Competition for qualified IT professionals to intensify with 1.2 billion workers wanted in 3 years
China and Hong Kong face a shortage of skilled professional information technology workers that along with similar shortfalls across Asia could derail economic development across the region, according to a study.
In China, where demand for IT networking skills is the highest in the region, the skills gap will amount to 107,100 workers this year and up to 192,300 by 2009, the study by researcher International Data Corp (IDC) found.
The shortfall of staff with expertise in networking technology may reach 210,000 across the Asia Pacific excluding Japan this year and total 396,000 by 2009.
Companies face having to boost pay levels as they compete to attract and keep appropriate staff, IDC said.
'Organisations around the region are already finding it difficult to attract and retain networking-related staff in the numbers they require,' said IDC, which surveyed 1,073 company managers in 12 Asian markets.