Does the UK have a ‘comparative institutional advantage’ that is supportive of the IT services sector?

Donnelly, Rory; Grimshaw, Damian; Miozzo, Marcela

doi:10.1111/j.1468-005x.2011.00262.x

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 38 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The changing nature of ICT work in the UK can clearly be seen in Table , demonstrating a gradual shift not only from more routinised to higher level work but also heralding a change in the nature of skills from technical knowledge to a combination of technical and soft/managerial skills. This shift has enabled UK firms to expand services rapidly but has also raised questions on the forms and combinations of skills required for entry (Donnelly et al ., ).…”

Section: Changing Nature Of Ict Work and Skillmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Education provision for ICT workers has expanded alongside demand for skills, although Marks and Huzzard (: 171) cite data from e‐skills, which notes ‘ a substantial fall in those with IT‐related degrees entering professional work from 47 per cent in 2000 to 28 per cent in 2004 ’, reflecting the need for a broader skills base to work in the sector (as opposed to a narrow focus on technical skills). Alongside this trend, there is evidence of a decline in applications to IT courses (Donnelly et al ., ). Adams and Demaiter () suggest that although credentialed knowledge and skills are established in the sector, technical skills can be acquired through routes other than IT‐related degrees reflecting a potential disconnect between the education provided by universities and industry requirements.…”

Section: Changing Nature Of Ict Work and Skillmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Learning to labour: an evaluation of internships and employability in theICTsector

Chillas¹,

Marks²,

Galloway³

2015

New Technol Work Employ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The employability of graduates is often reduced to lists of de-contextualised skills that graduates may or may not have and which may or may not translate to prized graduate positions. Recently, internships have become the way in which graduates acquire and demonstrate work-readiness to potential employers. This article examines a particular type of internship in the ICT sector, namely placements incorporated in degree education. The findings suggest that while internships can enhance employability and indeed be a mechanism for accessing permanent jobs, more often, instead of 'learning to labour', interns are expected to be productive workers. A mini labour market operates at the undergraduate level that advantages those already possessed of the required soft skills. The emphasis on soft skills signals a shift in the nature of ICT work with attendant implications for education of workers in this sector, revealed by anchoring employability to particular labour process(es).

show abstract

Section: Changing Nature Of Ict Work and Skillmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Changing Nature Of Ict Work and Skillmentioning

confidence: 97%

Learning to labour: an evaluation of internships and employability in theICTsector

Chillas¹,

Marks²,

Galloway³

2015

New Technol Work Employ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…So the relatively high graduate unemployment rates for computing (HESAb 2016) are something of a conundrum (Smith 2016). Efforts to explain the phenomenon include a recognition of the wide range of roles available to computing graduates, combined with the many and diverse skills expected by their employers (Fincher & Finlay 2016), as well as the off-shoring of technology industry jobs, especially in the UK context (Donnelly, Grimshaw, & Miozzo, 2011). Furthermore, it has been suggested that computing students may be more interested in gaining technical skills than acquiring diverse professional skills: for example, university staff in Fincher and Finlay's study (2016) observed that their students were instrumentally motivated by their love of computers and coding, rather than their career prospects.…”

Section: Work Experience Employability and Social Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”

Smith

Taylor‐Smith

Bacon

et al. 2019

British Journal of Sociology of Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A recent UK Government commissioned study found concerning levels of unemployment among computing students from disadvantaged, black and minority ethnic backgrounds. The study highlighted that work experience was a factor in increased levels of graduate employment. As such, it is vital that students have equal access to such work experience. This study considers the availability of work experience to 140 computing students at two city centre UK universities. Data analysis considered socioeconomic background and ethnicity to determine if these influenced attitudes to work experience. While students' socioeconomic backgrounds and ethnicity had little influence on their interest in work experience, patterns of success in gaining work experience reflected worrying graduate (un)employment patterns, with those from disadvantaged, black or minority ethnic backgrounds less able to secure work experience. These findings have serious implications for university and government policies promoting work experience and highlight the need for national interventions.

show abstract

“…Donnelly et al (2011) show that collective social actors in the UK largely failed in their attempt to professionalise the workforce in the IT services sector through joint investment in training, due to weak coordination among the actors and marginal support from firms. In contrast, Kuruvilla and Ranganathan (2010) found that in the Indian business process outsourcing industry, high turnover rates among an increasingly mobile, middle-class workforce led companies to experiment with new HRM strategies aimed at improving recruitment, retention and training.…”

Section: Challenges Of Hrm Coordinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yu and Levy (2010) found that radiology professionals working in the Indian offshore sector experienced a deskilling of their work, with negative effects on worker motivation. Another recent UK study found that increased internationalisation of the value chain for IT services contributed to a falling domestic demand for technical IT skills, with negative effects on career development and professionalisation in the sector (Donnelly et al 2011).…”

Section: Challenges Of Hrm Coordinationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Outsourcing and Human Resource Management

Doellgast¹,

Gospel²

2012

Managing Human Resources

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract[Excerpt] Historically, outsourcing has always existed, as firms put out work to suppliers, contractors, and intermediaries to organize the production of goods and services (Doellgast and Gospel 2011). In recent years, however, outsourcing has increased in both scale (the volume of outsourcing) and scope (the number of activities outsourced). This has several related causes. First, the advent of new transportation systems, such as the growth of maritime, rail, and road logistics and the advent of new information and communications technologies (ICTs) have facilitated ordering, monitoring, and delivery of products and services. Second, as markets have extended and become more competitive, firms increasingly seek to save costs through focusing on their core value-maximizing activities, handing other activities over to suppliers. Third, the relaxation of trade barriers, emergence of new markets, and expansion of a more highly skilled labor force in Asia have increased the ease and cost savings of outsourcing to these regions. Fourth, in the public sector, organizations have been prompted by politicians to look to outsourcing as a way of cutting costs and introducing greater flexibilities. Finally, management fashion has played an important role in popularizing production and service models, as firms watch and imitate their competitors (IMF 2007; OECD 2007ab).These trends have a number of implications for the management of human resources across firms' increasingly diverse (and often international) procurement and supply chains. Managers face choices concerning how to help employees adjust during worker transfer or downsizing following the decision to outsource work. Networked relationships across core firms and their subcontractors introduce new demands, in terms of resources and monitoring, as firms seek to coordinate practices and incentives across organizations. In addition, the human resource management (HRM) function itself is increasingly being outsourced to specialist organizations, often involving substantial restructuring and rationalization.We first provide background on outsourcing trends and then discuss the HRM issues and choices associated with outsourcing. Throughout, we examine the ways in which national institutions affect the costs and benefits of different strategic choices by firms, as well as the particular challenges multinationals face as they seek to manage outsourcing contracts across national borders. We show that outsourcing is both driven by and used to facilitate globalization. However, outsourcing strategies and their impact on different stakeholder groups continue to be embedded in distinct national settings.

show abstract

Does the UK have a ‘comparative institutional advantage’ that is supportive of the IT services sector?

Cited by 9 publications

References 38 publications

Learning to labour: an evaluation of internships and employability in theICTsector

Learning to labour: an evaluation of internships and employability in theICTsector

Equality of opportunity for work experience? Computing students at two UK universities “play the game”

Outsourcing and Human Resource Management

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About