Asia Pacific economies weighed down by IT skills shortages

Peter Dinham
Wednesday, 29 April 2009 14:28

Business IT - Technology

“Of those who are planning to hire, most organisations are looking for people with skills in IT support and maintenance, followed by those with skills in application development and system integration.

“We believe that as demand for IT products and services slows down, organisations can acquire new employees and skills without paying a premium. While IT user companies can use the opportunity to fill gaps in their organisation’s skill sets, IT vendors and the local partner eco-system can selectively augment their existing staff and build new practices,” Shekhar added.

Springboard also says that Demand for Java is Encroaching on Microsoft's Turf, and its survey of IT developers revealed that while Microsoft programming languages are the most popular amongst developers, more than half of those surveyed think that Java is a “must-have language in today’s business environment.”

Shekhar says that Java is also the first preference for new learning, with developers also interested in acquiring skills beyond language and technology, and 37% of those interviewed rated acquiring skills in project management as their top priority.

“In terms of vendor-specific skills, Microsoft, Oracle and SAP are the top three priorities for the developers,” according to Shekhar, and he says the survey of IT training and education providers revealed that courses in Java and C++ languages are most popular and in demand.

“Web Services and XML, security management and software & system testing are the top technology-specific skills courses offered by these providers.”