By Nick Heath, 11 February 2008 15:01
NEWS
The IT sector is suffering its worst shortage of skills for a decade, according to new figures.
Perceived shortages in the industry jumped from 4.2 per cent last year to 6.8 per cent this year, the national survey of IT salaries and employment trends found.
Just under 40 per cent of respondents indicated recruitment and retention issues, a significant increase on the 29 per cent reported last year.
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The report warns employers to budget for increased training, with 73 per cent of those who said there was a need for new skills planning to get hold of them by re-skilling and training existing staff.
It predicts that those workers with business analysis, network support, .NET Oracle, SAP, VMware, web development and project management skills will be in high demand over the next two years.
Salary growth in the sector remains stable, with respondents reporting an average wage increase of 3.7 per cent.
The number of performance related bonuses are on the increase, up from six to 44 per cent, with the value of those bonuses rising from 7.5 per cent to 8.3 per cent.
The annual poll of 244 organisations, which provides salary and employment details for 5,493 IT staff, was undertaken by the National Computing Centre.
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. Allan
What it skills shortage.
I have applied for 30+ IT vacancies since October 2007 and have not been offerd 1 interview.
2. Roger Huffadine
I'm off to get a haircut - 40+ years experience of IT & Communications - fit & healthy, still passing for 40 - once earning significant bundles in the 6 figure salary bracket - now at 60 completely useless [apparently].
What skills shortage? - more likely younger employers terrified of having someone really experienced around ;)
3. Joel
That is true, I have applied so many time, not even a single reply.
4. Karen Challinor
ageism - don't bother applying if you are over 40
specificism - don't bother applying unless you are an exact match for the required skills, too many is as bad as too few
inverse ageism - don't bother applying unless you have 5+ years real world
experience
salaryism - don't bother applying if you want a salary you can support your family on
offshoreism - don't bother applying as we are going to outsource the department in six months
giveupism - don't bother applying <insert reason of choice here>
5. Richard
Perhaps HR "experts" are reading the wrong Bebo profiles?
6. Matt H
I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem.... I've applied for jobs on a lower salary, I've been honest in phone interviews, I've even tried stretching the truth all to no avail. I'm beginning to think that Local Government has tainted me into an unemployable 31 year old with 14 years real world experience! I might just bail out on IT and try something different!
7. anonymous
I feel that employers/agencys are trying to find candidates with specific software/application experence and passing over potential candidates with real world experence and proven records for getting IT to work, what ever the latest trends. I've seen advert for experts in software/systems that have just released....crazy.
8. Radical Meldrew
Skills shortages are inevitable ever since recruitment moved into the smart money league. Investment in staff training has all but ceased to exist and the emphasis has changed to buying in ready made experts who allegedly can hit the ground with their feet running. Recruitment 'specialists' have manipulated this situation by promising employers a fast-fix solution from a pool of available experts which completely removes all the responsibilities and problems usually attached to recruitment and staffing issues.
The reality is that these ‘specialists’ usually have no real understanding of the requirement other than finding someone with some of the skill-sets listed on their CV. As the number of eligible candidates dwindles, I have even known the ‘specialist’ to con someone on their books to apply for a position either to fulfil a client obligation or hoping the candidate will blag their way into the post even though they are not ideally suited. This has happened to me in the past and I was far from impressed at the complete waste of everyone’s time. The solution is to nurture home-grown talent in the hope that they will respect the employer for their long term staff commitments and pay back this recognition with loyalty to the company.
Remember: when it comes to recruitment – IT rock-gods might talk the talk but they rarely deliver all that they promise. Successful project or not, assisted by their tour manager (recruitment specialist), they nearly always move on to a new venue in their pursuit of new found fame and fortune.
9. Mike Ricard
What shortage - I've applied for loads of jobs and most of the time the recruitment consultants cannot even be bothered to get back to you.
If you are over 40, it seems a waste of time applying even if your skills are an exact match.
Public sector seems more ageist than private or are they just scared of real life experience and a willingness to get the job completed on time and within budget.