Fears of an increasing lack of qualified IT professionals in the UK been allayed after research showed vacancies are down, and fewer companies are reporting skills gaps.
The latest e-skills Bulletin from sector skills council e-skills shows the number of UK-based ICT staff increased from 961,000 to 981,000 in the first half of the year.
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The research also shows:
- There were 7,000 fewer ICT vacancies advertised on the internet/in the press
- There were about one quarter fewer ICT vacancies registered with Jobcentre Plus
- The percentage of establishments reporting gaps in the skills of their ICT professionals or the IT skills of their ‘user’ staff both fell – to 9% and 13% respectively
- Just 0.3% of firms reported having difficulties recruiting ICT staff during the first quarter of 2005
E-skills is the employer-led body which aims to improve competitiveness and productivity through action on skills.
