Two-thirds of employers in Ireland claim IT roles will be the hardest to fill in 2015, Abrivia’s latest Survey Spotlights report suggests. This is a huge jump from this time last year, when just 29pc of employers felt the same way, and will subsequently see the demand for staff draw in growing numbers of workers from outside the EU. Certain things have been done in order to alleviate this skills shortage, including just less than half of those surveyed admitting they are willing to offer sponsorship to non-EU candidates, “with many employers also willing to invest heavily in the continuing professional development/upskilling of their workforce.” However, clearly there’s far more that needs to be done, with STEM subjects being prioritised at school level clearly something that could help in the long run. Elsewhere, there are things such as shifting Visa rules towards favouring the employee rather than the employer that could help, but that’s an argument for another day.

The most sought after skills, according to Abrivia’s report, are Java, .NET and Web. IT security positions and data management roles also came to prominence in 2014, as highlighted by both their inclusions in our Top Tech Jobs 2015 series late last year. Interestingly, similar to Hays Ireland’s findings in December, Abrivia found that contract work is a major boom area in IT at the moment. Just short of three-quarters of employers claim to be looking to fill permanent roles this year, but if 2014 is anything to go by, then contract work can yield significant rewards for employees. “

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