STUDY REPORT. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS)

Transcription

1 Expert consultancy support for FITS FINAL REPORT (Milestone 8) 10 November 2014 Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS) STUDY REPORT ABSTRACT This report was jointly commissioned by UNI Europa and the European Telecommunications Network Operators Association (ETNO) and funded from the European Commission s progress programme. Delivered by Breyer Publico, the report provides an overview of findings from both desktop research and primary research conducted through stakeholder interviews focused upon understanding main business trends, industry future skills needs and current good practice in addressing skills development challenges. The report reveals the business changes that take the industry from a historically hardware based environment to a software dominated digital future. It closes the gap of European telecommunication future skills awareness and unveils the skills that are crucial to address a rapidly changing business environment within ever- present technology and usage advances. The report moves on to recognise that the European telecommunications industry despite and sometimes because of fierce competition deploys pockets of good practice in the search for solutions to identify, recruit and retain highly skilled staff. The key findings of the report identify twenty- seven skill topics that are critical to the future of the telecommunications industry and it culminates with the provision of five key recommendations to address the unrelenting requirement to maintain and further develop a highly skilled workforce. This publication is supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity PROGRESS ( ). Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 1/51

2 CONTENT OVERVIEW 1. Study Objectives Introduction to the European Telecommunications Sector Business Trends Business outlook methodology Main business trends Detailed view of business drivers from a political, economic, social and technological perspective (PEST) Summary of industry perspective trends Skills Need Identification Skills identification methodology Main skills gaps and challenges Detailed view of skills needs Skills trends, gaps and challenges related to the e- CF Responses from Company Best Practices Recruiting competent talent for the future Training and reskilling (particularly 40+) Attracting more women into ICT employment Conclusions and recommendations ANNEX A. Reports used in conducting the PEST analysis B. Interview questionnaire supporting project stage C. Overview of company best practice ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This study was possible thanks to the support and invaluable contributions from European telecommunications sector representatives, from the companies BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia, Ericsson LSS, Orange, Portugal Telecom, TDC (Sweden & Denmark), Telefónica, Telenor, TeliaSonera and Vodafone and the trade unions UNI Europa, CWU (UK), Ver.di (Germany), SEKO (Sweden), Sinttav (Portugal), FISTEL- CISL (Italy), CWU (Ireland), Prospect (UK), Unionen (Sweden), Dansk Metal (Denmark), CFDT- F3C (France) and UGT (Spain). This publication is supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity PROGRESS ( ). This Programme is implemented by the European Commission. It was established to financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment, social affairs and equal opportunities area, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Europe 2020 Strategy goals in these fields. The seven- year Programme targets all stakeholders who can help shape the development of appropriate and effective employment and social legislation and policies, across the EU- 28, EFTA- EEA and EU candidate and pre- candidate countries. For more information see: The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 2/51

3 1. Study Objectives European social partners in the telecom sector, The European Telecommunications Network Operators Association ETNO and the European trade unions federation UNI Europa, have jointly undertaken the European project Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications Sector of the future identifying and spreading best practice. The project s objective is to collect and analyse information on telecommunications and ICT labour market trends, identifying the main drivers of change and the impact on skills needs in the telecommunication sector, and to identify and share best practice on effective solutions to fill the ICT skills gap. In particular, the project aims to: Provide an exchange of the above analysis between European telecom operators and their partners (training providers, education establishments etc.), to support mutual understanding of future industry skill requirements, and Facilitate the collection and sharing of best practice for training and reskilling (particularly those over 40), recruiting competent talent for the future and attracting more women into ICT employment. The final outcome aims to disseminate effective solutions that may be applied to address the identified challenges and act as a starting point to engender further cooperation amongst all stakeholders (companies, education training providers, social partners, national and European bodies) in order to address skills needs in the future. To support these project aims, the Breyer Publico Consultancy team were contracted to analyse and highlight the main trends that shape the industry in the foreseeable future. The research team assessed the evolving needs of telecommunication professional staff in terms of jobs, skills, academic and vocational training. To achieve this objective the team systematically gathered specialist analysis and available reports to: elaborate an overview of expected major impacts on ICT job content, identify future skills needs, share potentially effective solutions for future skills development, with a focused look at best practise for training and reskilling (particularly those over 40), recruitment of competent talent and the attraction of more women into ICT employment. 2. Introduction to the European Telecommunications Sector It is commonly accepted that the Telecommunication s sector is a worldwide industry featuring rapid growth and rapid change, exploiting leading edge technology and requiring a highly skilled and innovative workforce. Furthermore, over several decades there has been an ever- increasing convergence between the technology deployed by the information technology industry and telecommunications industry with an inevitable impact on the skills requirements by technical professionals within the telecommunications sector. Europe is an acute example of the challenges faced in the analogue to digital transition. As an early adopter and installer of extensive copper networks Europe faces a correspondingly significant task to upgrade its legacy infrastructure. An additional dynamic, influencing the skills and competence needs of the workforce, is the impact of Information Technology providers offering OTT (Over the Top) services such as voice and video traffic, distribution of multimedia and entertainment content, search engines, cloud and social media. This parallel competition is an additional driver of change influencing the pace and volume of the skills challenges facing the telecommunications sector. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 3/51

