IT recruitment poised for long-term growth

There are early signs of recovery in financial services and employers are planning to hire, says research

Over a quarter of businesses are intending to hire IT staff in the next two quarters of 2009

Despite the recessionary slowdown, research claims the UK IT recruitment market is showing "several" signs for long-term growth.

The white paper published by online recruitment specialist The IT Job Board says that the second quarter of 2009 will show negative growth in employment for the sector, but there will be a significant shortage of IT personnel in the long run.

The firm reported a decline in jobs by 57 per cent on its web site year on year in May, but points to separate research from pre-employment firm Powercheck, which suggests that hiring of IT contractors in the financial services sector doubled between April and May.

According to the white paper, IT professionals will find the greatest demand for work in London (36.2 per cent of jobs advertised), followed by the South East (21.5 per cent) and the South West (11 per cent).

Candidate research patterns detected by the recruitment firm suggest that 72 per cent of jobseekers in IT are spending more time researching industry trends, while 53 per cent are increasingly using online networking to increase their chances of getting a job.

The IT Job Board also polled businesses to find out whether they intended to hire in the third and fourth quarters of 2009. In response, 34.3 per cent said they will, 27.5 per cent said they might, and 51 per cent advised that recruitment would remain on a par with 2008.

Demand for permanent roles has also seen a slight rise. In April 2008, such roles accounted for 79 per cent of the jobs advertised by the firm, with the figure rising to 79.6 per cent a year later. Conversely, contract jobs now represent 20.4 per cent of all vacancies.

“It is important for clients to continue to improve their employer brand, in order to attract the right industry talent. In addition, organisations need to actively consider how they will mitigate the risk of a longer term skills gap, to ensure they remain competitive within their market,” said Teresa Sperti, head of international marketing at The IT Job Board.