Key IT Trends – Staying one step ahead of the ‘Programme’.

The IT industry continues to remain a great hub of activity. Talented workers are high in demand, initiatives such as Tech City are creating added interest towards the sector, and if you can develop new skills, it’s easy to stay on a career path that’s growing faster than the rest.

But what IT skills are most in demand? And what will be most sought after in 2012?

In 2011, as mobile apps took off, developers have dominated the recruitment space. At webrecruit, we’ve seen nearly a 55% increase in developer roles since 2011.

By looking at the number of IT roles webrecruit worked on, Java and .NET were high in demand. We found the most highly sought-after skill was SQL programming language, while ASP was the  skill that witnessed the smallest increase in demand. The methodology that witnessed the biggest rise was Agile, increasing by 92% since 2011.

So what does this mean for 2012? Will SQL gurus continue to be high in demand or will project managers dominate the space with their experience of Agile methodologies?

The IT Job Board  shared their predictions of the growing appetite for SQL and SQL server skills. Alexandra Farrell , MD at the IT Job Board, said:

‘Clearly SQL is a core skill as we move into 2012, and we would anticipate seeing increasing numbers of IT professionals either retraining in this area, or looking to improve on existing skills. It certainly seems to be one to watch’.

Based on this, it seems fair to say, as the IT arena continues to evolve and more technologies and methodologies emerge, such as smartphones, cloud computing and social media, a new generation of positions and skills will become more in demand, such as developers using SQL.

But it’s not all about the technical skills. Non-technical skills are becoming equally favourable in the workplace. As hiring managers compete for the top talent, business skills, such as problem-solving, are becoming an important way for candidates to differentiate themselves from other qualified candidates.

Technology is constantly developing and it’s only natural that technical skills will need to be augmented with higher level skills such as communication and business. Perhaps 2012 could witness a transition from software engineer to business engineer?

These are just a few of the key trends in IT and an insight into the skills in demand. In summary, it seems the market favours the skills that are better to suited to the changing nature of the business – people want solutions, quickly and cheaply whilst receiving an enhanced customer experience.

And for those of you wishing to enter the field of technology or enhance their IT career – this highlights the fact that there will always be a need for specialised skills so make sure you stay one step ahead of the ‘programme’.