IT professionals need to take control of their own development
and training if they are to
survive the recession, recruitment experts said today.
Members of a roundtable discussion on skills said
IT is better placed than many sectors to weather any coming
storms. But they added that employees need to be able to
demonstrate their value to the business to ensure they are not the
first to go in a cull. As businesses look at cutting training
budgets, it is likely to be up to employees to look for
opportunities for more training or experience.
The
impending
recession is likely to accelerate trends already causing
problems for some IT staff, such as
off-shoring and the resultant shedding of junior jobs.
Companies are not just cutting back on spending - they want to
spend the money they do have more effectively. This is leading to
more off-shoring, taking advantage of cheaper labour in other
countries.
But more senior IT skills are still in demand in the UK, with
demand for IT service management, business systems development and
analysis skills all staying relatively steady. Demand for
project management skills is increasing, despite a decline in
the general IT recruitment market.
"People are realising project management skills are important,"
said Alan Rommel, managing director of recruitment at Parity, an IT
solutions company. "They know good project management can improve
the performance of the business."
But he warned job candidates and contractors do need to be
flexible, both in the
rates they will accept and the work they will take on. Staff
already in jobs, who are worried the downturn might hit them, need
to look at the gaps in their knowledge and see if they can improve
it themselves.
"Anybody that can demonstrate improvements in efficiency
internally, quick returns on investment, or provide a competitive
edge, will be in demand," said Rommel. "People need to empower
themselves to make that change."
Umaad Hussain, a recruitment specialist at analyst firm
Forrester, said employers are looking for people with
"commercial awareness". "We need people to have business acumen,"
he said.
John Cotterell, chief executive of software development company
Endava, said IT staff in the UK would increasingly be required to
gain management experience or qualifications as more lower-level
jobs are offshored.
"During the recession, it is important to be consciously
thinking about what you are going to do to make a difference to the
business you are serving. People with that type of mindset do not
lose their jobs," he said.
Hussain added that, while some will undoubtedly be affected, the
IT industry is likely to see fewer casualties than some. "IT is a
very robust, strong market. We are never really going to have lots
of IT people being made redundant because we are still going to
need those people."