Demand for quality IT recruits outstripping supply, employers claim

Demand for IT workers has increased for the sixth consecutive quarter, but employers are finding it hard to fill roles

Demand for IT professionals has now increased for six consecutive quarters, according to specialist IT recruitment web sites CWJobs.co.uk and JobAdsWatch.co.uk.

Despite the recession, the IT job market continued to perform well in 2010, with an eight per cent increase in the second quarter, followed by eight per cent again in the third, and five per cent in the final quarter. However, job levels are still only half of levels seen in 2007 and 2008, before the economic downturn hit.

Demand for certain skills increased in the second half of 2010, including project management process Agile and virtualisation infrastructure platform VMware. Other additions included development tool Scrum, used with Agile, and Google's mobile device operating system, Android.

Richard Nott, web site director at CWJobs, said: "The industry is evolving, particularly where emerging skills such as Agile Scrum are increasing in demand. As IT professionals continue to adapt their skills and experience to this ever-changing environment, they will remain in a strong position as 2011 brings them a new set of challenges."

However, employers are finding it harder than ever to fill available roles with appropriately skilled people. Speaking at a Computing roundtable event, Dr James Lyne, head of technology and strategy at security firm Sophos, said: "It has never been as difficult to hire people as it is today."

Lyne cited the lack of a clear career path through the industry as a contributory factor.

Also at the event, Kevin Streater, executive director, IT and telecoms at the Open University, said: "Over the last decade we've seen a huge decline in the number of people taking IT-related A-levels and degrees. The whole pipeline has broken down."