Career development matters Vacancies are being created more quickly than they can be filled and the 'buyer's market' looks set to continue for some time. Western Europe, according to another report by researcher IDC, will have 1.7 million job vacancies in the IT sector by 2003. The government is committed to turning the UK into one of Europe's leading ecommerce nations. Consequently, addressing the skills shortage is high on its list of priorities. But despite a host of measures to tackle the skills deficit, the problem isn't going to go away in the short - or even the medium term.
Vacancies remain unfilled and so demand for staff remains high.
Not, it seems, if you don't pay attention to career development. It's crucial for ambitious IT professionals to keep moving their career along and selecting their moves very carefully. In fact, companies such as global business analyst Gartner want to avoid recruiting staff who, despite possessing the right IT skills, are merely on the lookout for a salary increase. Instead, they want individuals who will develop in the long-term along with the company. To continue to do so in this highly competitive market, we need to use every recruitment opportunity available to us.