As recruitment stalls across all sectors, top-quality IT professionals are coming under pressure to prove their worth to companies hiking salaries to attract and retain them, say experts.

Just as organisations will not compromise their spending on the crucial systems on which they depend, high-calibre technology professionals are too integral to business survival for employers to risk losing them.

There will be more pressure on IT staff to demonstrate a variety of the most sought-after and up-to-date skills, according to Matthew Poyiadgi, a vice president at trade association CompTIA.

“I think we will see IT workers becoming more skilled in more areas because employees know that those who have several strings to their bow will have an edge over their peers when it comes to the crunch,” he said.

“Top-quality contractors will always find work, but there will now be increased pressure for them to demonstrate how good they are through recognised, independent qualifications. Contractors tend to be cut before permanent staff and those not keeping up with the latest demands for skills could find themselves out in the cold.

“I think we will see considerable growth in IT support services because businesses can ill afford a serious technology fault. Downtime that costs money during testing economic times can break a company before it has time to act.”

David Evans, head of government relations at the British Computer Society expects a continuing premium for the highest-level skills. “We are likely to see continued acceleration of the restructuring of the industry towards higher-level competencies. That is good news for the industry as a whole, but a threat to those unable to demonstrate they can operate at that high level,” he said.

While lower salaries are on offer for entry-level roles, employers will want to make the most of existing employees and recruit experienced staff who do not require training investment and who can cope with the critical nature of the work.

According to a survey by IT recruitment group ReThink Recruitment, 49 per cent of UK IT directors expect to increase permanent staff numbers over the next year and 55 per cent expect salaries to rise.

“Some 30 per cent of people who have resigned to take up other roles with new companies have been offered a revised package to remain with their current employer,” said Jon Butterfield, managing director at ReThink.

“Of that 30 per cent, 15 per cent have accepted and the increase offered has exceeded five per cent of their original salary.

“I believe the trend for contractors is sustainable in the short term despite the credit crunch. However, there are some sectors where contractor rates have stabilised and in some cases rates have fallen,” he said.

“The majority of projects we are working on are key to improving the performance of the companies we work with. But it depends how much longer the credit environment continues. It would be naive to think that the IT sector will not be affected at some point if the crunch runs into the longer term.”

Margaret Sambell, director of strategy at e-Skills UK, the sector skills council, said: “A typical effect for IT in times of economic constraint is that firms delay non-critical projects and this sort of response could affect workload in the short term. But the extent to which IT is at the heart of companies today means that the effect on the workforce may be less than it might have been some years ago.”

Carrie Hartnell, manager of transformational business at IT trade association Intellect, was also upbeat: “The credit crunch will certainly bring some changes and I do not believe the repercussions have even begun to be seen. However, businesses are smarter these days and we have seen reports where companies such as HSBC have praised their technology system for reducing the impact of the credit crunch,” she said.

“I also believe that if the industry continues to manage to survive this period without too many scars, the impact on the industry will be hugely positive and we may see a renewed interest in graduates in the industry and related subjects.”

Overseas prospects for IT professionals

Across Europe, about 13 per cent of candidates took up roles outside of their home country in 2007/2008, according to a study of the job moves of 13,269 executives by Experteer. It also revealed that:

• Executives from finance, professional services and IT sectors were most likely to relocate.
  

• The UK is suffering an eight per cent imbalance between incoming and outgoing professionals, as the economic downturn drives senior executives overseas.
  

• France is losing 14 per cent more senior executives than it is gaining and Germany is in a similar position with a 12 per cent imbalance.
  

• Switzerland has emerged as the most attractive country for executive talent, with a net inflow of 42 per cent.
  

• “It is clear that the credit crunch has hit the UK hard, we have seen a significant increase in interest for overseas job placements,” said Torsten Muth, UK managing director at Experteer. “Talent is now far more mobile, and we see increasing numbers of footloose, highly talented individuals willing to relocate across Europe.”