Resellers have hit out at the lack of highly skilled staff in the channel as research reveals IT salaries are increasing at a faster rate than at any time in the last three years.

UK IT and computer staff have seen their basic average pay rise by 4.8 per cent over the last year, according to a report by salary survey publishers Celre.

IT managers netted an average bonus of 15.3 per cent of their salary, with non-managers’ bonuses at 8.5 per cent. IT sector redundancy rates also stand at a relatively low 1.6 per cent.

Celre said the figures defy the general economic gloom, but indicate that employers are struggling to find and keep skilled IT workers.

Greg Carlow, managing director of reseller Repton, said that wages in the channel are also being pushed up by a lack of skills and drive among new recruits.

“There are not enough people to go around, so wages are increasing for the people that still have a drive to succeed and the right attitude to do well,” he said. “Where are all the good guys? There is a non-existent queue of people waiting to join the channel.”

Keith Humphreys, managing consultant at analyst EuroLAN, agreed. “It is not a shortage of skills, it is a shortage of skilled people in the channel, and wages may have increased because they are based on supply and demand,” he said.

Tom Bausemer, UK managing director of IT skills marketplace OrderWork, said IT salaries had increased in the five per cent range in the last 12 months, based on an analysis of 5,000 jobs put through OrderWork’s portal in 2008.

“OrderWork has seen a particular increase in the demand for engineers for basic PC and server work, as well as local, UK-based software developers. We have found that when hiring IT managers, many employers prefer to promote from within,” he said.