IT sector: going from strength to strength
Now is a great time to be employed in the IT sector. To
date, it is experiencing the seventh consecutive quarter of
increased demand for permanent and contractor staff. This is
resulting in significant increases in salaries, professional day
rates and the movement of staff within the market, creating a
candidate-short marketplace.
So what is fuelling this demand? Well, there are many factors,
some immediate, some long term. A large number of immediate factors
influencing this growth come from the aftermath of the downturn in
demand for IT staff in 2007/2008. Increasing pressures on improved,
regulatory compliance are fuelling requirements within the banking
sector, while the life and pensions sector are undertaking
programmes of work in preparation for the arrival of Solvency II
and the Retail Distribution Review (RDR).
All of these changes require skilled staff who are not only
experienced in IT, but also understand the underlying business
drivers for change. After a period of cost consolidation, most
businesses are running lean compared to three or four years ago.
Therefore, many organisations have cash reserves to spend and, with
the stabilisation of the economy, many are choosing to invest
internally and are looking to improve operational efficiency. This
creates opportunities to work on projects such as infrastructure
refresh, i.e. upgrades to Windows 7, and the development of
applications to increase levels of automation. It is also essential
for businesses to take advantage of the growing levels of IT
consumerisation and encourage customer-capture rates through the
growth of mobile apps, for example.
In the long term, the IT sector is expected to experience a 50
per cent increase in the number of IT professionals employed by
2020 (source : EMC May 2011). Why? Because technology is developing
faster than ever, with data services experiencing a huge growth.
The Cloud, and virtualisation generally, is fuelling this, with
market surveys indicating a 1,000-fold growth in server volumes by
2020. With increases in demand for staff, training and skilling and
remuneration for both permanent staff and contractors, what more
could you want from a career?
Isabelle Lanoye
I am an IT recruitment consultant
with over 10 years experience and a background providing both
contract and permanent staff to large international organisations
across the UK and Europe.
More about Isabelle
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Even in these difficult economic times, the demand for IT staff
continues to grow. There are many regulatory changes in other
sectors driving this.
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Are you marketable?
It is important to keep your
skills up to date in the IT arena. Keeping an eye on
emerging trends will maximise
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