IT sector struggling to fill 5,000 vacancies

DESPITE the record number of people signing on, there are up to 5,000 vacancies in the IT sector.

The lack of women and the “nerdy image” associated with computing is forcing companies to hire foreign graduates to fill gaps in the workplace, according to the Third Level Computing Forum.

The forum, made up of heads of computer college departments, government agencies and representatives in the industry, said up to 50% of hires in software companies in the Dublin area were coming from abroad.