Report: Demand strong for workers with Internet skills

But poor morale is cited as a serious issue, according to Meta Group

By Thomas Hoffman

June 8, 2004 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Despite a steady rise in the number of IT jobs being outsourced, demand for workers with Internet-related skills such as Java and networking is helping to drive IT compensation higher, according to a report released today by Meta Group Inc.
According to the 2004 IT Staffing and Compensation Guide, which is based on surveys of more than 650 large and midsize companies, 45% of the companies surveyed plan to pay premiums for IT skills that are difficult to find or retain. Skill shortages are most acute in highly specialized areas such as wireless computing and information security, according to the Stamford, Conn.-based market research and consulting firm.
Nevertheless, 72% of the respondents said poor morale among IT workers -- much of it fueled by budget and staff cuts -- is a big problem in their organizations. To try and improve morale, 45% of the respondents said they have employee recognition programs in place, while 40% offer training and other skill-development opportunities.
The growing demand for certain types of IT skills is leading companies to generally pay IT workers more than their nontechnical peers. This year, 76% of the survey respondents said they plan to pay IT workers more than other workers, about the same as last year.
Fifteen percent of the survey respondents cited a continuing need for Internet-related skills such as application development and Java application management, while 11% said networking skills are highly sought after. However, demand for e-commerce skills continues to ease, with only 15% of the respondents indicating a strong need for those capabilities, down from 22% who said that last year and 25% who cited a demand for e-commerce skills in 2002.
Twenty percent of the Meta Group survey respondents are involved in offshore outsourcing, while 40% of this group said that 5% or less of their IT workforce is deployed offshore.
Although 81% of survey respondents have added IT staff this year, hiring is far from robust and there's no net gain in the number of new IT workers, Meta Group said.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Natural User Interface for Enterprise Applications
Learn how a revolutionary user interface can make a complex enterprise application so intuitive even casual users can jump right in....

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

A Truly Global HCM System
Learn about a system built with advanced object-oriented technology that support multi-national requirements and costs less to implement, maintain and upgrade....

The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....

Craft a Strategy to Lower Your Total Cost of Ownership
Get the tools to build a business case to assess the total cost of ownership of your HR technology footprint....

SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....

Navigating the Economic Morass
Need help making your way through today's volatile job market? In this Learn-Fast Guide, you'll learn how and where to look for your...

Why Compliance Pays
This OnDemand webcast explores the relationship that firms with best compliance records have higher revenue, greater customer retention, lower financial losses from data...

Accelerate SSL Encrypted Applications
The amount of SSL traffic is growing in the enterprise. Because it is encrypted, it cannot be properly controlled and accelerated. Blue Coat...

Agile Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for Rapid ROI
Find out how combining ECM and BPM will help adress issues about content rich business processes....

All White Papers | All Webcasts