"Most wanted" IT skills revealed

It's getting harder to attract and retain good IT workers as demand for skills in areas such as Microsoft .NET and Java continues to increase.

The rate of IT staff turnover over the last year (calculated as staff leaving as a percentage of staff in post) was 12 per cent, a "significant increase" from the 9.4 per cent reported last year, according to the National Computing Centre (NCC), which carried out the research.

... with certain skills such as internet and intranet development demand will be high, so put your recruitment plans together now - or risk a fight for skilled staff later in the year.

-- Stefan Foster, Membership Services managing director, NCC

And while 41 per cent of respondents expected their IT staff numbers to grow over the next two years, the same percentage expect numbers to remain the same.

The most rapid growth is forecast by small IT departments and by those in the IT services sector.

The average size of a pay rise for IT staff was 3.7 per cent - below the national average earnings of four per cent.

More than a quarter (26 per cent) of respondents said they had encountered recruitment or retention difficulties for specific skills, and the same percentage said they would need new skills over the next 12 months.

Skills in demand include .NET and Java development skills, Windows 2003 Server, VoIP and business analysis skills.

Significant numbers of respondents are seeking business analysis skills over the next 12 months and these tend to be recruited rather than trained in house, NCC said.

NCC Membership Services managing director, Stefan Foster, said in a statement: "It looks like the dust will begin to settle on the labour market by next summer but watch out, with certain skills such as internet and intranet development demand will be high, so put your recruitment plans together now - or risk a fight for skilled staff later in the year."

He added: "With many organisations implementing VoIP technologies it is no surprise that skills in this area are highly prized."