FIT report reveals skills shortage in Web, gaming, cloud sectors

Trade

A new survey has found that there are in excess of 4,500 immediate job vacancies in the IT sector in Ireland across all levels of expertise which are not being filled due to the lack of suitably skilled applicants.

Fastrack to IT’s (FIT) ICT Skills Audit – a survey of 38 companies and representative SMEs that employ in excess of 25,000 people in the IT sector – also found that the areas experiencing the most acute shortages include mobile technologies; games development; Web development; cloud computing; platform administration; digital media; networking/PC maintenance; customer relationship management; and programming technologies.

In addition to technical skills, the audit also revealed that employers also value ‘soft skills’ such as project management, leadership and teamwork.

Speaking at the launch of the report, Minister for Training and Skills Ciarán Cannon said: "we are seeing a worldwide increase in demand for ICT Skills. While we cannot create a supply of highly skilled ICT professionals overnight, through the development and ongoing implementation of the joint Government-Industry ICT Action Plan, Ireland has been to the fore in taking measures to build the pipeline of high level ICT graduates."

FIT is an initiative led by the technology industry in Ireland that provides those at risk of long-term unemployment with technical skills. It works with employers to secure internships or job opportunities for participants, thereby starting them on a career path to sustained employment in the sector. Many of the current requirements are at the intermediate skills level and could be addressed by ‘smart people attaining smart skills’ through programmes ranging from six to 24 months.

FIT runs a range of courses for people looking to to reskill in IT for the sectors highlighted in today’s report. Through the range of training courses, in cooperation with industry and Government partners, including Momentum, Youth2Work, Emerge Skills to Succeed, VTOS, Youthreach, BTEI/BTEA, FAS/FIT Contracted Training, FIT is on target to engage in excess of 30,000 people through its training interventions over the next three years.

TechCentral Reporters