Hundreds of new jobs and a boost to the Manx economy worth millions is predicted with the development of the island’s ICT sector.
Rushen MHK Laurence Skelly said: ‘If I was a betting man and if I wanted to put a bet on an industry that’s going to be the biggest growth for the Isle of Man I would say it is ICT.’
But the challenge facing the island is a shortage of people with the skills to work in Information and Communication Technology.
A top-level strategy committee, a joint government and business liaison, has been working hard on the issue and it can now be revealed a project to develop the derelict Castle Mona site as an International Centre for Technology is ‘dead,’ confirmed Mr Skelly.
Instead it can now be confirmed the Nunnery, already host to the International Busiiness School, could be the best location for such a facility as part of the drive to boost ICT in the island.
Rushen MHK Mr Skelly, with a role in the Department of Economic Development, told Business News The Manx Educational Foundation (MEF) which was set up as a charitable trust, had been ‘looking to the Castle Mona as a potential site’ (for an international centre for technology).
But he said: ‘It would appear after considerable research and analysis of that site (Castle Mona) there are a number of complexities to that, to the point that I can confirm that (the plan) is now not going to happen. The deal at the Castle Mona is now dead.
‘The MEF, it’s their responsibility to find the right location that fits them. We as government are here to try and support and facilitate it. And we want to explore options and one of those options undoubtedly has to be the Nunnery.
‘We are still working with our colleagues in education who already utilise this facility (The Nunnery) so it already has planning consent, shall we say, for education. It’s a prestigious location and we need to think that the plan for a local ICT university was not just for local people but to try and import students here on the Isle of Man.’
Mr Skelly said the growth of ICT would fit in with the strategy of having a diversified economy in the island.
‘We in this department (DED) are tasked with growing the economy so our job is to try and create and facilitate that. We recognise a skills shortage was the biggest problem of going forward. We do need to tackle the wider promotion and perception of this industry but we felt that if we created an ICT educational facility that would fit the needs of the Isle of Man economy that would be pretty much our holy grail.’
IT consultant Steve Burrows said: ‘If we don’t have the capability to grow our own skills here then we have to compete. There are more than 100,000 unfilled vacancies in the UK, over 700,000 unfilled vacancies in ICT in the EU; there is huge competition for these skills. There is a significant skills shortage.
‘Unless we can grow our own we are competing against those people.’ Around 1,248 people are employed in ICT in the island and the strategy, hammered out by a top-level committee for the last year and a half, forecasts around 400 to 500 new jobs in ICT by the years 2017/2018.
Mr Skelly said that would be a ‘massive boost for the Isle of Man economy. We have done an awful lot of research to come to this. It is not something new borne out of an idea on the back of a fag packet. This is the great thing about ICT. We have gathered up a lot of evidence to support this strategy and that is a key point. It’s a joint strategy of business working with government.’