4 Although focused on future skills requirements, this research activity reflects on past and current skills requirements to aid the prediction of future skills needs. Telecommunications was born out of the invention of the telephone in the late nineteenth century, resulting in the establishment of a new industry sector in the early twentieth century. The telecommunications industry, using analogue technology, was arguably the first truly international sector crossing national borders and requiring international standards to enable interoperability between national telephone systems. The dominant feature of the industry was the hardware infrastructure consisting of landline cables connecting switching centres (telephone exchanges) constructed like a spiders web providing connections between any one telephone and another and via alternative pathways. Initially, this was a manual activity achieved by operators, physically connecting telephone users. This connection method was superseded through electro mechanical, automatic switching (The Strowger System) introduced in the middle of the twentieth century. In the 1990 s the cellular telephone added a new dimension to telecommunications and spawned a new sub sector of the industry. A new breed of communication service providers using the airwaves accompanied by the traditional telecommunications companies, who provided the cable infrastructure, introduced a personal telephone revolution. This precipitated exponential growth in handset provision and wireless connectivity with concurrent skills requirement consequences. Also in the 1990 s, the Internet became a commercial reality. This technology was developed within the Information Technology Industry (IT) and outside of the influence of telecommunication national/ international regulations. The Internet was rapidly adopted and implemented by IT suppliers of products and services and as a significant technological disruptor; it bred many new innovative services, for example, voice over Internet protocol (VOIP). Another revolution that radically changed the industry was the move from analogue to digital technology accompanied by the drive to move from copper to fibre carrier systems. Taking place towards the end of the twentieth century, this led to an even more significant change, taking an existing, hardware dominated industry, on an inexorable journey to a digital software dominated future. Furthermore, the pace of change has accelerated and new applications such as CATV Video Streaming are forcing exponential growth in Internet and infrastructure traffic. Technical, commercial and legislative changes have all had a dramatic effect on workforce skills and the boundaries and reach of the telecommunications industry. There is no reason to assume that the pace will subside or the direction of travel change. Although the pace of change is significant, many traditional telecommunication skills, for example exchange maintenance, are still required, but the overlapping nature of other sectors, including the audio- visual and broadcasting sectors, combined with new technological innovations demand a broader and a more specialist skill set across the telecommunications industry. Additionally, skills identification must take into account leading edge technologies and associated skills and knowledge currently deployed by the Information Technology sector. The telecommunications industry is moving from a hardware- dominated environment to a software- dominated environment. In summary, the pace of skills change requirements is accelerating and its multidisciplinary nature places heavy demands upon the Telecommunication professional workforce and the development of a European fit for purpose skills strategy. As mobile- cellular penetration exceeds 100% in Europe, market saturation exceeds that of the developing world that stood at 89% in As a 1 Source: ITU Telecommunications ICT Indicators database Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 4/51

5 marker and driver for skills transition it can be concluded that Europe is at the forefront of the challenge to maintain and transform the skills of the workforce. This is reinforced by Europe s leading position in the level of Internet user penetration at 75% compared to the Americas at 61% and Africa at 16%. There is an urgent need to address maintenance of existing traditional telecommunication and cellular skills (voice and data over digital networks) that must also be supplemented by Internet skills prevalent in the IT industry sector. 3. Business Trends As previously stated in chapter 1, the aim of this report is to provide direction on the future skills requirements of the Telecommunications Industry over the next five years; two approaches were adopted to foresee these needs. Investigation of existing research papers revealed that very limited information was available to provide direct qualitative and quantitative understanding of the skills required of future telecommunication technical professionals. The limited research material available is generically included from an ICT industry perspective and not identified separately. Therefore one approach taken, to identify future skill requirements, was to investigate industry business trends from a variety of papers and reports (listed in Annex A) to provide a background and context for the telecommunication industry future. This provided information was used to create a realistic hypothesis of the associated skills required to build the future of the telecommunication industry; more details are included in chapter 4, Skills need identification. In parallel to this desktop research, a variety of knowledgeable telecommunications stakeholders were interviewed from both employer and trade union perspectives to gain an insight into their perception of business direction and future skills needs. The business drivers combined with stakeholder responses to future skills requirements and good practise deployed to close the skills gaps informed the conclusions of this report Business outlook methodology The tool applied to the collection of secondary research, in order to provide a digestible picture of the telecommunication industry s likely future, was PEST analysis. PEST is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors used to assess the market for a business unit. It is a framework of macro- environmental factors used to articulate strategic components that influence the future of an organization or industry. PEST analysis provides a useful aid to understanding market growth or decline and the position, potential and direction for a business. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 5/51

