This one day annual conference held each October brings together the great and the good from data and directory publishing. This year’s programme included strategic and practitioner streams which delegates used to share best practice, learning, practical skills and to review competing software and technology platforms.

I was particularly interested in the opening keynote session – including David Hendon, senior Director at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, who was there to put the government’s case – on the future of digital publishing. All the panelists were clear on the importance and immediacy of the impact of digital publishing on the industry and while there was a lot of discussion around the role of government in procurement as well as the use of and source of information, I was particularly interested in the panellist and audience response to the skills and innovation required to fuel the success of this sector.

It was agreed that the UK has the technology – or semantic – lead, but there were questions about whether as an industry they know enough about research in university that has the potential to seed future product development.

Tim Weller, CEO and founder of Incisive Media identified the following weaknesses in the public and private sector: a lack of specific skills; a lack of understanding of economic contribution of the creative industries; and clear structural, cyclical and regulatory threats to advertising revenues.

He identified a lack of action on the issues, but it wasn’t all about tax competitiveness being in decline or tackling piracy (both of which featured). He advocated supporting the genius of the arts and creative sector, citing the absence of allocated new university places to the creative industries as an example of where more could be done.

When I asked the panel for more detail on the skills in need, they talked of getting “back to basics”, getting more people through ICT courses in college and into the industry, developing more knowledge based courses to get people into our sector with the right knowledge and skills, and going back to schools to get the right skills in the curriculum (finance was specifically mentioned).

They acknowledged that industry needs to spend time training their teams, but added that the right students will come through in due course, that we are going to get there and are in transition. However, they also felt the need to push hard for the future rather than argue for what is right in the present.

The overwhelming message I took away was the need for information technologists: those with high level ICT or technical skills, but with creative and critical ability to think around solutions and the consumer. It throws the spotlight on work across technical and creative departments in higher education and how they must work together to develop the vital skills of the future workforce.

Watch the session on the DPA website.