Telecommunications

In this brief look at telecommunications, it is only the connection between the machines at both ends of the system that will be considered. However, this is a somewhat artificial barrier to draw because software and hardware developments increasingly affect both the formulation and use of information, becoming interlinked with its transmission and delivery. So readers should be familiar with the term ‘information and communication technology (ICT)’ as it becomes used more frequently.

There are over 109,000 businesses in the UK’s IT and telecoms industry, of which 8% are involved with telecoms. Virtually all these companies are services businesses, and 42% are located in London and the south-east. In the sector, a small number of large firms employ a large proportion of the workforce: six companies employ 20%, while half the workforce is accounted for by just 328 companies. However, the industry also has many micro-companies, partly due to the popularity of self-employment. Nearly one in 20 people employed in the UK work in the IT and telecoms workforce (1.5 million people). This comprises around 888,000 in the IT and telecoms industry itself and a further 588,000 working as IT or telecoms professionals in other industries.

The biggest employers outside the IT and telecoms sector are: financial services; public administration, education and health; and manufacturing. Employment in IT and telecoms professions has almost doubled since the early 1990s.

Globalisation is affecting the age profile of IT and telecoms professionals. The proportion aged between 16 and 29 has dropped from 32% in 2001 to 21% in 2007 as the sector favours experienced workers from other sectors over young recruits from the education system. The workforce is highly qualified, with 55% holding a qualification at Level 4 or higher. Moreover, only 3% of IT and telecoms professionals are not qualified to Level 2, compared to 13% of the UK’s employed workforce. However, telecoms professionals are significantly less likely than IT professionals to have the higher levels of qualification. Gender remains a significant and worsening issue and, in 2007, only 18% of IT and telecoms professionals were female.

Growth in the sector is predicted to continue. While employment in the overall UK workforce is forecast to increase at 0.5% per annum for the coming decade, the telecoms industry is likely to grow at a lower rate than the UK average, at 0.3% per annum. The number of people employed in lower-skilled roles will continue to contract.

It is estimated that the continued adoption and exploitation of ICT could generate an additional £35 billion of GVA to the UK economy over the coming five to seven years, provided companies – particularly smaller companies – take action on the key factors of management and leadership skills, investment and the IT enablement of employees.

Mobile telecoms

To most people, mobile telecoms nowadays mean mobile phones, with links using radio and microwave, and their masts and dishes can be seen all around the country. Satellites may also be used in both mobile and static telecoms networks. Digital TV users will know of both cable and satellite services, while the military uses similar equipment, while 3G technology is now with us, and Blackberry, personal digital assistant (PDAs) and quad-band devices are commonplace.

Fixed telecoms

Fixed telecoms may include all the infrastructure necessary to run a local or wide area network – and links between the two. They may provide business services, telephones, television and much more besides, and may be used to transmit voice, fax, data, graphics or any combination of these. The most common carriers of fixed telecoms are cables. These are made from both copper and fibre-optics, and include 11,700 kilometres of cable under the Atlantic Ocean.

Networks

Typically, a number of different commercial organisations will both provide and share telecoms network facilities. Signals pass through switches and links owned by many companies and rented by the service provider. Messages need protocols to ensure that they get to the right place. They may need to be compressed and then decompressed, and they may be split into tiny fragments, with each one being sent separately and the whole being reconstituted.

Telecommunications in the Services

Each Service has its ‘expert’ telecoms staff in the specialist communications and electronics branches, although there may be other people serving who have considerable expertise. Some will have relevant degrees, while others will have other qualifications.

Some people will also have specialised in telecoms and/or electronics as part of their career pattern. They are still likely to have a number of very transferable and marketable skills, but they may need to be targeted in a particular area.

Service people without the necessary technical background can still enter the industry, but probably at a lower level. Their personal qualities are valued, as well as the core skills that they may bring, including map reading, first aid and even an ability to work at heights.

Telecommunications on leaving the Services

Service leavers need to discover the area of telecoms right for them and for which they can reasonably expect to have the necessary qualifications and background to enter. There is a wide range of resettlement training courses in this sector, but individuals are advised to talk with people working in the industry to try to establish a reasonable starting point based on their previous skills and experience. They should then look for the courses and training that suit them. The key is to start early and take resettlement training so it can be enhanced by self-study, academic qualifications and an industry placement.

Qualifications

Industry recruiters face three main problem areas:

1. lack of qualifications

2. lack of experience

3. shortage of essential skills.

Also regarded as being of key importance to employers and possessed by Service leavers are:

• problem-solving skills
• oral communications
• team skills.

People can gain qualifications through their employment and personal development while they are serving. This will primarily be about the theory necessary to use equipment, its actual use, and how to pass on that knowledge to others. The academic background and the principles of certain equipment use will be highly relevant to future employment, so people should build up these qualifications, while those whose career path does not include such courses should look at day release, evening classes, open learning and the internet for opportunities to learn before they leave.

A suite of National Occupational Standards and qualifications has been developed by e-skills UK (the Sector Skills Council), and these are becoming better known by employers. Companies that report skills gaps state that they affect large proportions of their employees – on average 23% of all of their telecoms staff. They also report that 70% of staff with skills gaps are lacking technical skills, 30% business skills and 31% interpersonal skills; and 81% of companies reporting skills gaps report an adverse effect on their business.

Employment in telecoms

In addition to catering for continued growth, recruitment also needs to replace those who leave the sector due to retirement or for other reasons. Of the overall recruitment into IT and telecoms professional jobs (to cover both growth and replacement), 65% is expected to be into managerial and senior professional positions; 19% into associate professional and technician level positions; and 17% into skilled trades and administrative roles. On top of ‘churn’ within these occupations, there is a need for an average of 141,300 new entrants a year into professional job roles. Based on current data, the make-up of this annual intake is expected to be as follows:

• 70,900 from occupations other than IT or telecoms
• 26,800 from education (mainly graduate level and higher);
• 43,600 from other sources (re-entering the workforce after a career break, early retirement or unemployment).

More than 20% of companies report difficulties in attracting applicants with the right skills. This is generally due to mismatches in terms of business, and high-level technical skill needs.

The Fibreoptic Industry Association’s SkillsMatch programme allows those holding the relevant qualifications (City & Guilds qualifications in the 3466 or 3666 series, or NVQs in the IOL or SVC series) to record their achievements on its website database. Employers can undertake checks online and those seeking employment can advertise their availability for work.

Salary expectations

This is a rough guide only – pay varies from one company and contract to another, although the average reported annual salary is around £35,000:

• engineer £15,000 to £25,000
• team leader £18,000 to £22,000
• project manager £22,000 to £40,000
• technical trainer £28,000 to £50,000
• network engineer up to £50,000.

Overtime, shift work and benefits can increase these salaries.

Contact details

e-skills UK, 1 Castle Lane, London SW1E 6DR Tel: 020 7963 8920 Website: www.e-skills.com

Communications Management Association, Ranmore House, The Crescent, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8DY Tel: 01372 361234 Website: www.thecma.com

Fibreoptic Industry Association Ltd, The Manor House, Buntingford, Hertfordshire SG9 9AB Tel: 01763 273039 Website: www.fia-online.co.uk

Confederation of Aerial Industries Ltd, Communications House, 41a Market Street, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 0PN Tel: 01923 803030 Website: www.cai.org.uk

Society of Cable Telecommunication Engineers, Communications House, 41a Market Street, Watford, Hertfordshire WD18 0PN Tel: 01923 815500 Website: www.scte.org.uk