The following is an excerpt found at PRMinds - IT Training - Market Report:

Bharatbook.com included a new report on "IT Training - Market Report" into its market report catalogue for reselling.

The UK market for IT training was estimated to have increased in value in 2008, continuing a trend of positive growth. Between 2004 and 2008, the value of the market is estimated to have risen by around 38%. Instructor-led training (ILT) comprises the largest sector of the market, although e-learning teaching — which includes blended learning — was the faster growing sector between 2004 and 2008.
In line with all other sectors of the UK economy, the recession has affected demand for IT training. Following buoyant market conditions in 2007 and the first half of 2008, the economic downturn started to have an impact in the second half of the year, and by the fourth quarter of 2008 growth had turned negative. To counter these falls, many of the IT training companies have introduced cost-saving initiatives and adjusted their operations to be consistent with their current levels of business.

The IT training market is fragmented and diverse. Consolidation and merger activity is ongoing, however, and this has resulted in one company, QA Ltd, emerging as a major force in the market. A dozen of the largest IT training companies are now estimated to account for more than half of market sales, with further sector consolidation likely to extend the influence of the large companies in the future.

According to the ICT Inquiry Survey conducted in the first quarter of 2009 by e-skills UK — a not-for-profit, employer-led organisation licensed by the Government as the Sector Skills Council for Business and Information Technology — almost 25% of companies with IT and telecommunications staff stated that they have experienced information and communication technologies- (ICT) related skills gaps, and around one in six firms considered the IT user skills of non-IT staff to be below the necessary standard. Around one in six of the IT and telecommunications recruiters that took part in the survey of more than 2,000 UK businesses also found that they were struggling to recruit staff with the right skills, qualifications or experience. The most common problem was the applicants' lack of business skills needed to communicate and align IT investments and strategy to the business.

The IT training market is expected to remain difficult in 2009. Large customers in sectors such as banking and finance, which have been badly affected by the recession, may not renew their training programmes and other companies are reported to have delayed their course bookings. Companies are also buying courses in smaller volumes, and demand for the more expensive types of training programmes has been affected. It may be 2010 before any noticeable recovery in demand for IT training is witnessed.

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