Information technology jobs are projected to increase in the next few years. Employers forecast a rise in jobs of 20.7 per cent - or nearly 10,000 people - to 57,791 workers by 2002, according to a survey. Yeung Kwok-keung, chairman of the Vocational Training Council's committee on information technology training, which conducted the survey, said: 'The finding is consistent with everything we've learned in the past seven years that we've been doing this survey - that application of information technology continued to expand despite the financial crisis.' Jobs in software development and support are expected to increase the fastest - by 136 per cent in the coming year. Mr Yeung said the findings indicated Tung Chee-hwa's goal to build up the information technology industry was realistic. Hong Kong was capable of developing a software industry that could serve local users as well as exports. To meet the demand for workers, the Information Technology Training Centre will offer courses five nights a week in April, up from two nights. Graduates from the centre had not experienced problems finding work, said Ephraim Tsang Siu-wah, acting centre manager. However, he cautioned eager job seekers against jumping into a field just because it was easy to find work. 'I don't agree with people choosing a field based on whether it's lucrative or if it's easy to find a job,' he said. The survey covered 1,528 companies, including government units, with a response rate of 98.5 per cent.