There have been several responses to my letter (Let experience speak for itself, letters.computing.co.uk).

There is confusion about the point I was trying to make. I said there is no lack of IT skills but there is a lack of the type of complex IT skills which the business world needs.

People with good PC skills should be encouraged to see them as a means of a getting their foot in the door, because having outstanding PC skills is an indication of their potential to learn the far more advanced skills used in business computing.

It used to take a long time for anyone to learn even the most basic computer skills because everything was done at machine-code level. Thanks to PCs, Microsoft and the web, the gap is smaller because there is no longer any mystery about computer technology, merely different levels of complexity.

I cannot defend the IT manager’s jibe but I like to think that if people such as yourselves became IT managers you could maybe redress the balance. I only became an IT manager myself after 20 years of being a techie in a variety of systems programming/technical infrastructure roles and another decade as an Oracle DBA before eventually being told that I should concentrate on management.

You will be pleased to know I no longer do that either, but I wish you the best of luck if you ever take up the challenge yourselves.

John McGhee