Skills crisis begins to hit profits

Almost a third of companies have a seen a rise in operational costs because their IT departments don't have sufficient skills or staff.

Orders are being lost and product releases delayed because of the IT skills gap, according to research by training agency e-skills NTO.

Some 43 per cent of businesses believe their IT teams are not 100 per cent proficient and that technical skills are mainly to blame, the survey revealed.

"Of course there are business effects, but these tend to be swept under the carpet," said John Eary, head of the NCC Skills Source Consultancy. "Companies do seem to try and muddle through rather than obtain or develop skills and there is a cost as a result - for example, delays to projects and poor support."

Anne Cantelo, a project director at e-skills NTO, believes that businesses are slow to address the problem.

"Companies have stuck their heads in the sand, hoping the problem would go away, or have thought that they could buy their way out of the problem by offering more attractive salaries," she said.

"I think we are now in a crisis. I know we have been accused of sensationalising the issue, but it has to be sensationalised. Employers have got to do something about it," she added.

Cantelo's call to arms coincides with the launch of the e-skills Employers' Charter. Backed by the NTO, it commits companies to action aimed at co-ordinating employers and industry groups in their efforts to beat the skills crisis. It includes:

• Looking at standard job titles across the industry
• Promoting work experience
• Reviewing the way adverts are worded and placed.

Microsoft, Logica, EDS and IBM have already pledged their support for the Charter, which is also intended to address the decreasing numbers of women working in IT.