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Here you find all the latest training industry news within the UK.

Issue 004

This month’s special feature is from Ian Jones, Head of Research & Content at the National Computing Centre (NCC). He considers what the IT department of the future might look like and the implications this will have for the skills required by IT professionals

Essential skills for the IT department of the future

The growing trend towards adopting the cloud computing model for the delivery of IT services, coupled with increasing adoption of offshoring begs the question: What will the IT department of the future look like? Of equal importance for IT professionals will be the associated question: What skills are likely to be in demand over the coming years if the role or structure of the IT department changes? Access full story.

New VMware qualifications aimed at exploiting the cloud

The increasing importance of the cloud computing model for delivering IT services to businesses of all sizes is reflected in the announcement of new certifications from VMware. The new certification programme, VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP), is intended to assist successful candidates in acquiring enhanced virtualisation expertise. This will, in turn, enable their businesses to realise greater value from flexible delivery models such as IT-as-a-Service and cloud computing. Access full story.

SFIA – the future

One of the key planks for the future development of SFIA (the Skills Framework for the Information Age) is an enhanced accreditation scheme. Here we take a look at this and other plans designed to build upon the existing strengths of this established framework. For those of you not familiar with it, SFIA provides a common reference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective information systems. Essentially it is a simple and logical two-dimensional framework consisting of areas of work on the one axis and levels of responsibility on the other, and can be adapted to the training and development needs of a wide range of businesses. Access full story.

Mixed news for training as spending cuts bite

There has been mixed news for the training industry as the latest round of public sector cuts has been announced. As part of Chancellor George Osborne’s plans to reduce the nation’s £156bn budget deficit, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), which is responsible for skills and training, will see its budget slashed by £836 million. Access full story.

2012…your Windows XP deadline

A leading research company has recommended that businesses should be migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7 within two years, and start testing the operating system this year. Whilst Windows 7 has been getting positive reviews and more than 90 million licences have been sold to date, there are still many corporate users that are clearly undecided about when to start and how quickly to actually migrate.  A new report from Gartner ‘Creating a Timeline for Deploying Windows 7 and Eliminating Windows XP’ is intended to assist in this decision making process. Access full story.