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Industry experts gather to address skills gap challenges, strategies for expanding the talent pool

London – Discussions on how to attract more people into the technology sector workforce to address persistent shortages of workers and gaps in skills will be front and center when industry leaders come together at the 2019 CompTIA EMEA Member and Partner Conference next month in London.

Hundreds of top executives and thought leaders involved in selling technology solutions or training and teaching tech skills will gather for the annual conference presented by CompTIA, the leading trade association for the global technology industry. This year’s conference will be held on 7^th and 8^th October.

The conference agenda includes more than 30 sessions across two learning tracks – “The Business of Technology” and “Transforming Tech Talent.”

The sessions on Transforming Tech Talent are especially timely, given recent data on tech employment in the UK. Employers across the country posted job openings for an estimated 141,395 information technology (IT) positions in Q2 2019, according to CompTIA’s analysis of data from Burning Glass Technologies Labour Insights.

The education program gets underway on Monday, 7^th October, with a panel discussion on Emerging Tech Cybersecurity Smackdown: Perspectives from the Field. Speakers will share  their first-hand, front-line experiences with cybersecurity and emerging technologies.

Pathways to Success: Using Learning Pathways to Develop Internal Training Programmes will bring together executives from four organisations to discuss how and why they’ve used learning pathways to develop internal training programmes, set performance benchmarks and establish career progression expectations.

In the CompTIA Certification Partner Welcome session delegates will hear from CompTIA executives on the pro-active steps the association is taking to shift from a product-based focus to a full-fledged education organization.

Cybersecurity returns to the forefront in Plugging the Cyber Skills Gap. Representatives from the government and private sector will share information on efforts designed to increase diversity and the numbers of those working in the UK's booming cybersecurity sector.

Monday concludes with the CompTIA Certification Partner Update, including product and programme updates and the recent launch of the CompTIA Instructor Network; and the CompTIA EMEA Certification Partner Awards Reception.

Programming on Tuesday, 8^th October, opens with a state of the industry presentation by CompTIA President and CEO Todd Thibodeaux.

Baroness Karren Brady of Knightsbridge CBE will then deliver conference keynote remarks. Baroness Brady is among the highest profile and most respected business leaders in the United Kingdom. She has been recognized as a Business Woman of the Year, an Ultimate Entrepreneur and one of the 50 most inspirational people in the world.

Tuesday’s agenda also features the following sessions:

• Technical Guide to 2019 Certification and Content Updates, a discussion on how CompTIA certifications and learning content enrich training programmes.
• Bricks vs. Clicks!, a look at why the demand for more accessible and adaptable training is on the rise, and how organisations are responding.
• The UK’s Top Tech Towns, CompTIA’s unique examination of the best places for technology professionals to live and work, based on factors such as career opportunities, projected job growth and cost of living.
• Transforming Tech Talent Hot Topics Roundtables, free-flowing discussions on the challenges and hot topics that keep delegates up at night.

The  Quickfire Challenge will close out the conference. This lively, interactive session will have delegates break up into teams and compete in challenges that will spark their creative and innovative thinking.

To register for the CompTIA EMEA Member and Partner Conference, or for more information, visit https://www.comptia.org/emea/home.

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About CompTIA
The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) is a leading voice and advocate for the $5 trillion global information technology ecosystem; and the more than 50 million industry and tech professionals who design, implement, manage, and safeguard the technology that powers the world’s economy. Through education, training, certifications, advocacy, philanthropy, and market research, CompTIA is the hub for advancing the tech industry and its workforce. https://www.comptia.org/

Contact:
Steven Ostrowski
CompTIA
+1 (630) 678-8468
sostrowski@comptia.org­