REC launches qualification review

The UK's recruiters are being asked to help the qualifications programme of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's (REC's) Academy for Business.

Recently, the organisation launched a review of qualifications to ensure they meet the needs of the increasingly complex business and regulatory framework which is applied to the industry.

The Academy for Business currently offers professionals the chance to earn certificate, diploma, bachelor and masters degrees in recruitment practice and the organisation is looking to ensure they are suitable for the future of the sector.

Judith Armatage, director of professional development at the REC, commented: 'Recruitment is a fast-moving industry and in order for its people to succeed, we are creating a qualifications' framework to help drive it forward.'

She also pointed out that as many recruiters as possible need to provide feedback to the organisation so the review can thoroughly cover all their issues.

The REC's Academy for Business offers a wide range of services instead of degree qualifications, including sales training, management courses and in-company training.

Companies 'showing recruitment optimism'

The UK's private sector seems to be optimistic about employment creation in the coming months, which could be good news for IT job candidates.

According to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's (CIPD's) Labour Market Outlook survey, a balance of five per cent of companies think they will recruit employees rather than make workers redundant in the next quarter.

This is the first time the balance has been positive since the winter of 2008 and grew from the negative five per cent which was reported in the first quarter of 2010.

CIPD public policy adviser Gerwyn Davies, the report's author, said: 'A return to spring could mean a growth of full-time jobs in the private sector that may continue if the global economy continues to recover at the same rate.'

The survey also showed that the public sector is less confident, as a balance of 43 per cent of employers expect to make job cuts.

Recently, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's JobsOutlook report claimed that 96 per cent of companies plan on maintaining or growing their permanent workforce during the coming three months.

Cyber security challenge launched in UK

A national competition has been launched to find the UK's rising stars in the cyber security field, which may interest those seeking new IT jobs.

The Cyber Security Challenge UK is designed to find talented young people and offer them the tools needed to help them progress in the industry.

Commenting on the scheme, Dtex Systems managing director Mohan Koo claimed the challenge is a good way to find people to plug the skills gap which exists in UK IT security.

'We know the talent exists out there and we also know that the talent doesn't have access to the ways for employment,' he explained.

Mr Koo added that many young people in the UK already have the skills which would allow them to go far in the cyber security industry, but do not know that there are opportunities to pursue a career using them.

A survey commissioned as part of the challenge found that 90 per cent of companies believe recruiting professionals with cyber security skills is difficult.

Network security 'important unified comms concern'

Network security is the most important consideration for firms deploying unified communications, IT job candidates have been told.

Research commissioned by enterprise communications provider Avaya examined the data centre networking priorities of large businesses and found that 96 per cent of respondents consider security to be an important concern.

In addition, 95 per cent believe good levels of network resiliency are essential, 88 per cent value scalability and 88 per cent are looking for better cost management.

Steven Taylor, principal analyst at Webtorials, which carried out the research, commented: 'These survey results confirm that in the current economic climate, users are keenly interested in getting the best positive value for a high-performance, secure network that allows the capabilities to be added as needed.'

He also claimed that the coming years will see firms move away from one-size-fits-all communication networks to individual solutions which are tailored to their specific needs.

Recently, David Carr, Forbes' columnist on technology for small to midsize businesses, claimed that simplified unified communications systems can be deployed gradually to avoid the need for upfront investment.

AD software revenues show 2009 dip

Revenue in the worldwide market for project application development (AD) software fell slightly during 2009, which may concern those seeking new IT jobs.

New research from IT industry analyst Gartner showed the sector's revenue dropped two per cent from the $7.39 billion (£4.85 billion) recorded in 2008 to reach $7.25 billion last year.

Laurie Wurster, research director at Gartner, claimed that one of the main reasons for the revenue fall was firms implementing spending freezes on new IT projects in response to the recession.

'AD tool spending tends to be cyclical in nature with strong years of spending, as we saw in 2007, followed by a year or two of low or reduced investment,' she added.

However, Ms Wurster highlighted that security testing was one area of the market that experienced growth over the course of 2009, which could be good news for IT job applicants.

Last week, Gartner revealed that revenues in the worldwide application infrastructure and middleware software market grew by 2.8 per cent to reach $15.9 billion (£10.3 billion).

