Demand for new developer skills rises with social media popularity

Skills include real-time Java, Flash development and knowledge of open-source frameworks such as jQuery

Skilled Java developers can still command high rates

The increase in popularity of social media has increased demand for web developers with specific skills, according to the the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo).

Web developers with real-time Java and Flash development skills are in particularly high demand, as are those with knowledge of open-source frameworks such as jQuery.

Kirkland at JMK Recruitment said that the emphasis is now much more firmly on interactivity rather than plain information.

This is despite the fact that web developers are currently paid 30 per cent less than they were 10 years ago, at between £40 and £45 a hour.

Wages peaked at about £60 per hour at the height of the dot-com era when developers with experience of Java were in high demand. When the supply of such programmers increased, wages were forced down.

However, experts with the requisite skills can still command good salaries, according to Gerald Morgan, managing director of IT recruitment company ReadyPeople.

“There are still very high rates offered for highly skilled Java developers, with PhD level maths,” he said.