6 Figure 1: The PEST analysis method Analysing the industry in this way enabled a focused overview of the trends and issues facing the industry by presenting brief statements that help report readers to quickly assimilate key points. Important features of relevant papers were synthesized and incorporated within the statements that follow in chapter 3.2.1, Detailed view of business drivers from a political, economic, social and technological perspective. In addition to desktop research, expert opinion was systematically sought and recorded from a questionnaire that covered the main topics defined by the FITS project scope, see annex B for details of the questions asked. 10 telecommunication operators and 14 trade unions were approached to support the FITS activity by providing valuable practical market insights from the employer and social partner perspectives. This combination provided comprehensive EU- wide coverage and it included several companies with a worldwide market presence. Companies included BT, Deutsche Telekom, Telecom Italia, Ericsson LSS, Orange, Portugal Telecom, TDC (Sweden & Denmark), Telefónica, Telenor, TeliaSonera and Vodafone. UNI Europa, CWU (UK), Ver.di (Germany), SEKO (Sweden), Sinttav (Portugal), FISTEL- CISL (Italy), CWU (Ireland), Prospect (UK), Unionen (Sweden), Dansk Metal (Denmark), CFDT- F3C (France) and UGT (Spain) represented the views of European social partners. This empirical research phase gathered experiences and views from 27 sector representatives covering a broad variety of job roles, addressing key topics of this consultancy activity. One employer and four company trade union representatives additionally provided written statements Main business trends A synthesis from the range of reports, blogs and papers, paints a challenging picture of increasing customer service and product demands from an industry undergoing significant change within some areas, diminishing revenue streams driving down costs to maintain profitability and accompanied by headcount reductions. Interview respondents confirmed this perception, highlighting a very competitive environment within the telecommunications industry and some respondents referred to this commonly as a price war. Traffic across the Internet continues to grow exponentially, driven by a perfect storm of the Internet of things and increased mobile applications. Innovative applications such as e- pay, e- health and video down streaming supported by technologies such as cloud and big data, contribute to the technically complex matrix of bundled service offerings. Legacy technologies based upon copper infrastructures are unable to support this new breed of services and the coexistence of Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 6/51

7 copper and fibre networks is a significant technological and business challenge facing the ex PTT 2 organisations. Mobile traffic will also grow exponentially with technological innovation providing undreamed of data speeds measured in Gigabyte/sec enabling anything everywhere to be connected to the cloud. The vast (up to 300 Billion Euro) 3 investment required for future infrastructure development is a significant political issue; specifically regarding how the required investment will be funded and by whom. Encompassing all, there is a public demand for confidence building, to provide a safe and secure infrastructure protected from criminal activity or accidental disaster scenarios, that also protects minors from unsuitable online content. Although analysed from two different sources the outcomes of desktop research and responses from questionnaire respondents lead to similar conclusions even if expressed in different language. Stakeholders recognise the speed and direction of technical challenges faced by the industry but also realise the impacts on future business exerted by economic, social and political directions Detailed view of business drivers from a political, economic, social and technological perspective The following statements summarize the main findings of the PEST analysis undertaken in the context of the research activity. Each numbered statement (highlighted in bold print) is expanded to provide additional clarity. The statements reflect a wide range of views and opinions from a variety of observers and therefore, although not always verifiable, they reflect perceptions and help form a broad understanding of the likely future of the telecommunications industry. POLITICAL 1. Future telecommunication infrastructure is likely to involve private investment in densely populated areas and public investment in sparsely populated areas. Economic, market forces naturally encourage the provision of infrastructure by private companies to areas of dense population. Governments understand the economic and social necessity of the provision of high- speed broadband services to rural communities and apply universal service obligations. Negotiation and legislation for future infrastructure development is under discussion and some observers think it may result in shared public/ private investment. 2. International standards are needed to ensure interoperability of national infrastructures and enable signalling protocols to operate in harmony. This enables free flow of voice, data and video and protects the asset value of hardware and software. 3. No single organisation will be permitted to establish a monopoly. National Governments plan to ensure competitive environments and a free market for telecommunications customers and therefore rules are applied to ensure no single company can dominate from a monopolistic position. 4. Telecommunication industry incumbents are compelled by legislation to offer wholesale prices to new entrants and virtual service providers; OTT (over the top players) benefit from lack of infrastructure costs. Development of telecommunications infrastructures has 2 PTT is an acronym for Postal, Telephone and Telegraph services and applies to the public communications organisations established to provide this services from the beginning of the 20 th Century 3 Source: ETNO Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 7/51