Companies 'remaining committed to SaaS'

The vast majority of organisations are expected to maintain or increase their use of software-as-a-service (SaaS), IT job candidates have been told.

A new report from IT industry analyst Gartner predicted that over 95 per cent of companies plan to keep their SaaS provision constant or grow usage in the coming year years.

In addition, 53 per cent of firms are expected to slightly increase their SaaS use in the next two years, while 19 per cent believe the expansion will be significant.

Sharon Mertz, research director at Gartner, added: 'SaaS applications clearly are no longer seen as a new deployment model by our survey base, with almost half of those surveyed affirming use of SaaS applications in their business for more than three years.'

The research also found that just four per cent of organisations anticipate making a slight decrease in the level of SaaS investment.

A recent poll by Spiceworks found that 43 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses have increased their IT budgets for 2010.

Virtualisation market 'showing growth'

The virtualisation market is showing signs of recovery from the economic downturn, which may be good news for IT jobs.

Figures published by market research consultancy IDC showed 18.2 per cent of new servers shipped during the last quarter of 2009 included virtualised technology.

The report also pointed out that this has increased from the 15.2 per cent which was recorded in the fourth quarter of 2008.

However, the study found that worldwide revenue for virtualisation software for all CPU types dropped by ten per cent in 2009's last quarter when compared to the year before, as a result of the competitive marketplace and the economic crisis.

Matt Eastwood, group vice president of enterprise platforms at the research group, commented: 'IDC sees virtualisation as a critical evolutionary step in the journey to the private cloud. Customers are quickly moving beyond the core hypervisor and focusing on mobility, self-provisioning and metering and chargeback capabilities.'

Last week, IDC highlighted that recovery has been seen in the European, the Middle Eastern and African virtualisation market.

Good presentation 'essential for interviews'

Striving to present a smart and professional appearance can reap rewards at interviews, IT jobs candidates have been told.

Careers expert Cheryl Morgan pointed out that an applicant's appearance creates the first impression the interviewer has of them and said a poor presentation can damage their chances of securing a job.

'It's likely that the interviewer will be seeing more than one candidate for the position so you need to give yourself the best chance and a smart appearance is one way to do this,' she explained.

Ms Morgan added that interviewers could believe candidates who do not make an effort with their appearance would show a similar lack of enthusiasm when it comes to carrying out their job.

In addition, the expert recommended applicants find out if the company which is interviewing has a dress code, so they can comply with it by removing piercings and covering visible tattoos as necessary.

Previous research from Mintel found that just over one-quarter of British employees only wear formal clothes when in the office, while one in five wear jeans to work.

IT services growth 'to resume in 2011'

The market for IT services in Europe is expected to grow by more than two per cent in 2011, experts have claimed, which may create new IT jobs.

A new report from industry analyst IDC predicted that the European IT services market will face a fragile recovery throughout the reminder of 2010, but will eventually see 2.2 per cent growth during the following year.

Laura Converso, research manager for European software and services at the firm, commented: ''Demand for projects and outsourcing will pick up towards the second half of 2010, though new technologies and strong price pressure will limit the market's capacity to recover.'

In addition, the research claimed that the western European market for IT services will achieve a compound annual growth rate of 3.4 per cent in the years to 2014, as companies place technology at the core of their expansion plans.

Recent research by TechMarketView claimed that the UK software market will recover well from the economic downturn and experience healthy revenue growth in the years to 2013.

IT teams 'need to make tech roll-outs safe'

IT departments are important in ensuring firms can deploy new technologies without risk, according to an expert.

In news which may interest those seeking IT jobs, Sophos senior security consultant Carole Theriault said one of the 'basic' roles of the teams is assessing what risks can come when a new technology is rolled out.

'People do get excited about new technologies and want to embrace them and it's the IT team that are supposed to be the ones that are basically steering the ship,' she commented.

Ms Theriault added that firms should always be alert to security risks when bringing in new IT developments, as cybercriminals are constantly seeking ways to exploit the weak points in technology for their financial gain.

Recent research unveiled at the Infosecurity Europe event showed that hacking and denial of service attacks against businesses have doubled during the past two years, driven by the widespread adoption of emerging technologies.

IT users 'need awareness of internet risks'

IT security consultants have been reminded to ensure users are not compromising their network's safety.

