HP is launching an education programme to teaching IT skills to 20,000 UK students. The HP Institute will target college and university-level students. It will focus on job skills necessary for work as an IT professional, and feature hands-on labs, test preparation services and training on cloud platforms. The main aim of the course is to teach students to administrate systems for small and medium sized businesses, helping to close the gap in supply and demand of qualified IT administrators.

HP UK and Ireland vice president and managing director Nick Wilson said: "Customer and channel partners tell us that they are experiencing a growing shortage of job-ready IT professionals with the right skills to grow and innovate within our businesses. HP is starting the Institute programme to address this need. We are working with education to continuously enhance the talent pool of graduates with the precise skills and experience businesses need most to help them succeed today and in the future."