Management roles in IT increase

Source: Antony Savvas, Computer weekly, 13 February 2008

40 per cent of IT professionals are currently employed in managerial and strategy roles, according to e-skills UK's research.

Since 2001, the number of ICT managers has increased by 43 per cent, according to e-skills report 'IT & Telecoms Insights 2008', which had input from more than 4,000 employers.

The report forecast that the majority of employment growth for IT and telecoms professionals will be in IT management, IT strategy and software professional roles with particular demand for project management, systems architecture, business process, changes management, security and risk management. There will be an increasing need for customer and business oriented skills, as well as advanced technical capability.

However, 22 per cent of IT and telecoms companies are reporting difficulties in attracting applicants with the right skills.

There could be 70,000 unfilled IT positions across Europe a year, if current trends continue, according to a recent report by the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS). There could be as few as 180,000 entrants into a European IT industry requiring 250,000 practitioners by 2010.

To avoid shortages of IT practitioners, CEPIS recommends more collaborative work between universities and industry, more connections between ICT industry-based certifications and formal education and vocational training courses, plus more consistent training throughout.
Users too will require IT skills at more advanced levels, the research shows. 77 per cent of the UK’s 27 million workforce use IT in their everyday jobs.

Even the government is suffering from IT skills shortages, with it being obliged to outsource some IT work, according to Computer Weekly. The Cabinet Office CIO John Suffolk reportedly said that central government IT employs around 55,000 people, but that the government collaborates with between 55,000 and 85,000 IT professionals in the private sector.