Recent research, by analyst firm IDC, found an overwhelming 1.5 million new positions will be created by the IT sector in Europe by 2010, with SME’s playing the biggest part in the employment growth. With the European Commission estimating a shortfall of 300,00 IT professionals across Europe by the same year, Mike Smith, Sales Manager for leading north-east IT company, Escape, takes a look at ways to attract people into the industry.

“By nature, the IT industry is continuously growing and evolving, resulting in the need for a large number of people entering the industry each year. It has been suggested in the past that many are put off from a career in IT due to the common IT geek stereotype” explains Mike.

With Channel 4’s the IT Crowd making a return to our TV screens, where the characters are seen as ‘Technonerds’, it would seem that the geek stereotype may well be a common misconception.

“Many people don’t realise what a fascinating, lucrative and satisfying career choice the industry can be, IT can be a passport to world travel, good salaries and a diverse working environment. It is also a career for life – it is thought that this vital sector, will contribute to more than half of the UK’s GDP, in less than three years” continued Mike.

The British Computing Society believes that the UK is fast falling behind its global competitors in generating the interest and enthusiasm needed to persuade young people to pursue a career in IT.
Results from the likes of online technology publication zednet.co.uk’s ninth annual Skills Survey confirms that employers are finding it increasingly difficult to fill IT positions in their organisations, with half (48 percent) of survey respondents agreeing or strongly agreeing that there is a skills crisis. And 45 percent said there are IT jobs in their business they are unable to fill.
“The UK is becoming more aware that this problem needs to be addressed and that a more positive image is needed for the industry. There are a number of initiatives in place to tackle this and universities such as RGU, who have this year introduced a Business Information Systems course, are offering more and more IT related courses.

“One such initiative is that of e-skills, which has just launched a scheme to tackle the decreasing number of graduates taking up careers in IT.
‘Revitalise IT’ seeks to alter the attitudes of young people about the IT sector and promote the training opportunities for those interested in IT professions” concluded Mike.
Escape is one of the leading communication technology providers in the north-east, delivering IT Network and Telecoms solutions and specialising in systems integration and support. Escape can provide a complete out-sourced IT service for all your communication needs, 24/7 365 days a year.