The Professional Contractors Group has convinced the Government to remove IT skills from the skills shortage list. That fast track visa scheme permits companies to bring in overseas workers who possess skills which are deemed to be in short supply. There will now no longer be a shortage list for the IT Sector.

The PCG has collected evidence from its members and presented it to Home Office Ministers and at the Skills Sector Panel meetings to demonstrate that the skills which were included on the list as being in short supply were in fact plentiful.

The Panel and Work Permits agreed with this evidence and has just announced that 'all IT work permit applications must show that the job has been advertised in either a national newspaper or a relevant trade journal'.

The Home Office will review the state of the labour market again in about three months time.

Jane Akshar, Chairman of the Professional Contractors Group, said: "This is excellent news. It demonstrates how we have been able to work with the Government and the other members of the Skills Sector Panel to show clearly that these skills were not in short supply in the UK. As a result, Work Permits has listened to our case and has acted on it."

The Professional Contractors Group aims to work for proper recognition of independent contractors as a genuine and valuable sector of the economy, generating wealth and employment, providing industry with a flexible workforce. The Internet has been the PCG´s primary resource, providing fast, effective communication. It has a membership of more than 13,000 small businesses in the knowledge-based sector, mainly IT and engineering.

TrainingZONE asks So is there an IT skills shortage? We keep being told that the whole population needs better IT skills, but is this really "nice-to-have for the future" rather than essential to the economy, if we aren't using up the capacity of IT skills that we have?