8 grown out of public switched networks, which in turn were privatised but accompanied by legislation to enable new telecommunication market entrants to share the network at agreed prices. As technology has developed, new entrants such as OTT (Over the top) players are not encumbered by these restrictions and use networks at no cost. 5. Radio spectrum policies influence the implementation of wireless communications. Control over airwaves and spectrum distribution is the subject of legislation to ensure optimum usage and minimise interference between frequency bands (e.g. for national security and emergency services). The availability and release of bandwidths is not only a technical but also a social and economic issue that is not under the direct control of telecommunications companies. 6. Taxation of OTT s versus telecommunications companies. New OTT entrants, often from outside of Europe, have the freedom to establish European headquarters wherever they can optimise tax payments. The playing field is not level for existing telecommunication companies as they are unable to take advantage of this opportunity. 7. National service providers are obliged to provide public and universal 4 services. These are crucial with regard to the provision of Internet access to rural and underserved areas and the EU citizens right to communication. 8. The abolition of roaming charges and the lowering of prices has had an impact on revenue. Complex technologies and quality of service have a price and reduced income is likely to have an impact on necessary investment and employment. ECONOMIC 9. Throw away devices such as telephones and PCs. The nature of product development is fundamentally changed by the notion of sophisticated products that are not economically viable to repair and also become technically redundant after a few months. Service and repair functions are disrupted and consume financing models are revolutionised with rental replacing ownership models. 10. Integration of telecommunications into a single function providing fixed voice video, TV and Internet data. This is commonly referred to as convergence or triple play. It has high significance for infrastructure providers, as their networks need to be technically capable of supporting these three types of traffic flow. Continued use of legacy networks to support separate media distribution is no longer economically viable nor does it offer the integrated service requirements demanded by customers. 11. Customers driving the race for new technologies looking for competitive edge. Customers of the telecommunications companies are constantly seeking ways to improve their productivity and customer service offerings and this is driving a shift towards customer power. Customers increasingly demand products and services rather than, as in the past, passively awaiting new offerings. 12. Model for infrastructure funding must change, independent research studies estimate that up to 300 Billion Euros is required to modernise European networks over ten plus years. The cost of building fibre based and mobile broadband networks supporting 4G networks, to meet convergence needs, is estimated to exceed 300 Billion Euros across Europe and this significant investment cannot be met without a new funding model. This is particularly relevant given the falling revenues of traditional network suppliers and the 4 Universal service is an economic, legal and business term used in the telecommunications industry, referring to the practice of providing a baseline level of services to every resident of a country. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 8/51

