Big companies are laying off IT staff in a slow job market but
small firms still can't find the skills they need.
Small companies are struggling to fill IT vacancies despite the
downturn in the rest of the IT jobs market, amid emerging signs
that the UK is developing a two-speed IT economy.
Firms employing fewer than 100 people are reporting significant
shortages of job applicants with systems support and development
skills, even as large firms are cutting their IT workforces.
The discrepancy is revealed in a survey of more than 800 firms by
the national training organisation E-Skills UK, which has been
re-analysed for Computer Weekly to show the impact of company size
on the jobs market.
Its findings highlight a significant gap in training provision for
IT workers to provide the all-round skills that smaller companies
need.
The E-Skills UK data, taken from a poll in February as the current
slowdown peaked, showed that 17% of small firms were short of
systems support and administration staff, compared with about a 6%
shortfall in businesses employing 500 or more. The same figures
show that more small businesses planned to increase their IT
staffing than large companies and fewer than 1% of small companies
planned to reduce IT headcount, compared to 11% of large firms.
The findings point to a gap in training, with colleges,
universities and private sector training companies failing to turn
out IT professionals with the all-round skills small companies
need.
The Federation of Small Businesses described education and training
provision for IT staff for small businesses as variable. "Small
businesses are reliant on higher and further education to provide
people for the workforce. We would like to see local collages
liaise with business communities, but the provision is patchy," it
said.
Experts believe that small firms need to be offered bite-sized
training so that staff can learn work-related IT skills without
completing full IT qualifications.
Andrew Harvey-Price, researcher at E-Skills UK, said provision for
small businesses should be improved. "What they probably need is
simple chunks of learning. A complete IT qualification is not what
they need."
Steve Gilroy, vice-president of IT employers' training association,
Comptia, said education and training is not geared to the needs of
small firms. "A small business does not need a network
administrator, and a helpdesk person, they need a jack-of-all
trades," he said.
E-Skills UK's findings are supported by data shortly to be released
by Comptia and IDC, and the Computer Weekly/SSP jobs survey, which
reveals that demand for IT support skills remains strong despite
the general downturn.