The number of job vacancies for permanent IT
professionals has soared over the past three months, as employers
seek staff with the high-end technical and management skills needed
to manage outsourcing contracts.
The latest Computer Weekly/SSL salary survey shows that
the jobs market is booming, following a 5% growth in the number of
advertised positions over the past six months to 122,987 - the
highest level for five years.
The
upturn has also been driven by organisations investing in IT
systems to improve efficiency and gain competitive advantage
over rivals, following several years of stagnant IT spending.
"There is a lot of corporate activity. A lot of corporations are
making money. We are over the horrible post-Y2K bust, and
corporations are investing a lot of money in IT," said
Jon Butterfield, managing director at ReThink
Recruitment.
The SSL research shows demand for management positions rose by
nearly 20% over the three months to April, with strong rises in the
number of vacancies for system development managers, operations
managers and communications managers.
Project managers with SAP skills remain highly sought-after,
following an 18% rise in the number of vacancies from the first
quarter of the year. This is up by nearly 50% on the same period
last year.
Competition from employers for experienced SAP professionals has
pushed up salaries for experienced project managers by 16%, well
above average IT salary increases of 3.1%.
Demand for IT professionals with Prince2 project management
skills has also risen sharply, up 40% compared with a year ago.
This has been driven by rising demand from the public sector.
"There is a shortage of skills in the market generally," said
Paul Smith, managing director for outsourcing at
recruitment firm Harvey Nash.
"Companies are looking to lock down their senior people with
contracts and benefits. The critical hires are the project
managers, the programme managers, and the technical
architects."
The upturn has been driven by growing demand for skilled IT
staff from software houses and the financial sector, which together
accounted for 78% of the advertised permanent jobs.
Permanent recruitment in the public sector also rose by 11% over
the past two quarters, following nine months of stagnation.
Recruitment agencies have
warned of possible skills shortages if demand continues.
"I think we are on the edge of a skills shortage. There are
areas where there are already shortages, and its going to get more
intense," said Butterfield
Read past salary
surveys >>
Average IT salaries on the rise >>
MP warns on skills gap >>
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