A-level results are out - rising to another record high of 97.6% while an unprecedented 27% of entries achieved an A.

I don’t want to burst the celebratory bubble but…

Notwithstanding how indicative the rise in A-marks is of the quality of the graduating classes or how students will be able to afford university if indeed they get a place, what worries IT firms is the low marks received on technology related subjects.

Compared to 2009, there was a 2.4% drop in the number of pupils taking IT related A-levels. The UK is not producing the new IT talent for which the industry is so thirsty.

If we compare the figures to five years ago the decrease is even more significant, with the number of students falling by a fourth. This year 16,251 gained computing and ICT A-levels, compared with 21,450 students in 2005.

What is going on with Generation Y in the UK? What is certain is that with growth forecast for the IT sector set at four times the average for the UK, the industry is likely to import talent in the not so distant future if it is to meet its needs.

The UK may have led the Industrial Revolution but it sure isn’t leading very much right now…

Companies like IBM are trying to attract young people by offering an alternative for school leavers or those whose marks would not suffice for a university education.

The IBM apprenticeship scheme, developed in collaboration with sector skills council E-Skills UK, offers 20 apprenticeships for students looking to go straight into work rather than go to university.

Twenty is better than nothing but it is still unlikely that the number will make a dent in the 500,000 new IT jobs that will be required over the next five years.

The increasing need for innovation in IT, generally speaking, is not likely to slow down. Intel has paid a hefty close to $8bn price tag for McAfee in a bid to improve its data security development capabilities. It’s a big bet Intel is placing and analysts don’t quite understand the reasons behind the merger. But then again it wouldn’t be the first time an M&A deal goes through that does not result in the ‘foreseen’ synergies.

In the meantime, we had better get better at jumping on the band wagon as the world continues to go round not waiting for anyone.