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For the 'right calibre of candidate', the IT industry could open its doors in 2011

Early predictions already this year have set 2011 up as an important period for the IT industry, with forecasts that over 100,000 new workers will be employed.

Already, 1.5 million people are employed in the IT industry, a figure which translates as every one in 20 people employed in the UK.

But while the sector may be expanding, IT employers aren't hiring just anyone -they are looking for a high standard in employees.

And, according to industry experts, the UK is experiencing a lack of people with the required skills and quality.

A recent report by e-skills UK, Technology Insights 2011, predicted that the IT & Telecomms industry will grow by £50 billion over the next five to seven years. This is a growth of over two per cent per year, which is nearly five times faster than the UK average.

The report also suggested that with this growth, half a million new IT workers will be needed before 2015.

And in 2011 alone, over 100,000 new staff will be hired to keep up with the demand.

In addition to this, a report by Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG's latest Report on Jobs recently found that UK recruitment in IT and computing saw the biggest increase for six months in December 2010.

So does the UK have the workforce with the right qualities to fill these positions? Well, apparently not, according to Richard Nott, from CWJobs.co.uk.

"There is still very much an underlying skills shortage - a shortage of good IT people in the UK. There are not enough people with the right skills," he said.

"There is very much still a shortage; we have the quality, but we need more of the same quality."

Mr Nott said that the UK is an important part of the IT industry, a point the e-skills report emphasises, revealing that £81 billion of the UK's annual economy comes from the IT and Telecomms industry.

He also pointed out that last year saw an increase in demand for professionals.

And, he added, this demand will continue to rise.

So what can be done about this shortage? Langley James, an IT recruitment agency, believes that the answer lies with taking on more trainees in the sector.

"I'd say companies need to look at bringing trainees in rather than expecting everybody to hit the ground running," James Toovey, founder and director of Langley James, said.

"That's one of the biggest problems with this industry, and that's why there's continually a skills shortage – everybody wants somebody that's got a couple of years experience using the latest technology."

He added that "new blood" – people coming into the industry with a knowledge of social networking like Twitter and Facebook - would stand in good stead as they can display a knowledge of up-to-date technology.

So where can we find this "new blood"? Well, perhaps they can be taken from the hundreds of university leavers who are graduating into a world of unemployment. According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment among young people aged 16 to 24 increased by one per cent, reaching 951,000 for the three months to November 2010.

Dan Hawes, co-founder of the Graduate Recruitment Bureau, who acknowledged that sectors such as IT were growing, pointed out that the graduate market is so competitive that it may bring out the best employees.

So for potential IT employees hoping to get into the industry in 2011, what qualities should they possess?
Maggie Berry, managing director of Women in Technology, said that the calibre and quality of a candidate's technical skills would be taken into account.  She said that finding the right calibre of candidate can often pose a challenge to employers.
She said that even though the sector may be increasing, there is still tough competition in securing IT roles.

"Firms sometimes struggle to find the quality of technical candidates with the requisite business knowledge," Ms Berry said.
"Looking at the IT sector more widely, I would say that a career in technology can pay well and offers lots of exciting roles that [cater] directly to the business and have a positive impact on the company's bottom line."
 

So the message for IT hopefuls – with up-to-date knowledge and the right technical training, as well as determination to succeed, you could heading into a booming industry which is set to expand in the future.