British IT skills school to open next year

The opening of a National Skills Academy for IT in the UK has moved a step closer, after the government announced it has approved the business plan submitted by sector skills body e-skills UK.

In October 2008, the government gave the green light to a tech academy on account of IT's "critical" role in growing the national economy, and because of strong and growing demand for tech workers — more than 140,000 new IT recruits are required by the industry every year, according to e-skills UK.

Budding techies seeking to sign up will have to wait until autumn 2010 when the academy is due to open.

Earlier this year e-skills UK's own website stated the academy would launch this year, but a spokesman for the organisation said this was a publishing error.

For more on this story, see Green light for UK IT skills school to arrive next year on silicon.com.