Smaller firms need better IT training

SMALL firms must plan their IT recruitment and staff development far better if they are to avoid being hit by skills shortages, according to industry skills body e-Skills UK.

Data published in the latest quarterly e-Skills Bulletin suggests that among small and ‘micro’ businesses, very few organisations have any IT staffing policies in place.

There is a very significant problem among micro businesses, many of which are not following basic business practices, says Peter Hounsome, research analyst at e-Skills.

‘These companies are only doing ad hoc recruitment and training activity. Often, there’s no budget for progressing people’s development,’ he said.

He adds there are indications that the situation is beginning to have an impact on the ability of small firms to find people with the right IT skills.

In its latest ICT Impact Survey, conducted in the first quarter of 2005, e-Skills found that two per cent of companies were reporting skills gaps.

‘While on the surface that doesn't sound too dramatic, if you consider there are more than two million business in the UK, we’re saying about 40,000 companies have a problem recruiting IT staff, which is a significant number,’ said Hounsome.

Despite the warning for small firms, e-Skills predicts that the general outlook for the IT sector looks rosy. ‘Recruitment is up and it looks like the market is in a very healthy position at the moment,’ said Hounsome.

‘We have seen continued growth from most sources of labour market data, and there is a general upward trend.’

The e-Skills Bulletin also singled out a handful of specific skills that have shown continuous growth in demand, including Linux, Novell, Microsoft Office, Lotus, Sybase and voice over IP.