It may not seem like a top priority to IT chiefs struggling to fill vacancies in their IT department, but according to several reports a dearth of technical capabilities in the general workforce is doing almost as much damage to UK productivity and competitiveness as a lack of qualified IT professionals.

According to a recent study from IT skills development body E-Skills UK, employers felt they needed to improve the technology skills of 7.6 million employees out of an IT-using workforce of 21.5 million.

“It is a major problem,” said Martin Harvey of E-Skills. “We have evidence that those with the right IT skills for their role can save 40 minutes a day compared to those who are less adept.”

Experts agree that the best way to tackle this problem is through increased investment in basic IT training. However, with over 640 IT qualifications available in the UK, selecting the right course is tricky.

“Employers are baffled by the plethora of certificates,” Harvey said. “Even when people have some of the better qualifications, like CLAiT, the European Computer Driving Licence and the City and Guilds’ E-Quals certificate, some employers are uncertain about its currency.”

Regardless of the confusion surrounding qualifications, some critics argue that employers are not doing enough to improve staff skills. “Many companies still see training as a cost rather than an investment, and believe people will just leave if they train them up,” said Robert Chapman, managing director of IT training firm The Training Camp.

Jeremy Beale, head of e-business policy at the CBI, argued that some businesses are increasing investment in IT training. “If you look at BT, which has a very mature home working policy, staff have to do the [basic IT] training if they are going to work from home,” he pointed out. “[But] a lot of smaller companies don’t have sufficient resources for a proper IT department, let alone resources to train up staff further.”

There is hope, however, that IT literacy will improve as online learning and improved user interfaces make it easier for employees to master applications.

But Chapman argued that while these trends might reduce computer illiteracy, relatively few people are making full use of IT. “More people can make use of Excel, for example, but few are using the full richness of the software and maximising their productivity,” he said.