26/09/2011

Olympics set to provide growth in IT Jobs

Next year’s Olympics will create over 5,000 new IT jobs and inject a staggering £250m into the industry, says a report which also highlights the importance on cyber security during the 2012 Games.

The roles will be created to deal with the level of technology services needed to support the London 2012 Games, such as high-tech infrastructure, according to recent research. Areas including construction, hospitality and retail will also have more demands in the sector during the Olympics.

"If 5,000 IT jobs are created, each with an average salary of £48,562 for IT and technology professionals, that equates to gross earnings of £250m per year," the report said.

As well as highly technical IT jobs, there will particularly be an increase in project management jobs available. In the lead up to the Games, emergency service lines will need to be secured and WiFi coverage broadened, including possibly across the Tfl network, meaning timely results will need to be delivered. But most importantly, steps must be taken to ensure that there are no cyber attacks during the Olympics.

The demand for skilled technology professionals is already increasing significantly before the Games.

Taking into account that five per cent of the UK’s 29m strong workforce work in IT and telecoms, and government forecasts suggest 103,000 permanent computer jobs will be created by the Olympics, this estimate on the number of roles that will be found may even be on the conservative side.

One role currently being advertised on the official London 2012 website is a six-month permanent role at Canary Wharf for an Internet Results Services Analyst.

“The role holder will be responsible for design and business and functional analysis of all aspects of the public facing Internet Results Service (IRS) delivered through the Games Time Website,” the ad says.

Even companies not directly linked to the Games are preparing, such as Travelodge who are presently recruiting for staff. The budget hotel chain is aiming to become London’s biggest hotel company in time for the 2012 Olympics. If successful, they will boost their size to over 60 hotels in the capital, providing 7,000 rooms.

Irrelevant of how companies are related to the Olympics, IT job boards are the most reliable way to stay updated with all new IT jobs created.