Offshoring and the Perspectives of IT in UK

We’ve Only Just Begun...

In a recent article published on www.silicon.com, Mr. Mark Kobayashi-Hillary - director of research for Commonwealth Business Council Technologies Ltd. and author of “Outsourcing to India: The Offshore Advantage”, founding member of the BCS Offshore Outsourcing Working Party -, reaches some very interesting conclusions regarding the offshoring trend and the future of IT in UK, taking into account the worries and concern raised by this new economy trend in respect of IT jobs and opportunities under the given conditions in the era of globalisation.

One of the main ideas he tries to pinpoint in his study is that:

“The situation is not as bad as some would have you believe. Almost a million people work in the UK IT industry and this figure has remained steady for the past three years. Adverts for vacant IT jobs grew by 22 per cent in the first quarter of this year and unemployment affects just 3.6 per cent of IT professionals compared to a national average of 4.8 per cent”.

He also underlines the fact that there are actually a whole bunch of vacancies in the UK in the field of IT, so one need not worry about this when thinking about outsourcing:

“Your career is in your own hands more than ever before, something many of us have been vaguely aware of, but which is now being emphasised by the global availability of IT resources. Over a third of UK employers with IT vacancies just can't find people who have the right blend of business and IT knowledge, so the opportunities are out there.”

He raises then a very interesting question undermining all rumours and prejudices one may have come to believe:

“Some commentators have talked of a future where Britain will be no more than a world heritage site populated with hairdressers and waiters. Where do they form these opinions? Have they actually analysed any demographic, employment and skills requirement data? I feel saddened when the same rumours and ill-defined ideas are trotted out as a prediction of the future by commentators who should know better. This is an important debate and it should not be trivialised by elevating pub conversations about offshoring to the point where those arguments are considered as fact.”

It also looks as if there is no real worry at hand about IT offshoring as such. Globalisation is a natural process, and it pulls along side effects we may have expected or not, but anyway we put it, the reality is by far not as grim as one might have thought. We just need to adjust our perception of the world to the new pattern promoted by the internet era:

“We are witnessing no more than a rise in globalisation because of the ease with which cheaper telecoms and the internet allows communication to take place. The UK still has five times the number of people working in IT as India has providing IT export services. Offshoring remains a tiny proportion of the global spend on IT services. Unemployment in the IT profession is low and decreasing and the number of jobs advertised is on the increase. Offshoring is an important trend but the facts cannot be disputed - it is not the end of IT as we know it and kids should still be enrolling for computer science degrees.”

He is of the opinion that the only way forward is by accepting the reality is it is, and trying to find solutions under these new terms and conditions one has to deal with. There is no way going back:

“To criticise a company for utilising global resources would be like suggesting we should all be at the theatre in person rather than watching a show on TV. We cannot step back to an era before the internet so it is important for organisations such as the BCS to analyse how we can manage careers in future. It's a whole new ball game because lifelong learning has become more than a buzzword, it's now essential for your future.”