Working in Information Technology

Business Sectors

Source: Target IT 2006, GTI Publishing

Author: Angela Waite, Head of ICT, Canterbury City Council

The public sector is a very broad term that takes in some pretty diverse organisations: government departments and agencies, local government and authorities, emergency services, the NHS, educational establishments and more. The key objective of IT, or ICT (information communications technology) as we prefer to call it, is to deliver effective and efficient services to the public. A city council like Canterbury can deliver 50 plus solutions at any time enabling face-to-face communication to take place and providing effective telephone communication, e-mail and internet access for the public, improving internal systems and developing electronic forms and information storage. The work of ICT professionals is incredibly varied and vital for the smooth running of public service organisations.

New developments

The Internet has had a major effect on the government, which aims to have all services available electronically by 2005 through 'e-government' initiatives. The public increasingly expects to be able to gain direct access to information about local and national services online. These online services need to be accessible to all and simple to use since not all members of the public have access to the Internet at home or are enthusiastic about using technology. In addition, with increased use of the Internet, secure access to information and submission of data is vital. Data storage is also a large growth area for public service organisations and, so too, an increased impetus to provide joint delivery across different public sector organisations.

Skills required

The specific skills needed by graduates will depend on the public sector organisation they apply to. It's possible for graduates from both IT and non-IT degree backgrounds to find opportunities to work in ICT within the public sector. The key thing is to show enthusiasm for ICT and what it can deliver and have an interest in public service - delivery of good service to the public is our ethos.

It goes without saying that good communication skills are essential. Public sector ICT professionals work with a wide range of people, from employees within the organisation to service users. It's essential to be able to present complex ICT ideas in language that's easy to understand

Starting out

Some national organisations recruit graduates directly through graduate schemes. There are also plenty of interesting opportunities in local government, individual schools and colleges. You will have to look for training positions but these are relatively easy to find if you put in some effort.

From a training post you can move to senior positions, and organisations aim to create opportunities for career progression. However one of the great advantages of working within the public sector is the opportunity to network. There is a breadth of areas into which you can transfer your skills and experience.

• The variety of the work you can get involved in. Public sector organisations work with a wide range of technology, areas of business and people.
• There's a good life/work balance.
• You get the satisfaction of knowing that your work is contributing to the smooth running of society and really making a difference

Worst

• There's quite a lot of bureaucracy and there can be quite a bit of paperwork.

Don't bother if...

...you want to do a lot of development work. Many public sector organisations select package solutions for service delivery, so there is less scope to do development work in this sector than in previous years. The work is more about business analysis and integration and tailoring of packages.

Information Systems,

Computer Studies,

Information Technology and Multimedia Computing

We provide a number of courses which have been tailored with a slightly higher business analysis content and slightly less programming. After all, not everyone wants to become a programmer. These courses are perfect for students wishing to go into a more systems analyst, project management or IT management role.