To achieve its charitable and educational objectives the ITC works with a range of partners across the charitable, educational and corporate sectors.

If you are interested in exploring the potential of a partnership with the ITC please email caroline@wcit.org.uk with a short summary of your proposal. We will then contact you to discuss this in more detail.

Information about some current and recent partnerships are given below:

Intellect / IT Industry Charity Ball

For many years Intellect has run an annual ball for the IT sector which has been one of the main social events of the IT Sector calendar. Since 2002 Intellect and the Information Technologists' Company (ITC) have joined forces to promote this event as a vehicle for raising funds for good causes.

To date over £200,000 has been raised for IT related projects with charities such at NCH, Barnardo's, the Treehouse Trust, the Starlight Foundation, theSite.org and the Ace Centre.

The venue for the 2008 ball will be the Marriott Grosvenor Square on 25 November 2008 - The theme is 'A Night at the Moulin Rouge'. Several companies have already signed up as sponsors. Tickets, priced at £195 plus VAT, will be available from Mrs Tina Compton at Intellect.

We have elected to give 50 per cent support to AbilityNet, which is a national charity helping disabled adults and children use computers and the internet by adapting and adjusting their technology. AbilityNet provides a consultancy service to businesses on how to code and set up software for accessible services for all users. There is a significant commercial upside and it can provide end user solutions whilst working directly with employers, individuals and schools.The other charity to benefit will be iT4Communities.

Full details of the arrangements for the Ball can be found on the Intellect website and by clicking here.

The Baring Foundation - IT Management for Arts Organisations

The Baring Foundation has for many years been one of the key supporters of arts organisations in the UK, and the Foundation was aware that many of these organisations found it difficult to manage their IT effectively. At the same time the ITC Arts Panel had worked effectively with a number of arts organisations on a one-to-one basis but was looking for ways to have a more strategic impact on the sector. The Baring Foundation and the ITC have now combined to run a three year "IT Management for Arts Organisations" programme, IT4Arts, with the members from our Arts Panel providing their expertise and the Baring Foundation providing some funding and hosting the four seminars held annually. The programme has been a significant success with participants ranging from national institutions such as the Royal Opera House to leading community arts organisations such as the Hackney Empire.

Microsoft / IBM / Computer Weekly - iT 4 Communities

Microsoft and IBM were early supporters of iT 4 Communities, the national IT volunteering programme developed and supported by theITC . Both companies use T 4 Communities as a channel for their own employee volunteering programmes and they also provided some initial sponsorship for the programme. iT 4 Communities has also had significant support from Computer Weekly, which has proved a very effective avenue for contacting potential IT volunteers.

Deloitte / Skills4Industry

Skills4Industry is an award winning business-led employment initiative led by Deloitte to support under-performing 16-18 year olds from disadvantaged communities,who demonstrate an above average aptitude for employment, and prevent them dropping out of education. To support this programme theITC organised a breakfast briefing to raise awareness of this initiative with our members, which has resulted in a number of commercial companies showing interest in participating in the scheme.

The Royal Corps of Signals

The Company has been affiliated to the Royal Corps of Signals since the early 1990s when Major General RFL (Bob) Cook, then Director General Command, Control, Communications and Information Systems (Army) and Signals Officer-in-Chief (Army) and Major General Archie Birtwistle, the Master of Signals met with Ric Foot (later Master), in his capacity as chairman of the Panels Steering Committee.

In his submission to the Court, Ric Foot drew attention to the role of the Royal Corps of Signals ‘to meet the requirements of the Army for Communications, Electronic Warfare, and Information Systems’ – and also to their motto of Certa Cito, freely translated as sure and speedy, that of the Company being Cito.

At that time the Royal School of Signals’ training establishment was at Harrogate, the mission statement of the school being ‘to train the officers and soldiers of the Royal Corps of Signals to meet their operational tasks’. It later moved to Blandford.

CITO, the march of the Information Technologists, was composed by Bob Hall, the Bandmaster of the Corps, and first performed by The Band of the Royal Corps at the Partners’ Dinner in May 1994.

In 1998, Court decided that the Panels Warden should be the liaison officer for the WCIT with the Commander of the Royal School of Signals and the Corps commenced support for the Company’s annual Charity Walk.  A series of annual seminars was inaugurated under the auspices of the Royal Signals Institution in March 2000.

Presentation of a medal to the IT Apprentice of the Year was instituted in 1995.  It is presented annually and is held for a year in a glass cabinet at Blandford.  The medal is awarded to the student who is judged to have performed best throughout the year on the Information Systems Foundation Course.

Recipients of the IT Apprentice of the Year Award

• 1995 - Signaller David James Mears
• 1996 - Apprentice Tradesman Regimental Sergeant Major Phillip Scott Gray
• 1997 - Apprentice Tradesman Squadron Sergeant Major Steven Robert Pritchard
• 1998 - no award made
• 1999 - Lance Corporal Mark William Bartrip
• 2000 - Lance Corporal Wayne Lill
• 2001 - Lance Corporal Gay Worthington
• 2002 - Sergeant Crawford Latimer Samuel (now a Freeman of the IT Company)
• 2003 - Staff Sergeant William Laurence Fagan
• 2004 - Sergeant Jason Faulkner
• 2005 - Staff Sergeant Steven Andrew Cooper

Today, the Company has extended its links with the  Corps to include both its Territorial Army and Army Cadet units in the London area. Visits to Blandford Camp are a regular feature each year by the Master and our Livery Company members.