Research by internet security provider Webroot found that 98 per cent of companies allow workers to remotely access their networks, while 72 per cent let employees use web 2.0 applications and online collaboration for business purposes.

Speaking at the Infosecurity Europe 2010 event, Webroot chief technology officer Gerhard Eschelbeck said malware writers are becoming more skilled at creating applications which attack networks covertly, increasing the need for IT security.

'Employees are unwittingly putting their employers at risk of the growing threat of web-based malware, as they increasingly turn to the internet to do business,' he commented.

The research also found that 98 per cent of companies have attempted to bolster security by blocking access to some websites or activities, while 88 per cent have implemented a formal internet use policy.

Recently, Con Mallon, product marketing director for Norton products at Symantec, stressed the need for workers to ensure they are not infecting networks by opening suspicious emails.

Quantum encryption 'could soon be reality'

Digital communications could be completely secure within the next five years due a new technology, IT job candidates have been told.

Last week, Toshiba researchers unveiled a breakthrough in ultra-secure quantum cryptography, saying they had achieved a key distribution with a secure bit rate of more than one megabit per second over 50 km of fibre.

This is the first time this has been carried out and is sufficient to allow one-time pad encryption, which is considered to be the only perfectly-secure encryption method, to be performed on an everyday basis.

Commenting on the development, Dr Andrew Shields, assistant managing director responsible for quantum technology and nanotechnology at Toshiba, said within three to five years, quantum encryption could be ready for use in real applications.

'Quantum key distribution, the underlying technology, is unconditionally secure as a protocol, so that means, in theory, it's secure from every type of attack on the communication channel,' he explained.

However, the expert claimed recognised standards will need to be developed for the new system, to ensure that incorrect application does not lead to possible ways for it to be breached.

Firms 'to use blended EA implementation'

More companies are likely to adopt a blended approach to enterprise architecture (EA) over the next three to five years, it has been suggested.

New research from IT industry analyst Gartner predicted that 95 per cent of organisations will be able to deploy EA through multiple channels by 2015, as they realise there is no single way of implementing the technology.

The report claimed there are four main ways to rollout EA developments through an organisation - traditional, federated, managed diversity and middle-out - and said most firms will use a combination of these to get the best results.

Julie Short, research director at Gartner, added: 'Regardless of the approach, EA must facilitate change. The key is to create, not the perfect or elegant architecture for the moment, but the most adaptable architecture for the future.'

Recent research from internet service provider Easynet Connect claimed that 38 per cent of companies will invest in their IT infrastructure during the coming months to help them capitalise on the economic recovery.

Workers 'starting to look for new jobs'

Many people are looking to change jobs now the economic downturn has started to ease, it has been claimed.

Lisette Howlett, spokesperson for online recruitment directory HireScores.com, said her organisation has seen a 'steady' increase in the number of people looking for new roles.

She also pointed out that during the recession many workers were concentrating on staying in employment rather than finding a better job, but this trend has changed now economic stability is becoming more likely.

'There are also a proportion of new jobseekers who are considering leaving their current roles to look for alternatives because they are feeling more confident about the economic climate,' Ms Howlett commented.

In addition, the representative suggested that there could be more vacancies for people seeking new roles, as many firms will be ending their cost reduction processes and avoiding making further redundancies.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the UK's employment rate stood at 72.1 per cent in the three months to February 2010.

Portable storage 'creates data risk'

IT security consultants have been reminded of the data loss risk created by portable devices.

Recent research by DeviceLock found that one in three IT decision makers have not taken any steps such as portable device control to prevent their firm from losing sensitive information.

Commenting on the findings, BlockMaster Security chief security officer Anders Pettersson pointed out that more firms are starting to make use of portable storage equipment such as USB drives.

'A USB drive stores a lot of information at a very, very low cost and this might very well be overlooked by the employee,' he suggested.

Mr Pettersson added that with this increased risk of loss, IT security consultants should make sure their organisation is looking into the best ways to protect their data.

A recent survey by BlockMaster Security found that 42 per cent of workers believe a data loss incident would cost their company less than £10,000, even though the Information Commissioner's Office is now able to issue fines of up to £500,000.

Growth 'returning to UK software sector'

The UK software market is showing signs of growth returning, with cloud computing helping to drive the sector, which may see new IT jobs created.

