Fear mounts over IT skills shortage

CompTIA research shows an increasing concern among IT managers about finding good staff

Research from CompTIA has highlighted mounting concern from UK IT departments about finding the right staff when growing headcount.

A total of 59 per cent of companies surveyed by the organisation in the UK said they were understaffed. Many of the firms classed as fully staffed said they were hoping to hire and expand.

Two thirds of companies questioned said that finding quality new employees was challenging or very challenging and 31 per cent were concerned about retaining existing employees.

Top skills needed were project management (80 per cent), database administration/design (77 per cent), business intelligence (75 per cent), PC/technical support (71 per cent) and cloud/SaaS (70 per cent).

Just a few points behind were network administration (66 per cent), virtualisation (65 per cent) and security (63 per cent). In total, 78 per cent of IT managers questioned also revealed that certification was a high or medium priority when hiring, but many were also keen to point out that experience was also important.

Interestingly, only 28 per cent of IT managers felt their HR department had a solid understanding of the needs of IT, with 44 per cent feeling HR departments had a basic understanding.

A total of 27 per cent said they had ‘little or no’ understanding. Half of IT managers are ready to put their money where their mouth is, with 49 per cent revealing they pay for all training expenses and 52 per cent paying for all certification expenses.

Others offered some level of support, including at-work training and time off to take exams. Worryingly, 14 per cent admitted they provide no training at all.

Matthew Poyiadgi, European vice president of CompTIA, said: “There is clearly some concern about meeting the skills demand of the future, and training and certification is recognised by both business and government as key to meeting these challenges.

“It is very promising to see that, despite a tough economic climate, the majority of IT companies still recognise the value of training and certification and provide support to their employees.

"These are the companies that will lead the IT industry into the future and reap the rewards of the lucrative IT market. I appreciate that these are hard times, but I strongly urge those who aren’t doing so to look at ways they can upskill their workforce to ensure they keep up with the rapidly changing nature of IT.”