BUSINESS
Survey finds IT staff in demand
01-10-2007
by Emmet Ryan
Over a third of Irish firms plan to increase the number of staff with IT skills in their business this year, according to research by Clarion Consulting.
The report by the IT consulting firm, entitled the ICT Mid-Year Review in Irish companies, found that 35 percent of respondents plan to increase the total number of IT staff working for their business this year.
The report also found that many firms are having trouble finding staff to meet their needs. Finding temporary staff was cited as a major challenge by 49 percent of companies.
On the whole there is a strong demand for both temporary and permanent staff with 50 percent of companies indicating that they needed permanent project managers and systems analysts, while 36 percent of respondents said they needed to hire staff as network administrators, security specialists and in IT management.
The picture for temporary staff shows 45 percent of firms offering contract positions in project management, 36 percent in desktop support and 27 percent in business intelligence or systems analysis.
"We are seeing a much greater emphasis on building project management capability," said Pat Millar, managing director, Clarion Consulting. "For some time now, we have been encouraging companies to invest more in project management skills and welcome these recruitment trends which indicate solid headcount increases across temporary and permanent staff."
Recruitment agencies are the first port of call for sourcing staff with 67 percent of companies using this method; however, 61 percent of respondents expressed a marked dissatisfaction with agencies' services.
"We have seen a shift away from traditional recruitment agencies to a more consulting-based approach, particularly for contract staff," said Ronan Foley, director of Clarion Consulting.
"Clients are increasingly turning to niche-providers whose recruitment services are supported by a consulting knowledgebase. This approach minimises selection risk, offers far greater value to the assignment and ensures much higher performance levels from the individual."
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