Software programming skills are
still in demand despite companies cutting back IT spending. But
programmers must have strong communication skillsif they are to
secure work
Last week the monthly
Recruitment & Employment Confederation and KPMG UK
Employment Report saidkey programming skillsare in short supply
despite a
sharp drop in IT vacancies.
UK businesses need more permanent staff with
.net,
C#, and
PHP, said
the research. Temporary staff with CNC programming skills are
in high demand.
The financial services sector, which has been
hit hard by the recession, is still looking for people with the
right skills, according to Philip Treleaven,
professor of computing at University College London (UCL).
UCLlaunched a PhD course in Financial
Computingthis month. Graduates will carry out research usingniche skills
such as programming for algorithmic trading.
"Demand for specialist programmers will not really fall because
banks are trying to improve their systems to make them more
efficient," says Philip Trevealen.
Yann L'Huillier, CTO at
share trading exchange Turquoise, says people with the right
programming skills are always in demand:"The way that business
evolves means we always want more computerisation, which requires
more skills to support it."
But he says just possessing the programming skills is not
enough. Organisations are demanding programmers that understand the
business requirements. "They must also be able to communicate with
the business."
Bola Rotibi, analyst at Macehiter Ward Dutton, saysbusinesses
want software developers to understand more than just code writing
more than ever:"Programmers need to think about the wider picture
such as how solutions fit together and who is using them."
"Just because you can speak a language doesn't mean you fully
understand it. You do not fully understand a languageuntil you live
in thecountry."
Businesses are increasingly buying their business-critical
applications from suppliers, rather than writing them
in-house.Trading exchange Turquoise, for example, built almost its
entire infrastructure with off-the-shelf software, including its
core trading system.
The trend has generated moreopportunities for programmers in the
supplier community.
John Bates, CEO at complex-event-processing software
firmProgress Apama, says there's always demand for the best
developers and says there always will be. "However, definitely less
of a demand across the board right now, so we hear from
recruiters."
Progress Apama develops complex-event-processing software used
by financial services firms. John Bates says the suppliers that are
still hiring are those that offer products that helpcut costs,
managerisk and increaseprofitability.
"I am interested in people that can solve problems and I would
prefer this over people that have lots of experience but no
problem-solving skills," says John Bates.
Businesses still have to do business during recession and
cutting costs is more important than ever. Automating and
acccelerating business processes through software development is
one way of doing this. Programmers will always be in demand but
they must have business as well as programming skills.
Read more about IT in the recession:
Seven IT tips for surviving the recession >>
Gartner's 10 CIO resolutions to survive 2009 >>
Gartner symposium: How IT can survive the recession
>>