Help yourself to a more rewarding future...

IT jobs expected to thrive

As the country emerges from the recession, careers in the IT sector are expected to fare well, experts have indicated.

A recent survey carried out by the IT Job Board found that the sector, although not unaffected throughout the economic downturn, has proved more resilient than others.

Perhaps most importantly, there is still demand for people in IT jobs, with the banking, software and telecoms industries all identified as being in search of skilled professionals.

Of those questioned by the IT Job Board, 48 per cent suggested that banking would be the main sector taking on those who had undertaken IT courses, while 42 per cent foresaw a rise for software firms and 41 per cent for telecoms.

What's more, it seems that it is not only those who are already in the profession who are set to benefit from the demand, as many more are expected to enter the industry over the coming year.

Karen Price, chief executive of e-skills UK, predicts that thousands of people will enter into IT jobs over the next few years in particular as they replace those who have left the industry or find employment as demand for skills increases.

"Because many entry-level IT activities are now sourced from overseas, growth in the UK's IT sector is increasingly focused on high-value, highly-skilled, multi-disciplinary roles," she identified.

Emphasising the need for demonstrating sound computer training, Ms Price revealed that companies will be looking to employ people with a wide skills set.

"There is an increasing need for IT professionals with a mixture of technical and business skills and this demand is expected to continue," she claimed.

So, for those who are considering taking up a computing course to tap into the growing need for IT professionals, which areas should they be looking into?

If the results of the IT Job Board survey are anything to go by, .NET will be the place to be in the new year.

Of the IT professionals questioned, 31 per cent named it as the main skill they are after, followed in second place by competency in SAP.

Furthermore, 26 per cent of respondents expressed a need for experts in Java and web development roles.

This is likely to increase as the demand for communication takes hold, suggested Peter Healey, sales director at the IT Job Board.

"As we continue to get to grips with social and business networking, Web 2.0 skills will be critical, for example .NET and Java," he revealed.

Once the skills have been taken on board, the next question is which roles in the IT industry to apply for.

"Growth in the sector is primarily in ICT manager, IT strategy and planning and software professional roles," Ms Price suggested. Her opinions are echoed by the survey, which found over a third of people are in search of employees to fill managerial positions.

Furthermore, business analyst jobs also polled with 34 per cent. This, Mr Healey believes, is in-keeping with the current financial landscape.

He commented: "2010 will see a great deal more project management roles coming through, as companies embark on new IT projects. Testing and development roles, which were heavily affected in 2009, will also increase next year."

After would-be IT workers have undertaken their computer courses, it may be worth them considering contract jobs, as these are likely to be in greater demand in 2010, the IT Job Board found.

Ultimately, the demand for IT recruitment seems to be going strong despite the pitfalls of the recession, not least because of how much of an impact it has on the contemporary world.

"IT is at the heart of the modern economy, supporting organisations in every sector - from financial services to retail. All sectors rely on highly skilled IT professionals to ensure their success in this increasingly technology-driven world," Ms Price concluded.