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IT industry still hiring - for those with the right training

With overall unemployment figures at 2.45 million (7.7 per cent), and graduate unemployment at 21,000, many students are struggling to find work, and the situation has shown no signs of improvement. Until now.

A recent report by Sector Skills Council e-skills UK has shown that the IT sector is, unlike most other industries, still hiring despite the recession.

Employment in the industry has increased by one per cent, compared to other industries which have decreased by two per cent.

And the report also says that globally the technology industry will grow by 3.3 per cent in the next year, and in the next 12 months the UK will see a growth of 1.8 per cent until 2013.

And as the industry expands, so will the workforce, meaning that the number of jobs available will increase by 1.2 per cent each year until 2018 – in real terms, 110.500 new jobs are expected to become available.

According to the report, this is due to the digital revolution, which is reliant on what they refer to as "highly-skilled technology professionals, technology-savvy business leaders and competent IT users that determine an organisation's success within the digital economy".

So we can see that these "technology-savvy" people are what the industry is looking for, but the problem is, according to e-skills UK, many people do not have these qualities.

It says that there is a lack of applicants for jobs in the IT sector who have the required skills, qualification or expertise, which is creating a problem for employers.

The figures speak for themselves – almost a half of employers have experienced a shortage of people with the right skills.

But one-fifth of the new workforce is expected to come from IT education systems.

So what is needed? Well, according to Gerry McLaughlin at IT Contractor.com, which provides IT contractors with news and advice on the IT market, experience and skills count.

"Companies either want qualifications or experience," he said.

But he warned IT hopefuls to make sure their qualifications were from recognised bodies, as, he said: "it would be nigh on impossible to get an IT job having taught yourself the skills".

"There are lots of self taught people out there who can turn their hand to writing a bit of software, but they find it difficult to get into a company if they haven't worked in IT before. 

"[The IT sector] is notoriously difficult to get into for the self taught."

But apparently there is a lack of young people who are interested in a career in technology. According to the e-skills report, the number of students taking computing degrees has dropped by half in the past five years.

Add to this the fact that the sector is heavily dominated by males (90 per cent of a-level students taking computing are male) and you can see the problem.

The UK has a competitive, well-respected digital technology industry and is renowned throughout the world. In fact, the e-skills UK report proposes that the UK could (and, it says, should) be a global leader in digital technology.

This would not only be good news for the UK's economy but would also make a big difference to the country's employment figures which has been struggling during the recession.

"A coherent, strategic approach to skills is fundamental to achieving this vision," the report says.

"With this, the UK can be a global leader in the digital technology.

"Without it, the country will become a second rate player in a high-technology world."

The e-skills report concludes that school curriculums should include technology lessons, and better links should be made between universities and the industry to ensure that people with the right qualifications are getting jobs.

It also emphasises that constant training is important to ensure that workers maintain their skills in a fast-moving sector.

So the answer? Well, training the next generation of technology-savvy workers to help the UK progress in the technology world.