Demand for IT directors is falling, according
toComputer
Weekly/SSLSurvey of Appointments Data and
Trends.
The quarterly survey of IT recruitment advertising on the web
and in the trade and national papers, showed a fall in advertised
IT director vacancies of 31% compared with the previous quarter,
from 287 to 198.
The survey results come after
Boots and
House of Fraser confirmed last month that they would be
scrapping the IT director role.
However, CIOs and recruitment specialists do not think the
figures represent a long-term decline in demand for IT
directors.
Lawrence Levy, managing director of recruitment firm Levy
Associates, said the figures reflected the fact that IT directors
are moving jobs less frequently. Rising investments in IT are
encouraging CIOs to stick around to see major projects through, he
said.
"There are a lot of projects going on, and so a lot of
accountability and responsibility for high-level people. Companies
are trying to retain their senior management while they are
delivering projects," said Levy.
"Demand is created when people leave jobs. There is a lot of IT
activity driven by new technology, and directors will not leave
while they have got a big project on."
For others, the figures illustrated a change in the way IT
directors are recruited, as more organisations seek candidates with
business experience.
Michael Bennett, director at Rethink Recruitment, said, "Most IT
directors are headhunted, rather than the posts being
advertised."
Aidan Anglin, managing director of recruitment firm Spring
Group, said some companies were looking outside of the IT
profession to fill vacancies, and this meant using headhunters.
"It is sometimes the case that non-IT people are taking the IT
director roles. A lot of the time high-level IT roles in
organisations are about strategy rather than practicality, so
employers can go to those who have business backgrounds, instead of
someone who has moved up the IT ranks," he said.
Philip Virgo, secretary general of the European Information
Society Group, said lower demand for IT directors could be due to
offshoring.
"People are moving things out of London to other parts of the
world to escape regulatory overheads. That begins at the top. The
IT director in Zurich or Singapore is handling things globally," he
said.
Denise Plumpton, director of information at the Highways Agency,
said that IT directors looking to change positions had no reason to
worry.
"Years ago you had to be a technical anorak, then it went in the
other direction, towards business. I think it is moving to a middle
ground, where companies want people who have a technical
understanding.
"I would worry if IT went off the board agenda. It has a lot to
contribute to business productivity. I would be disappointed if
that opportunity was lost," she said.
David Wilde, CIO at the London Borough of Waltham Forest,
agreed. "I think you are seeing the role of CIO taking hold and
that of traditional ICT director needing to become more
business-oriented. My background is as much business as
technology."