Celebrity musician Will.i.am and the Prince’s Trust have joined up to encourage young unemployed people to learn IT skills.

The rapper also donated half a million pounds to fund the outreach campaign. An Ipsos MORI survey revealed that one in ten unemployed young people avoided using computer completely.

The promotion of IT skills comes as Industries suffer from a shortage of skilled IT staff, with IT skills in demand and the IT jobs market remaining buoyant in a time of stagnation.

Will.i.am said: "These workshops are an amazing way to engage disadvantaged youngsters who don't have this sort of access to technology and science otherwise.”

He added: “Through this new initiative, we will connect many more disadvantaged youngsters to the worlds of computing, and science and technology."

Cloud-IT skills shortage grows