The Big Society requires public and private organisations to work together if it is to stand any chance of becoming a success, according to global IT services provider HCL Technologies.

The Office for Budgetary Responsibility has predicted that as many as 330,000 jobs could be lost in the public sector, by 2015 as a result of the spending cuts. Back in October, the government insisted that it had planned to ‘facilitate a movement of jobs from the public sector to the private sector’, taking steps to ensure that the transition was a smooth one.

However, considerable doubt has been cast upon this plan after a recent survey of more than 500 companies in the private sector found that over half were unwilling to take on public sector workers. An additional 52 per cent believed that public sector workers were ill-equipped to work in a commercial setting. Furthermore, 75 per cent of these companies claimed that they couldn’t be sure that there would be enough jobs available to compensate for those lost in the public sector.

It seems that by setting out plans which will ‘presume’ that private (and voluntary groups, it should be noted) will run almost every kind of public service, the government is putting their trust, to a large extent in the private sector to deliver increased efficiency at a reduced cost to the taxpayer, with the outsourcing community set to benefit more than most as a result. However, many are now speculation on how will this work in practical terms.

Bindi Bhullar, director of global IT services provider HCL Technologies, commented: “A lot of IT service providers and their customers are confused by what the Big Society actually stands for and what real difference it is going to make to local business. We rarely hear it being explained in easily digestible language, which encourages those who don't want to understand it to resort to ridicule. Over the years, everyone has got so used to these flagship policy ideas being nothing more than political rhetoric.ˇ

“What we need above all is for the government to take a more active role in equipping public sector workers to manage existing and future IT projects. By training them in a broader set of skills, public sector workers will be more prepared for the transition into the private sector, and more suitable for the jobs that may exist there.

“One thing’s certain - if we are to look back in the years to come and see the Big Society initiative as a big success, then it will be important to have everyone - in both the public and private sector working together.ˇ