Skills crisis is toughest IT challenge say CIOs

The skills crisis is the toughest challenge facing IT directors in the 21st century, and training inhouse staff is the only way to cope, according to the latest survey from Xephon.

In its annual industry survey, the research house found almost 80 per cent of IT managers worldwide think the skills shortage is their toughest challenge, compared to just 65 per cent two years ago.

Frank Coyle, IT director at magazine distributor John Menzies, said retaining in-house staff is a key issue, benefiting employees and giving the company increased stability.

"As a company we pride ourselves on training people right through. We identify the business development, identify the appropriate person and then embark on retraining," Coyle said.

He added that retraining staff is often cheaper in the long run and buying-in expertise is the "accountants' approach". "It's the bean-counters' approach to IT and doesn't take into account strategy and long-term vision," he said.

Coyle's view was backed up by the survey, with IT chiefs calling for more emphasis on in-house staff who fully understand the business model.

However, Mark Lillycrop, head of research at Xephon, claimed the problem is rarely down to a lack of investment. "It's not the level of funding," he said, "but the level of freedom IT directors are given to re-skill their workforce and turn to the relevant outside sources of expertise."

Xephon's third annual survey also found that some of the key issues have changed since 1999. "Y2K has disappeared and ecommerce has come from nowhere to be extremely dominant," Lillycrop said.

Meanwhile, IT directors also reported a marked increase in business influence, with more than half anticipating a larger role in the commercial direction of their company in the future.

Xephon surveyed IT managers from 72 companies across Europe, the US and Asia.