Survey: Vast Majority of UK IT Pros Would Relocate Abroad for Job

Eight in 10 British IT professionals say they'd happily relocate to a foreign country if a job or work opportunity arose, according to a survey conducted by a British online IT job service.

More than one-quarter of those surveyed said they'd move abroad for career development reasons. Only 16% cited current economic conditions as a reason to do so. Despite the credit crunch, more than one-third of techies believed that the UK would continue to see the biggest growth in demand for IT professionals, according to The IT Job Board.

Other key findings:

• 62% search for IT jobs both nationally and internationally.

• 36% see language barriers as being the main challenge when moving to a foreign country.

• 71% would also relocate to a different UK city for work.

Online Postings for IT Jobs Decline

No doubt the recession will take a toll on nearly all occupations, including IT. (Healthcare seems exempt, for now.) Just look at the Conference Board's numbers for November on online job postings that show a 29,500 decline for computer and math positions. Here's what the Conference Board reported (click on chart to enlarge):



But other recent reports suggest IT pros may not be as bad off as those in other occupations. Robert Half Technology foresees a net, 8% increase in IT staffing next quarter. Plus, the latest government stats show that IT employment rates remain well above those in other occupations. Indeed, the IT services sector added jobs last month while nearly every other industry had posted losses.

The main reason IT employment should remain relatively strong, as this blog has previously noted, is that businesses can't function today without IT.