Glamorgan University has become the first in Wales to offer a new type of employer-backed degree.
The university will welcome students on the Information Technology Management for Business (ITMB) degree this September.
Backed by training organisation e-skills UK, the degree aims to provide graduates with the technical, business, and interpersonal skills sought by industry.
Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, welcomed the news, and said: “Wales is predicted to need more than 17,000 new entrants into the IT professional workforce over the next five years just to keep up with demand, so it’s essential that there is a healthy pipeline of talented young people coming out of the education system into the industry.
“ITMB has a proven track record of producing graduates with the blend of business, technical and interpersonal skills sought after by employers, and we’re very pleased to be working together with the University of Glamorgan and the e-skills UK Welsh Employer Forum to offer this groundbreaking degree in Wales for the first time.”
Ronan Miles, Chair of the e-skills UK Wales Employer Board and Director of Customer Innovation Services at BT, said: “The e-skills Wales Employer Board is delighted that the University of Glamorgan has now been approved to deliver ITMB. We look forward to working with them to ensure that ITMB produces exceptional graduates with just the skills that we, as employers, need. It will be a real boost both to aspiring young IT professionals and businesses across Wales”
The University of Glamorgan’s Dr Andrew Ware added: “The ITMB was designed for business with the aid of business. It is the award of choice for many of the UK’s largest companies as it combines business and technology skills in an innovative way, and gives students pursuing the award unique access to many of the country’s leading business minds through a series of guru lectures.”