Skills shortages will scotch government projects
Peter Crush, 09 November 2009
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1 comment on this article.£200 billion worth of public projects - including the 2012 Olympics, Crossrail and ID cards - are under threat of going over budget because government departments do not have the right skills, the National Audit Office (NAO) has warned.
The NAO found only 44% of civil servants charged with owning one of the Treasury's ‘major projects' lacked sufficient commercial experience.
It found the largest skills gaps were in contract management, managing advisers, risk identification and risk management.
Chris Phillips, VP at global talent management specialist Taleo, said: "It is shocking to hear so many government projects are suffering either through a lack of visibility into available skills or an inability to optimally allocate these resources. Talent management tools are widely used by private organisations and could be bringing the same level of insight and flexibility to the public sector."
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Tim Cummins - 16 November 2009
Skill shortages in contract and risk management have been increasingly evident for several years. The shift to outsourcing and complex, outcome-based contracts has demanded new capailities and the private sector has also struggled to address the challenge. IACCM - a non-profit professional association - was formed with major corporate support precisely to tackle this shortage and to drive recognition of the related competencies. As a result, many major companies are in process of filling ht egap - but the NAO is correct in identifying the continued shortages in public sector agencies. As a global association, we are doing our best to help them!
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