9 complex environment that incorporates many new broadcast entrants and users of networks. In addition the requirement is for networks to serve the public interest and provide an engine for economic growth. 13. Revenues are declining sharply approximately - 2% per annum. Falling incomes from fixed line subscribers over the past five years add to the urgency to solving the issue of who will pay for the necessary infrastructure development required across Europe. 14. Telecommunication industry headcount in Europe is declining. In order to meet shareholder demands and maintain profitability in a competitive market with declining revenue, traditional telecommunications organisations have optimised headcount. This business pressure drives the need to up- skill the workforce and mitigate potential employment loss. 15. The infrastructure network is no longer the defining competitive factor. The development of a superior network used to be the central factor in attracting customers to a particular company. This is no longer the case as sophisticated marketing techniques, product/service provision and pricing models play a bigger role in influencing customer choice. 16. Traditional telecommunications organisations face very tough challenges to move back into business growth. As growth and revenues from traditional services stall and data and content struggle to compensate for declines, the industry faces a range of uncertainties The market for fixed and mobile telephone subscribers has reached saturation point (over 100% in some countries). For twenty years technical innovation from mobiles to the Internet have driven high growth. However in some countries mobile penetration exceeds 100%, with an a average of more than one device per head of population; and this will pose inevitable business challenges to maintain business growth over the next decade. 18. Traffic across mobile networks will increase a thousand fold in a decade. The driver for this phenomenal growth will be the the Internet of things. Whilst traffic growth between people will grow more slowly, intelligent perception and intelligent control will grow rapidly as more and more devices are connected to the Internet. Network connectivity and complexity will be a growing challenge. SOCIAL 19. Move from physical devices to wearable devices. Wearable technology, for example, from watches to embedded chips in clothing are likely to enhance health, convenience, productivity and safety and provide more useful information to individuals and organisations. 20. Social and business communications will integrate. The convergence trend will also manifest itself by bringing together business and social communications. This will reduce the need for multiple devices that are often required to ensure secure connection to business networks that differentiate private and business networks and devices. 21. LAN bandwidth will grow to accommodate voice, data and video. The triple play scenario with integration of audio, visual and data across national broadband networks will naturally extend into Local Area Networks (LANs). This will simplify the installation and implementation of new devices in the local home or business environment. 5 Telco 15 IBM Global Services Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 9/51

10 22. Working from home will require easy set up for end users. This new social trend drives the need to simplify technology for end users so that they are able to effortlessly set up devices at home without the need for complex and expensive physical installation support. 23. More flexible times of working and more flexible places to work from. The 9-5 culture is no longer valid for knowledge workers who require access to social and business technological facilities wherever they are travelling, in their own or a customer s office or at home. This will have significant impact on employees and companies requiring new approaches to support employee work life balance and re- appraisement of associated lifestyle changes. 24. Vast increase in daily ingest of information by individuals. The volume of information available to individuals will continue its unabated growth necessitating the availability of smart software information systems that can support sifting and prioritising data and valid information. This drives the development of big/open data solutions and significantly influences the competence profile of technical and marketing personnel. 25. Internet of things or internet everywhere with machine to machine communications will drive meteoric traffic increase with 50 Billion end devices worldwide by This startling prediction will have significant impact on infrastructure requirements and the associated investment required to build appropriate capacity. 26. By 2020 the internet of things will result in a machine to machine communication ratio to human interaction of 30/1. This reinforces the expectation that a new dynamic will drive an ever- increasing need for more traffic capacity across international telecommunications networks. 27. Portable services demand, any application on any device. The existing model whereby devices such as PC s incorporate software applications within the device will need to change to enable applications to be used by any device. User demands are for complete flexibility in the use of social or business applications from any location. This will continue the drive for more cloud services. 28. By 2016 video proportion of Internet traffic will reach 55%. This provides further evidence to support the notion that a vast and accelerating growth in data flow will occur. 29. Further demand for content blocking to protect minors. As video content is freely streamed around networks and is accessible from multiple devices the need to protect children from unsuitable material will increase. Security, in the form of protecting children from adult only content will become a significant requirement. 30. Video calling will become mainstream. Although technically available for some time it is predicted that voice combined with video images will become a regular method of communication over the next decade. 31. Banking services of developing countries will grow significantly as their economies grow deploying online services. Currently the developed world widely uses online banking services, which in Europe are expanding through the use of mobile applications. This is a trend that will extend to a much broader population as the wealth of individuals in developing countries increases. 32. Customers will demand cloud services from secure and reliable service providers. As the reliance upon cloud services develops so does the need for 100% availability and reliability. If the cloud is not accessible then the user will be unable to access their applications. This will lead to complete dependence and therefore the demand for secure and stable provision of service (this could be viewed as a significant opportunity for existing traditional telecommunication providers). Consolidation of new services requires the development of new IT and marketing skills within the telecom workforce. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 10/51

