iPhone to fuel contractor shortage

Demand for content and applications for the Apple iPhone will push up the cost of hiring IT contractors skilled in developing software for mobile devices when it is launched in the UK and Europe later this year.

The warning comes from recruitment industry body the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (Atsco), on the back of figures showing pay rates for IT contractors in the telecoms sector rocketing over the past year.

Rates for contractors in the telecoms sector have risen by 16 per cent, from £37 per hour to £43 per hour, according to the research from Atsco and SkillsMarket.

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The increase is due to the shortage of software engineers experienced in developing for platforms such as Windows Mobile, and Atsco predicts this pressure will increase with the launch of the Apple iPhone in the UK and Europe later this year.

Ann Swain, Atsco CEO, said this is the fastest year-on-year rise in pay rates for contractors in the telecoms sector since the dot-com collapse of 2000.

She said in a statement: "The iPhone is likely to lead to significant rate increases for software developers skilled in creating websites optimised for 3G devices. Most websites currently cannot be viewed on wireless devices but the iPhone is likely to kick-start the process of developing mobile-specific web content in earnest."

There is also strong demand from recruiters for developers skilled in Bluetooth and the dot-mobi tools that allow websites to be tailored for mobile devices.

Another booming area for contractors is in the middleware technologies that integrate corporate computer systems with mobile technology and enable wireless devices to communicate with desktop PCs, according to the research.