Skills shortage in IT leads to rise in pay and jobs despite slowdown
Digg
del.icio.us
Facebook
Reddit
Google
Stumble Upon
Fark
Newsvine
YahooBuzz
Bebo
Twitter
Independent Minds
Despite the economic downturn, IT departments still need more staff, and salaries for mid-level technicians are rising as the perennial skills shortage continues to bite.
Nearly half (49 per cent) of the IT directors surveyed by ReThink Recruitment say they will be increasing employee numbers over the coming 12 months, and just 13 per cent anticipate having to lose staff. More than two-thirds (69 per cent) are also looking to either maintain or increase the number of contractors they employ.
IT departments are not only recruiting more staff, but are offering better wages. Some 55 per cent of IT directors expect permanent salaries to rise in the next year, and 22 per cent predict contractors' rates will also go up.
The problem is that there are not enough professional skills to go around. Despite the shortages and the rising wages, the number of people coming into the IT industry continues to decline – the number of applicants for technology degrees is down by 48 per cent since 2001. Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of IT directors are concerned about attracting sufficiently high calibre candidates, and more than four-fifths (81 per cent) are worried about retaining existing staff, according to the survey.
Michael Bennett, director of ReThink Recruitment, said: "During the last downturn, we had reports of rates for contractors being slashed by major banks, but more than four times as many IT directors think rates will rise than fall, which shows that skills shortages are still very much an issue."
The issue is at its most pronounced at the mid-level. Pay rises for support and technical staff are the highest in the sector, jumping 13 per cent in the last year, according to Income Data Services (IDS). Network and systems engineers are also in demand and salaries are up 9.5 per cent on average.
Ken Mulkearn, from IDS, said: "The sizeable pay increases we are seeing in mid-level IT support and technical roles is being driven largely by acute skills shortages. As the UK IT sector continues to specialise increasingly in more high-end technical work, and more entry-level jobs are outsourced overseas, there are fewer opportunities for graduates and others with less experience to get a foot on the first rung of the career ladder."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP logged and may be used to prevent further submission. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by the Independent Minds Terms of Service.
- Print Article
- Email Article
-
Click here for copyright permissions
Copyright 2009 Independent News and Media Limited
Comments
If you start raising your wages and improving working conditions, and continue to do so, you'll solve your ?shortage? and will have people lining up around the block to work for you even if you need to have huge piles of steaming manure hand-scooped on a blazing summer afternoon.
Re: Shortage due to retirees: With the majority of retirement accounts down about 50% or more, people entering retirement age are being forced to work well into their sunset years. So, you won?t be getting a worker shortage anytime soon due to retirees exiting the workforce.
Okay, fine. Some specialized jobs require training and/or certification, again, raise your wages and improve benefits! You?ll incentivize people to self-fund their education so that they can enter the industry in a work-ready state. The attractive wages, working conditions and career prospects of technology during the 1980?s and 1990?s was a prime example of people?s willingness to fund their own education.