11 33. On demand broadcasting will release customers from scheduled viewing. The growing trend for television viewers to time shift viewing broadcast programmes, is fundamentally changing viewing habits. No longer will television programming restrict viewers to sit in front of a television at scheduled times; they will be able to view content at times to meet their personal schedules. 34. Focus on Talent Management of telecommunications staff will be required to foster innovation and provide necessary business skills. The ever- changing telecommunications industry competes for technology professionals and for staff with business acumen. The technical and business challenges facing the industry require development and recruitment of innovative personnel who can contribute to the future direction and success of their company. The acquisition of talent cannot be left to chance but must be at the forefront of the business strategy. 35. Avoid growing the impact of the digital divide. In a growing digital economy with the expansion of digital services (e.g. e- health, e- learning etc.), the divide between people who have access to online services and those who do not, is increasing. This is not only a material divide, influenced by infrastructure such as remote community access to high- speed broadband but also a knowledge gap between citizens that have ICT user skills and those who do not. The ICT industry and public authorities will be challenged to address these issues through infrastructure investment and education provision. TECHNOLOGICAL 36. Growth in digital and decline in PSTN. This is a unanimous conclusion of industry watchers. Since liberalisation of the telecommunications industry across Europe in the 1980 s the emphasis has shifted from the maintenance of a Public Switched Network to new digital data and mobile infrastructures supporting high- speed digital transmission of voice, data and video. 37. Explosion of OTT services. The technical capability to transmit video and TV broadcasts, unfettered over the Internet has engendered a new breed of Over the Top players and services. Although providing a best effort non- managed service, this trend is unlikely to abate and broadcasters will continue to leverage the advantages they derive from being unburdened by the need to maintain a network. 38. Telephony will move further towards integrated telecommunications encompassing voice, data, images and video. Voice communications were once the driver of the telecommunications industry now voice takes its place alongside data and video that have become the main drivers of transmission traffic. 39. Convergence will accelerate by development of the infrastructure to incorporate all voice, data, information and entertainment. If we are currently witnessing the convergence of telecommunications and the Internet, the next decade will see the convergence of broadcast, television and the Internet. 40. Voice networks will be further integrated and fully migrate to carrier grade IP networks. Although requiring investment there are obvious advantages to providing an integrated network capable of supporting data, video and voice. In consequence there will be an inevitable transfer of voice communications to voice over and voice over Internet IP technologies. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 11/51

12 41. Cloud services will expand dramatically and be people centric but device agnostic 6. The attraction of cloud services will grow as more and more devices are able to access services and applications. The trend will be towards the provision of any service to any device, based upon the needs of the person accessing the service. Innovations such as Terastream and net virtualization, cloud- based technologies, have the potential to reduce network complexity and improve operating efficiency. 42. Projector phones will enable shared information to be presented to large groups. Mobile phones are currently used to share information such as images on a one to one basis; in the future they will be able to project a large image on a screen to enable sharing with larger groups. 43. Mobile 3D is a likely innovation. As television pictures can now be transmitted to provide a three dimensional experience, it is anticipated that mobile telephone or communication devices will be able to provide a similar experience. 44. By G will be available offering up to 1 GB/per second speeds (as opposed to megabyte today). The telecommunication industry target is to make 5 th Generation technology available by This technology, currently under development, is a dramatic step forward in terms of speed and availability inside and outside of buildings. The transformation that will occur as a result of this major enhancement of mobile communications is yet to be fully understood. 45. Mobile computing application growth will accelerate. Increasing awareness and availability of 4G technologies will see increased acceptance and development of mobile applications. The outlook for 5G technologies will further enhance this trend. The above statements have been analysed to reveal the underlying skills required to fulfil the predictions contained within each statement. The connection with skills is that, skills requirements are not abstract items; they are driven by business imperatives and business change requirements. As previously mentioned, primary research into the skills requirements of technical professional staff, is not readily available, however it is apparent from the PEST analysis, extracted from multiple sources, that business change is inevitable and that this will drive changes to the skills profile of technical professionals within the industry. The outcome of the skills analysis has been incorporated within table 1 of chapter Summary of industry perspective trends In parallel, with desktop research, interviews were carried out with 32 telecommunication industry stakeholders relevant to the study field. The respondents represented companies and trade unions from across Europe, some having a worldwide market presence. Participants provided their insight and personal perspectives. Respondents were specifically asked about business trends and their responses have been consolidated into the summary that follows. Digitalisation was a common theme as respondents highlighted an inevitable move from copper to fibre optic IP based networks. Likewise the convergence of telephone, video, broadcasting and data communication within a single network, was raised by most. Common business drivers include a sharp price war between telecommunication providers and the growth in OTT players from Information Technology corporations. 6 Quote from Maribel Lopez, Forbes March 2012 Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 12/51

