ICT recruitment 'highest in four years'

Jane Bianchini, director of Ambition Technology, said the report, which was published on Thursday, shows that while the economy is 'steady' rather than 'spectacular', demand in the ICT sector has not been this high since 2001.

However, Bianchini was quick to point out that although the market has improved it is now in what seems to be a period of sustainable growth, unlike during the dotcom boom years.

"The dotcom era was unusual. Now we have experienced a correction in the market. While there is a trend going up I can't see that we will get to that kind of frenzied, irrational behaviour again," said Bianchini.

According to Bianchini, ICT professionals wanting to improve their future career prospects should gain some qualifications in the security area.

"Many organisations wanting to protect their intellectual capital, and data, having good security is mandatory right now," said Bianchini. "It would certainly be advantageous to pick up some security skills to add an extra dimension to your resume and skill-set. This is the area of most demand at the moment."

According to the survey, ICT salaries have generally increased by 7.9 percent during the first half of 2005.

As expected, J2EE, .Net, Citrix, Windows 2000/NT/XP, Novell and Unix-based skills are very popular. Additionally, multi-lingual staff are sought after, as are employees with specialist experience in the banking and finance sector.