Employers are struggling to find developers
with.netskills, asdemand for skilled IT staffcontinues
to rise.
The latest Computer
Weekly/SSL salary survey,
which analyses web and press advertisements for IT professionals,
shows the job market to be at its most buoyant for six years.
It reveals an increase in all IT vacancies, with permanent
vacancies advertised in the last quarter up 11% to 131,517, and
contract vacancies up 18% to 33,006, on the same period last year.
Vacancies for .net developers have jumped 24%, compared with the
same period in 2006.
The Microsoft .net development environment is proving
particularly popular because it allows firms to rapidly produce
web-based software. Shortages of .net combined with shortages of
Java and C# have contributed to a 3% rise in permanent salaries
in three months, the report says.
IT directors told Computer Weekly that it is becoming harder to
find people with .net skills.
"We managed to get the skills we needed at the right price, we
just had to look a bit harder. We were slightly shocked at the
price of some .net people," said Toby Clarke, group IT director at
insurance firm Abbey Protection Group.
Steve Howells, director of programme management and technology
at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, said, "We had to get
four contract staff in because we had difficulties filling the
permanent jobs. We are hoping to overcome it by being a good place
to work - the market is definitely on the side of the
employees."
Recruiters said that in some cases they were having to look
abroad to find suitable IT professionals.
"Companies are spending money on IT, and we are having to get
much more creative in finding staff. Some companies are looking at
trying to entice people from places like Australia," said Michael
Bennett, director at Rethink Recruitment.
Aidan Anglin, director of IT recruitment at Spring Group, said,
"It is probably the deepest shortage we have seen for some period,
but I think supply will catch up with demand."
Some CIOs are getting around the problem by training staff
in-house, or by planning for shortages.
Ian Campbell, group CIO at
British Energy, said, "Companies need to anticipate shortages
and build a relationship with those who provide them."
Demand for .net is likely to increase with the launch of Windows
Server 2008 early next year - a move expected to prompt firms to
upgrade their infrastructure.