In brief...: IT pay hit by jobs switch

May 30 2008

The outsourcing of computer contracts to other countries has cut the wages of workers in the UK, according to a new report.

The wages of new information technology (IT) support staff have remained stuck at £18,000 over the past five years, while longer serving employees have only seen their pay increase by 0.8 per cent a year, said the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSC).

But salaries for managers have increased by 20 per cent over the last five years to an average of £45,000.

Low-skilled jobs leaving the UK acted as a disincentive for people in the UK to study IT, which could worsen skill shortages in the industry, the report warned.

Ann Swain, chief executive of ATSC, said: "The outsourcing of entry-level IT jobs has meant fewer graduatelevel jobs are available in the UK. It's like removing the bottom rung from the career ladder.

"The shortage now is of candidates with a few years experience looking for second and third jobs. But how do you get that experience if entry level jobs are being sent offshore?"

Thereport predicted a turning point would arise when Indian salaries, currently increasing at more than 14 per cent, came close to those of UK professionals.