The latest E-skills UK survey of IT in the UK describes an industry
battening down the hatches to survive a long haul, and still riven
by stark regional divides. Bill Goodwin reports on the significant
findings
It may seem paradoxical, but amid the biggest slowdown in IT
recruitment for a decade, companies in some parts of the country
are struggling to fill vacancies for skilled IT staff.
Businesses in Wales, the South East and the West Midlands are
reporting long lead times when it comes to finding suitably
qualified staff. Rather than cutting back on IT staff, the latest
analysis of the UK's workforce shows that many companies are
planning to expand their IT departments.
The pattern varies from region to region, but on average, one-third
of companies say they will need to hire new people, and while 65%
plan to keep their workforce the same, only 6% are planning to cut
back staff.
Based on 700 interviews with IT employers conducted in February,
the review, by the public-private sector training partnership,
E-skills UK, provides a fascinating snapshot of the state of the IT
profession.
There are about 1,200,000 IT professionals currently employed
across the UK: 40% of them work for IT suppliers and service
companies, while the rest work in the IT departments of businesses
and public sector organisations.
The public sector, one of the few areas of the economy not having
to rein-in its IT spending, is still the largest employer of IT
staff, accounting for 25% of the total.
IT and telecoms firms employ about 17% of the workforce, with
manufacturing industries, sales and leisure and the financial
services industries the next most important.
Most IT workers not employed by suppliers, about 340,000, work in
business. Another 236,000 work in development; 100,000 in sales and
marketing, and 70,000 in strategy and planning roles.
Employment is still concentrated in London and the South East,
which together account for 33% of the workforce. The rest is spread
evenly around the country, though it tends to be less developed in
Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Despite a plethora of campaigns to encourage more women into IT,
the profession is still 67% male, and for the most part consists of
full time, permanent employees. Women do figure more prominently in
the regions, with Northern Ireland attracting 45% women workers,
and the North East 40%. The North East also had far more than the
national average part time and temporary IT workers.
Although the prognosis across the UK is for an expansion in demand
for IT staff, the picture varies dramatically from region to
region. Demand in the South West, the North East and Scotland will
grow at less than the national average, for example, and in London,
Northern Ireland and the West Midlands it will fall.
In regions of short supply, vacancies for software and systems
development professionals are among the most difficult to fill.
Operations managers and business analysts can also be difficult to
find in some parts of the country. Most businesses have identified
gaps in the skills and knowledge of their existing IT staff that
could be filled by better training. More than half of businesses in
the South East, Wales and Northern Ireland report skills
shortfalls, whereas fewer than 35% have similar concerns in
Yorkshire, Humberside and the North East.
Better IT platform skills top the wishlist of most employers,
followed by better interpersonal skills and knowledge of IT tools,
operating systems and database applications.
IT training shows strong regional variations. Wales, for instance,
enjoys the highest proportion of GCSE and A Level computer studies
passes, while the South West, Yorkshire & Humberside trail
behind the national average.
Further education colleges in the North East produce more students
with IT qualifications for the size of the working population than
any other region. The East Midlands produces the least.
Coverage by private sector training companies across the UK is, at
best, patchy. The highest concentrations are in London and the
South East, Bristol, Nottingham and the North West. The South West,
Wales, East Anglia, and the North West, on the other hand are
poorly served.
Employers, colleges and universities will need to work together to
ensure that courses are kept up to date, and reflect the changing
needs of employers, said Andrew Harvey-Price, researcher at
E-skills UK.