13 Innovative new applications include, e- pay, e- health, entertainment, the silver economy (older people), specialised TV channels and packaged services that are enhanced by the deployment of big data and cloud solutions. Services and applications once confined to Personal Computers are now increasingly available and demanded on smart phones. Business emphasis changes noted are encapsulated in the following sound bites: core business move from voice to data, from monopolism to competition and from telecommunication to innovation. Innovation is a popular concept across many industries and for telecommunications some see it as shift from innovative products to innovative services. Business lines are no longer separated but integrated in order to maximise service provision to offer and sell bundled package services, managed service offerings and digital consultancy. Social partners observed that market pressures are leading to lean organisations with resultant cost and headcount reduction pressures. This is accompanied by the trend towards use of online tools that blur the borders between work and home having an impact on work life management. There is a significant, and as yet, apparently unfulfilled need for employee training and development in work- life balance that would benefit individuals and their employers alike. 4. Skills Need Identification As previously highlighted, PEST analysis provided an overview of the strategic business challenges and potential direction of the telecommunications industry over the next few years. However, the objective of this report is to understand the future skills requirements of the workforce. Given that skill requirements are driven by business direction, analysis of business direction reveals an associated skills outlook. The outcome of this analysis is incorporated in table 1. Feedback from expert survey respondents also provides an invaluable contribution to understanding future skills requirements. This feedback has also been consolidated and added to table 1. It should be noted that telecommunications companies operate in a complex and fiercely competitive environment. Company origins have developed from disparate backgrounds and they have different core competences that are reflected by different skills profiles within each company. Furthermore telecommunications companies may focus upon their core capabilities and operate in a particular segment, such as public switched networks, but they will also operate in other market sectors either independently or within an alliance. For this reason the model for each company skills profile will vary considerably. In addition, skills needs do not remain static. Skills acquisition and growth is not typically a stepladder approach but can be more accurately described as attempting to scale upwards on a downward moving escalator. Industry observers commonly agree that telecommunications technology is moving towards and is aligning with Information Technology, leading to the logical conclusion that the work force skills set will be similarly aligned Skills identification methodology As highlighted above, two primary sources of information were utilised to identify skills requirements; 1) output from the PEST analysis and 2) structured consultation with experts from industry including, technology departments, social partners and human resource managers. Primary research providing empirical skills data for the skills outlook of the telecommunications Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 13/51

14 industry across Europe is extremely limited. However, some data is available from the UK telecommunications industry courtesy of Technology Insights produced by e- skills UK. From this report we can observe changes in telecommunications sector employment numbers over a ten- year period. Using SOC codes 8 to identify Telecommunications engineers they demonstrate a fall in quantity of 16% over this period and for Line repairers and cable workers a fall of 64%. This data supports the overview of a changing industry, resulting in changing requirements for job roles, leading to a change of skill requirements. Being one of the few papers that identify future telecommunications skills requirements and although it addresses only the UK, its conclusions provide valuable input for consideration. In summary the Technology Insights report notes that that the nature of skills will continue to change and by taking input from over 4,700 employers (IT and Telecommunications) goes on to identify five cross cutting skill related themes for the future. Security Skills Business Skills Technology Specific skills Interpersonal skills Analytical and research skills The veracity of these skills clusters, originally related to the e- skills UK Technology Insights 2012 primary report was tested against the outcome of the skills extracted from the PEST analysis. The outcome was that matching of the UK based categories and the broader European identified skills proved to be fit for purpose. In consequence, these cross cutting themes have been adopted, within this report, to provide a common structure of skills identified from both the PEST analysis and also the expert interviews. This structure can be found in table 1, chapter Given the broadly acknowledged direction of skills requirements moving from a hardware environment to a software environment, the report does not need to rely entirely on research as the Information Technology Industry provides a valuable insight into the nature of technical skills needs from the recently published European e- Competence Framework (e- CF) version 3.0. The information used to build e- CF 3.0 was therefore used, as a further source of information, and enhances table 1. During industry consultations, interviews with experts were structured into common trends. Respondents were questioned on their views about the main business and technical trends that they perceived from current business experience and day- to- day work. These observations were grouped by common topics and are provided in an overview that follows. As a footnote it should be recognised that the structure and pace of change experienced by different companies across different geographies is variable and therefore the feedback is not universally applicable. For example, the speed of conversion from copper to fibre and the penetration of mobile provision differ considerable between nations such as Sweden, Portugal, Germany and France Main skills gaps and challenges Below is an overview of the research findings; they have been further detailed within the following sub chapter Produced by and original copyright of e- skills UK Sector Skills Council Ltd The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is a common classification of occupational information for the United Kingdom. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 14/51

