Demand for skills in the ICT market continued grow during the second quarter of 2004, according to e-Skills the sector skills council for IT, telecoms and contact centres.
Of the 3,200 companies questioned, a quarter reported gaps in the skills of their IT users, while 9% reported gaps in those of their IT professionals.
Among permanent posts demand was strongest for skills in Office, PSTN, Sybase and VOIP, each of which had risen in the previous 4 quarters.
While demand had increased for Office, Apache, Extranet, Illustrator, Linux, Lotus Notes/Products, Novell and VSAM among contract staff.
The survey found that employment had increased and the upturn pushed up salaries, with increases reported in both permanent and contract rates.
This upturn was also making recruitment tight, with over a third (34%) of those seeking new employees experiencing difficulties getting the right staff.
And the outlook for skills looks good - two thirds (68%) of ICT firms said they expected to recruit to grow.
As a contrast, employment within the ICT manufacturing sector continued to decline, while the import value of ICT goods and the associated UK trade deficit increased over that recorded in quarter 1.
