News in Brief

e-skills UK publishes latest quarterly review of the ICT labour market

e-skills UK has published the latest issue of the e-skills Bulletin, a comprehensive review of employment and market trends for the ICT (Information and Communications Technology) sectors. This quarter the e-skills Bulletin celebrates two years of publication, during which time it has attracted a readership of over 4,000 IT professionals.

The bulletin contains for the first time, data taken from the National Employer Skills Survey (NESS), which was carried out by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) and the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and contains information from over 72,000 companies across England. The survey looked at recruitment trends, skills shortages and the effect these factors have on other areas of business such as business development and operating costs.

Bulletin Summary

• There are some definite positive signs for the Industry with both ICT sales and private sector investment in IT increasing over the final quarter of 2003. In addition unemployment rates for the sector dropped below the national average for the first time in a year, whilst data from Computer Weekly and Salary Services Ltd reveal an increase in the number of positions for ICT staff advertised in the press and online over the period Q3-Q4 2004.
• However, things are moving cautiously, with only 25% of ICT firms recruiting to grow in numbers over the next quarter, and 15% of firms anticipated growth for ICT managers and professionals. With this in mind, recruiting difficulties resulting from skills shortages and gaps are having an impact on ICT organisations, with over three quarters of firms surveyed citing these problems as having a negative impact on business operations.

The e-skills Bulletin is produced quarterly by e-skills UK and can be subscribed to free of charge at www.e-skills.com/bulletin.  

Click here for a full copy of the media alert including an overview of key findings.

Posted on 12 May 2004