Service Providers in the Information Industry: Businesses Wish to Invest Less in Training

Service providers in the information industry expect the prospects of trainees in this sector to worsen as a result of poor economic conditions. Despite the newly implemented governmental programme which aims to encourage training, 24 per cent of service providers in the information industry expect the number of trainees to fall over the course of the next three years.

70 per cent of businesses expect that the number of trainees will remain unchanged and only six per cent expect to see a rise in numbers. The field of business in which the highest proportion of businesses wish to reduce the number of training contracts they offer is management consultancy (62 per cent). Whilst the sector in which the highest proportion of businesses hope to expand their training activities is research and development (39 per cent).

This is the result of a survey carried out by the Centre for European Economics Research (ZEW) in Mannheim in cooperation with Creditreform, Neuss, between March and April 2003. Around 1,200 businesses in the information industry took part in the survey.Service providers in this sector include businesses offering information communications technologies (ICT), service providers (service providers supplying and leasing computer services, specialist ICT trade as well as telecommunications) and providers of knowledge-intensive services (businesses specialising in tax consultancy and auditing, management consultancies, architect offices, technical consultancy and planning, research and development as well as advertising).

The proportion of service providers in the information industry who report having provided training positions in the first quarter of 2003 for one or more recognised professions remains at 70 per cent; roughly the same value as in the first quarter of 2002. With more than 90 per cent of tax consultancies and auditing businesses providing training in recognized professions, it is these sectors which boast the highest proportion of firms offering training. In second and third place in the rankings are ICT-trade (around 85 per cent) and architecture (more than 80 per cent). The poor economic situation of these two sectors has thus not yet had a negative impact on businesses’ training activities. In fact, in comparison to figures from the same quarter last year, the proportion of ICT-traders and architect offices providing one or more training positions has significantly increased.

Contact

Dr. Margit Vanberg, E-mail: vanberg@zew.de