sutherland explains why managing the skills of IT staff has been so important for EDS: "For us, skills management is an essential part of managing our IT teams. For example, in one case we were able to run a rigorous Training Needs Analysis, which led to us reducing a potential 57-day curriculum to a more manageable 20 days of highly targeted learning per person. There is no magic to implementing business-driven training: it is a question of getting the detail right. In particular it requires each piece of training to build skills needed by the business."
Others talking at the event include Tim Walker, Partner at Deloitte, who will speak on the practical value of skills management in an IT organisation. In particular, Tim will draw on Deloitte's experience of implementing skills management programmes for its own customers. Lisa Mendoza, Organisation Development Manager at Norwich Union, will examine how the insurer has implemented IT skills management over the past two years, and outline some of the lessons she feels the organisation has learnt along the way.
Keynoting at the event will be British Computer Society Chief Executive David Clarke, who will focus on the need for the IT industry to grow more accountable and professional, and will examine what individuals and employers can do to make this happen.
The Digital Skills Summit takes place on 20th June at Microsoft Reading, UK, and is free to invited guests. For more information, visit www.infobasis.com/events.
For further press information:
Donald Taylor
Tel: +44 (0) 1235 540 140
Fax: +44 (0) 1235 534 869
Email: donaldt [at] infobasis [dot] com
For sales enquiries:
Tom Sandman
Tel: +44 (0)1235 540 140
Fax: +44 (0) 1235 534 869
Email: toms [at] infobasis [dot] com
