To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much the Department for Employment and Learning has spent on training in information and communication technology (ICT) skills in each of the past five years; what measures the Government are taking to encourage graduates to work in the ICT sector; and if he will establish a dedicated fund to encourage growth in the ICT sector. (76221)

The Department for Employment and Learning spent the following on training on information and communication technology skills in the past five years:

The vast majority of the funds spent (£70,337,817 from the academic year 2000/01 to 2004/05) is in respect of further education. The remainder comprises Management Development (£6,669,954) and Sectoral Development (£273,150). These figures exclude funding to universities for ICT courses. The Department provides a recurrent grant but it is the institutions themselves which allocate funding to subject areas.

The Department funds foundation degrees and other higher education courses delivered in the further education sector in order to encourage students to enter the ICT sector at intermediate level.

In implementing its Skills Strategy for Northern Ireland, the Department places importance on determining the skills needs of each sector. E-Skills, the Sector Skills Council for the IT industry, has carried out research into employer needs, supply and demand and emerging gaps and this analysis of skills gaps has been published. The Department has also commissioned E-Skills to carry out an additional specialist project which specifically focuses on the demand for graduates in the industry. Also Invest Northern Ireland has been jointly involved with the Department in providing projections of the number of graduates likely to be needed for forthcoming emerging employment opportunities.

Alongside this research, the Department in co-operation with the Association of Northern Ireland Colleges and local employers, is developing a short-term course for graduates from a variety of disciplines to enable them to avail themselves of increasing employment opportunities in the ICT sector. This will provide an immediate response to the ICT sector employers’ concerns, while longer term need is determined.

There are no plans to establish a dedicated fund to encourage growth in the ICT sector. Invest Northern Ireland already encourages the growth of the sector through a programme of support for indigenous companies and through foreign direct investment. In addition to this individual company support, Invest Northern Ireland also undertakes a number of sector specific initiatives to ensure the continued development of the ICT sector in Northern Ireland.