The IT industry could be held back by a curriculum that doesn't meet business needs, one expert has said, which could see a decrease in opportunities for IT contractors.

Richard Nott, director of CWJobs.co.uk, has said that the industry needs to increase its intake of young people by providing courses relevant to what businesses want.

"There is a big piece of work to do for the government, for business and for everyone around this, because it will become in time a major problem that will potentially hold UK companies and the UK economy back," he said.

This follows a speech at a Westminster eForum on IT skills, where Simon Humphreys, coordinator at the BCS Academy of Computing, said that ICT courses are currently not "fit for purpose".

He said that a lot of teachers are bored with the curriculum but are not able to improve it themselves as they don't have the right skills.