Seventeen
per cent of UK businesses are unable to fill IT posts, down from 39 per cent
last year, according to a new report.
The
report, silicon.com’s forth-annual Skills Survey, said the difference could be
due to the economic slump – with 54.6 per cent of UK companies making IT
cutbacks because of the business climate.
Tony
Hallett, analysis and reports editor at silicon.com, said: "Although the
majority of respondents still think there is a skills shortage, the findings
show that the skills crisis is really beginning to thaw."
The
report found that project management and leadership roles are now more in
demand than IT skills – 36 per cent of firms could not fill project management
roles and 32.4 per cent could not fill leadership posts.
Silicon.com’s
survey of 8,000 IT professionals across the UK, France and Germany also
revealed that UK IT professionals earn more than those in France and Germany,
however, they also work the longest hours.
In
all, 13.9 per cent of UK respondents earned more than £70,001 a year, and 3.7
per cent had salaries of over £110,001. The corresponding figures in France
were 4.6 and 1.5 per cent, and in Germany were 5.1 and 1.3 per cent.
Hallett
said: "The image of the poorly paid British worker is clearly inaccurate,
at least in IT. However, employers do seem to get their pound of flesh in the
UK market, with 15.5 per cent of IT professionals working 50 hours a week or
more."
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