According to the UK Software Market: Trends and Forecasts report by TechMarketView, the sector experienced an 'unprecedented decline' as a result of the recession.

However, the study pointed out the market is still worth more than £8 billion a year and is likely to see revenues maintain healthy growth rates in the years up to 2013.

Noting areas of strong growth, the report explained: 'Cloud computing is a truly structural shift akin to the advent of the PC and client/server in the mid-1980s or the unbundling of IBM mainframe software in the 1960s.'

In addition, TechMarketView predicted that within two to three years, mobile platforms such as Apple's iPad will be increasingly used to access the internet, while software-as-a-service will become the dominant application delivery method within ten years.

Recently, technology analyst Gartner claimed global spending on IT will increase by more than five per cent in the coming year.

IT 'faces challenges in 2010'

The IT industry faces a 'testing year' as firms prioritise their projects, according to an expert.

Silicon.com editor Steve Ranger claimed that it is unlikely IT budgets in the private sector will see a significant increase during the course of 2010.

The expert explained that IT projects will need to show they can deliver a fast return on investment if senior management is to be convinced to allocate budgets to them.

In addition, the public sector will be forced to scale back its investment in IT no matter which political party comes into power, as spending has to be curbed because of the recession.

However, Mr Ranger said there is some good news for those seeking IT jobs, commenting: 'At the same time, organisations are recognising they need to invest in new technology if they are going to be ready for growth when it comes.'

Recent research by Microsoft claimed that small companies will boost their spending on IT by 16 per cent from 2009 levels.

Cloud computing 'maintains productivity in crisis'

The impact of the Icelandic volcanic eruption on UK businesses could have been alleviated by cloud computing, according to an expert.

Recent research from absence management firm First Care claimed that British firms lost £3 million a day in man hours because workers were trapped overseas when UK airspace was closed.

It also revealed that 20,300 people missed work on April 19th because of the Eyjafjallajoekull ash cloud causing their flights to be cancelled, rising from the 3,000 transport-related absences seen on a typical Monday morning.

Rob Lovell, chief executive of cloud computing provider ThinkGrid, claimed this would have been less of a problem if more companies implemented cloud computing, as it allows employees to work from anywhere in the world.

He explained: 'The effectively borderless nature of cloud computing can help businesses maintain productivity, especially when faced with highly unpredictable events such as the Eyjafjallajokull volcano.'

The expert also pointed out that future adverse weather conditions and natural phenomena will no doubt affect businesses and recommended they look into cloud computing to avoid this.

Temp workers 'helped during volcano crisis'

Firms across the UK used temporary and agency workers to plug the labour gaps created when the volcanic ash cloud left their staff stranded abroad, it has been found.

The Recruitment and Employment Federation (REC) revealed that its members have seen workers such as IT contractors called in to help businesses operate as normal while their employees strove to return to the UK.

In addition, the organisation claimed that temporary labour allowed essential services such as schools, hospitals and care homes to continue operating throughout the crisis.

Anne Fairweather, head of public policy at the REC, commented: 'Maintaining a flexible supply of labour is vital to ensure that businesses stay on track and services continue to be delivered through unexpected emergencies and weather events.'

She also suggested that many agency workers could benefit through the Icelandic volcano crisis, as it will offer them the opportunity to make their first step into employment.

Recently, Dr Tom Kirchmaier of the London School of Economics said the restrictions caused by the volcanic ash will have a significant economic impact due to the lost work hours which resulted.

Employer confidence 'rising in the UK'

Employer confidence has reached the highest level recorded this year, it has been revealed.

The JobsOutlook report, published by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), found that 96 per cent of firms plan to maintain or grow their permanent workforce during the coming three months, rising by two per cent on last month.

Furthermore, 86 per cent of employers think they will take on more temporary workers or keep them at a constant level over the same period.

Roger Tweedy, director of research at the REC, said: 'This is the most encouraging sign we have had so far that the jobs market is now gathering momentum led by a higher demand for temporary workers.'

The report also claimed that the figures show how agency staff can allow firms to access a flexible source of labour, while offering people a route back into work.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics showed that unemployment in the UK rose by eight per cent in the three months to February, reaching 2.5 million people.

