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Story URL: http://management.silicon.com/itpro/0,39024675,39118055,00.htm

Techies shun private for public sector
Sign of the times as workers go in search of budgets and job satisfaction in the public sector...

By Will Sturgeon

Published: Thursday 29 January 2004

A major shift in the UK workforce is seeing IT workers heading in their droves to the public sector - once seen as a wasteland of little opportunity, poor conditions and lowly wages.

However, that perception seems to be a thing of the past with benefits such as a clear goal, actual budget and more interesting projects being cited as the reasons to make the switch.

The private sector, meanwhile, has become renowned for cancelled projects, diminished budgets, tumbling rates and very little job security.

Research conducted among public sector companies has revealed that a quarter of public sector IT professionals who had jumped ship from a private sector background had been motivated to do so by previous projects that had run into trouble and stagnated.

Pete Atkinson, public sector manager at Tridion, who conducted the survey, said: "At present, most companies still want the same amount of work done as before, but with a markedly depleted budget. So is it any surprise that many staff are leaving for jobs where there is money to spend, a clear goal, and more interesting projects to concentrate on? In this respect, why should IT be any different from the rest of the job market?"

In past years the public sector has grown popular with contractors and permanent staff simply because it offered the best chance of finding any work, but now the preference for public over private sector is taking place out of choice rather than necessity, according to Matthew Parton, IT project manager at Southampton City Council.

And the reasons are clear, according to Parton. "The public sector has seen a definite focus in IT over the past year particularly with e-enablement deadlines looming," he said, referring to the 2005 deadline hanging over government services.

"This has lead to an increase in the number of the people applying for IT positions," he added in a statement.

What do you think - would you rather work in the private or public sector? Register a reader comment below and have your say.