IT skills for 2002: Reasons to be optimistic

Last year was tough for anyone looking for a half-decent career move in IT. Computer skills in general no longer guaranteed unlimited job offers and thousands of IT workers received their P45s instead of a much hoped for end-of-year bonus.

But as 2002 dawns there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel. Pundits are already busy predicting a speedy market recovery and that also means a revived job market within the next six months. However, IT professionals should look to have the crucial skills and experience companies now demand.

Sought after skills are never unrelated to the broader economic climate and project management and programming experts are the key individuals required to survive in 2002, claim the experts.

Gerry McLaughlin, founder of IT workers re-union site Namesfacesplaces.com and follower of the IT job market, believes companies are actively looking for people with proven project management skills.

"Tighter IT budgets mean companies are going to place greater emphasis on delivering projects on time. There will be a handsome payment for those project managers who have a track record of on-time, on-budget delivery," he said.

The dot-com crash devalued many web programming skills overnight. Trendy agencies saw their fortunes head south and web designers had to pack up their desk toys in a flash.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom. Some programmers even got lucky. Decent Java experts are still much sought after, according to Peter Anthony, business development manager for recruitment company Elan Computing:

"Java is the dominant language used for the internet. Despite all the negative publicity, ecommerce is on the increase and good Java designers will be in demand. Other desired web skills are things like XML, J2EE and EJB," he said.

Other desired programming skills for 2002 revolve around any type of new technology just entering the market such as Windows XP, .NET and even 3G communications. Observers have also identified a strong trend in document management packages such as Documentum and Vignette as well as ERP applications, including MySap.

Many companies became more security conscious last year. Security will remain high on the agenda for most in 2002, so security professionals will be needed by small and large companies alike, according to John Norman, managing consultant at Executive Recruitment Services.

Norman said: "Many companies are concentrating their efforts on security and need top staff to keep up with all the latest threats. Many firms are also rethinking their disaster recovery strategies."

Data recovery strategies, like much else, rely heavily on storage yet skilled storage workers are still relatively rare. Most candidates typically only have around three years' experience.

Arun Taneja, analyst at the Enterprise Storage Group, said: "There is a lack of widely accepted storage-specific training. Storage technology is advancing so quickly which means people with quality storage skills are scarce and most will only have few years experience at the most."

A sector like this and the others above remind us that training is an essential way to keep one's skills marketable. On that all the experts agree. The current market needs candidates with up-to the minute skills and while training is expensive - to companies and individuals alike - it pays off as a long-term investment.

"Employers expect workers to be up to date on the latest technology. The most recent training is always something employers will look out on job seekers CV," Taneja added.

It is unlikely 2002 will be another annus horriblis for job candidates. With the right skills and ongoing training, most silicon.com readers can look forward to, as they say, a prosperous new year.