Small firms 'to invest in IT infrastructure'

Small companies intend to invest in their technology infrastructure to help them recover from the recession, which could be good news for those seeking IT jobs.

New research from Easynet Connect found that 84 per cent of firms think the economy will start to grow in the next two years and 38 per cent plan on investing in their IT infrastructure to capitalise on this.

In addition, the survey revealed that 79 per cent of small businesses believe the internet will make recovery from this recession easier than that of previous downturns.

Chris Stening, managing director of Easynet Connect, commented: 'The predominant sentiment among small to medium-sized firms seems to be one of 'cautious optimism' - businesses know that growth will come, but do not think it will be immediate.'

A recent survey of more than 1,000 IT professionals with small firms by Spiceworks found 43 per cent have seen their technology budgets increase during the current financial year.

UK unemployment rises by 43,000

Unemployment has increased to 2.5 million in the UK, new official figures have shown.

The Office for National Statistics revealed that there was a 43,000 increase in the number of people out of work in the three months to February, taking the unemployment rate to eight per cent.

In addition, the report said that the number of self-employed people and workers who are holding a part-time job because they could not find a full-time role increased by 13,000 to stand at 1.05 million.

Commenting on the figures, Federation of Small Businesses national chairman John Walker said: 'The rise in unemployment confirms that the economy is still too fragile for small businesses to take on new staff.'

He also explained that his organisation is calling on the next government to launched new economic stimulus measures to create jobs, encourage start-ups and improve access to finance.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor Vince Cable claimed the rise in unemployment shows how fragile the UK economy is following the recession.

AIM market 'grew during recession'

The worldwide application infrastructure and middleware (AIM) software market saw an increase last year, despite the economic downturn.

In research which may interest those seeking new IT jobs, technology analyst Gartner revealed a 2.8 per cent increase in the AIM software market, taking revenues to $15.9 billion (£10.3 billion).

The group also pointed out that this followed the 7.1 per cent rise in worldwide AIM revenues which was seen in 2008, when the market totalled $15.5 billion.

Fabrizio Biscotti, research director at Gartner, commented: 'All factors considered, in 2009 the AIM market performed better than most software segments.'

He also noted that the fall in revenue growth was caused by the recession, but claimed the popularity of applications such as service-oriented architecture and business process management allowed the market to remain relatively healthy.

Recent research from Gartner claimed that worldwide IT spending will increase by 5.3 per cent over the course of 2010 to reach $3.4 trillion.

Firms 'showing outsourcing caution'

Companies appear to be more cautious when using outsourcing, those seeking IT roles have been told.

The EquaTerra Advisor and Business/IT Service Provider Pulse Survey for the first quarter of 2010 claimed that firms seem to be 'slow, deliberate and risk averse' when using outsourcing and third-party services.

According to the research, the second half of last year saw a record 44 per cent growth in new outsourcing deals in the pipeline, but buyers started to exercise caution in the opening three months of 2010 and delay complex projects or ones which require upfront investment.

Stan Lepeak, managing director of global research for EquaTerra, commented: 'Currently more outsourcing deals are stuck in the pipeline as buyers wrestle with uncertainty. They understand the problems and are painstakingly sorting through solutions and weighing options.'

However, the report also claimed that organisations continue to recognise that outsourcing can allow them to reduce their operating costs.

Earlier this month, Ovum senior analyst Patrick O'Brien predicted that more companies will start to turn to IT outsourcing once the economy shows clear signs of recovery.

EMEA virtualisation market 'starting to recover'

Signs of an early recovery in the virtualisation market have been seen in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), which could be good news for those seeking IT jobs.

New research from IT market analyst IDC showed that 17.7 per cent of new servers shipped in the regions over the last quarter of 2009 were virtualised.

The report pointed out that this is 16.3 per cent increase on the figure reported in 2008's fourth quarter.

In addition, it showed that western Europe is leading the revival of the virtualisation market, with the proportion of new servers which make use of the technology rising from 19.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 20.2 per cent.

Nathaniel Martinez, programme director of EMEA systems and infrastructure solutions at IDC, commented: 'The availability of CPU upgrades and corporate mandates for their IT infrastructure to go 'virtual' prompted many organisations to initiate long-delayed technology refreshes.'

Recent IDC research found that blade servers are becoming an increasingly common part of IT companies' strategic initiatives.