A new not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) has been created with a mission to close the channel's skills gap and bolster inclusivity in the sector.
Led by former EVP of Nuvias Ian Kilpatrick (pictured), the (TCA) aims to raise awareness of career opportunities across the IT channel to young people in education, those returning to employment and those looking to change career.
The TCA has called on vendors, distributors, VARs, system integrators and service providers to support its efforts and make the initiative a key part of their ESG strategy while addressing an estimated 100,000 vacant job roles across the UK channel.
TCA member companies will be encouraged to invite younger staff members to act as industry ambassadors, visiting schools, delivering positive presentations of their experience and engaging with pupils to encourage them to consider the IT channel as a future career choice.
TCA says it will provide content, delivery and engagement support, and will work closely with organisations supporting LBGTQ+, the BAME community, neurodiverse, minorities, disadvantaged backgrounds, maternity leave returners and retired people who want to return to work (plus others) to ensure a structured, long-term approach.
In addition to Kilpatrick the CIC’s leadership committee includes Crayon MD Hayley Mooney; Distology CEO Hayley Roberts; Westcoast Executive Director Alex Tatham; Rubrik's Director of Channels and Alliances Lisa Roberts; Rebecca Monk, Chief People Officer, Softcat; and STEM champion Wendy Shore, EA to the Chief Revenue Officer, AssetLogic.
"We need more people in the IT industry, particularly women, and feedback is saying to get youngsters interested in the industry as early as possible - from primary school level," stated Kilpatrick.
"We have had a shortage of talent for decades and there is a continual stress point with companies paying money to hire and retrain talent, followed by churn and then repeating the cycle. This impacts remuneration at all points in the business chain which then negatively impacts growth and profits.
"What we need is a channel-wide strategy that goes down to schools and up to government and NGO levels. We have to make the message heard that our industry is an area where you can do great things.
"As a multi-billion-pound industry – including vendors, distributors, VARs, SIs and service providers – we have all the capabilities to address the awareness and inclusiveness issues to resolve this."
Kilpatrick believes that there is a fundamental requirement for the channel to go beyond universities and into schools at Key Stage Three and Four, and even at Key Stage Two level - to drive awareness of the opportunities.
"We have seen that students often self-exclude because they say they are not great at maths and science, but you don't have to excel at those subjects to get into the channel," added Kilpatrick. "There are huge career prospects around sales, marketing, customer experience, logistics, and way more. The possibilities are endless. They just need to know this."
The TCA will also interact with school career advisors, LEPS and governments and NGOs to grow its network and awareness.
To find out more visit: www.techchannelambassadors.org