15 FROM DESKTOP Security skills: Security and data protection have a clear and immediate impact on skills requirements of telecommunications professionals. This is a pervasive issue that from a skills perspective must be addressed by professionals in many different job roles. Cloud computing services raise the issue of data security to new levels. Users need to be confident that their information assets are safe and this requires the deployment of telecommunication professionals who have the competence to give this protection. Security requires the establishment of rigorous processes and procedures that are constantly monitored and updated and relentlessly applied. Examples of these skills include, information security strategy development and information security management. Business Skills: Core business skills are increasingly required by ICT professionals and are commonly referred to, in Europe, as a key component for dual thinkers who must combine their technical skills with business acumen, also sometimes labelled as hybrid skills. Lifecycle product development and the solution of real business issues are of increasing importance. Technical skills need to be accompanied by sound business acumen and the ability to bring technical solutions to business problems. Examples of these skills include, customer needs identification, sales management, business plan development and information system / business strategy alignment. Technology specific skills: High- level technology skills and knowledge are a core requirement of telecommunications professionals. The convergence of voice, data and video demands the skills to install, manage and configure networks and connected devices. Architecture and infrastructure changes, growth in cloud computing and expanding mobile applications all require appropriate technological skills. Technology is at the heart of the telecommunications industry and ICT professional staff needing core technology capability across a broad spectrum of job roles. Examples of these skills include application development, technology trend monitoring and system architecture design. Interpersonal skills: As the complexity of telecommunication infrastructure and devices grows so does the need to communicate simply and clearly with customers and suppliers to avoid costly misunderstandings. Despite the importance of interpersonal skills being recognised for many years, employers continue to seek and develop these vital skills to enhance the overall capability of the workforce. Examples of these skills include relationship management and personnel development. Analytical and research skills: Analysis is a crucial skill required to link business solutions with appropriate technology. It is necessary to utilise analytical skills to interpret operational data and provide valid management information. Big data drives the need for telecommunication professionals who can build solid data architecture structures. Examples of these skills include information and knowledge management and risk management. FROM INTERVIEWS Management and Leadership is a reoccurring theme, despite the predominance of technology skills within the telecommunications industry sector. One company stated that they need Great Technical Leaders others referred to the social capacity to lead and manage innovative teams in flatter project structures, others to lean Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 15/51

16 management. This combination of technical capability and leadership qualities is sometimes referred to as e- leadership. Customer needs Identification; again not a predominantly technical skill, was raised as a requirement by many respondents. Customer insight, in close relationship to product/ services psychology, is seen as an important attribute at both manager and technical expert level in a services industry operating in a competitive environment. Copper to Fibre skills is an exclusive requirement of the telecommunications sector that is moving from an analogue past to a digital future. However, there is also a need to retain copper skills as networks evolve at different speeds and technicians are called upon to operate in a copper and also a fibre optic environment. Multi- skilled technicians are a direct follow on, from the previous highlight, with a technical and operational requirement for personnel to be able to service many diverse technologies to end- customers in business and private environment. One respondent noted that the luxury of different technical teams performing different tasks was no longer affordable; technicians need to be capable of completing installation or maintenance tasks from end to end. Technical know- how was, not surprisingly, highly important with a continuous challenge to maintain the currency of knowledge and skills within the technical workforce. Behavioural and attitudinal skills including appropriate behaviour against the customer are also highly prized in an industry providing customer service to industry and the general public. Relationship management, project management and team working are important in an environment where management structures are being de- layered. Hybrid skills were often mentioned. Although respondents and research outcomes identify individual skills, the workplace requirement is for individuals with multiple skills, for example sales with technical knowledge or management with customer relationship capability. The requirement for cross- disciplinary skills is a growing requirement in both telecommunication and IT sectors. Technology appreciation was raised by some respondents; they pointed out that to design and implement new services it is necessary to have a comprehensive understanding of new technological capabilities. In one sense this is a specific example of hybrid skills bringing together business analysis and technology skills. Innovation across all business units and job functions was another important requirement expressed by respondents. Although not easily defined, innovation and creativity are seen as essential skills in a competitive and rapidly changing technological environment. The above reflects general trends in answers received, however, it should be noted that the skills perceived as critical are variable and therefore the feedback is not universally applicable. For example, the varying speed of conversion from copper to fibre and the penetration of mobile provision lead to different skills needs across different organisations Detailed view of skills needs Having described the separate sources from which skills information has been collected, the following chart provides a consolidated overview of the critical skills required within the telecommunications industry of the future. Filling the ICT skills gap in the Telecommunications sector of the future (FITS): STUDY REPORT Page 16/51