The UK's IT skills body, e-skills UK, and telecoms giant BT have announced proposals for a new National Skills Academy which they hope will help to raise the standard of the UK's IT workforce.

The announcement was made at an apprenticeships conference hosted by e-skills UK, BT and the Apprenticeship Ambassadors Network in London yesterday.

The Academy will form part of the National Skills Academy network, a government-led initiative which aims to have academies in 12 key sectors by the end of this year and in all "major sectors" by 2010.

The initiative requires employer sponsors, such as BT, to work in partnership with the relevant sector skills council and the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to provide "employer-driven, world-class centres of excellence", according to the LSC.

The Academy's aims include helping IT staff to gain external recognition of their skills, and thus boost their career progression, according to e-skills. The institution will also look to accelerate the productivity of new IT recruits and increase employers' access to advanced courses and development programmes.

“There is great potential for the IT and Telecoms sector to attract more apprentices," said David Lammy, MP, at the event. "The work being done by e-skills UK and BT will be instrumental in improving productivity and extending opportunity."