With recent reports citing that IT recruitment is not being effected by the recent economic fears, this is a great time for graduates to get their foot on the career ladder. IT Jobs For Graduates, specialist in online IT recruitment, has seen an increase in most entry level jobs, including general entry level information technology roles and entry level Java jobs. Other reports have shown that IT support roles have grown and now equate to 30% of the total of positions in the sector advertised on job boards, compared with 24% in 2006.

There are many opportunities for graduates as numerous companies, especially in the banking and finance sector, are suffering at the hands of the current skill shortage crisis. In particular, they are struggling to find enthusiastic, entry level graduates. Intelligence claims 31% of companies are complaining of a skill shortage and while this percentage has fallen by 10% over the last year, it is still an issue that concerns many. IT jobs also reappeared in the top ten hardest-to-fill positions, after disappearing from the list in 2007.

A study carried out the National Computing Centre (NCC) suggests that entry level information technology graduates with Oracle, SAP, Microsoft .Net, web development in particular entry level Java skills will be in high demand over the next two years.

So why might this be?

One argument is because pay rates for entry-level IT workers have been falling in recent years. Another is that new graduates are put at a disadvantage by companies' preference for professionals with commercial experience.

Gartner is warning that the worldwide shortage in IT personnel is due to the entry level generation shun the industry because of a perceived lack of glamour and a reputation for hard work. The analyst firm claimed that the current shortage is different from the skills gap that emerged in the dotcom era, as it affects all areas of the IT industry and not just specific technical skills.

However a Communications Director from a blue chip company said many firms are still advertising for entry level jobs as the industry continues to experience a skills shortage. With the current economic downturn, 'fewer everything is being hired ... but IT is relatively safer than a number of other areas’.

Adam Stokes, Operations Manager at IT Jobs For Graduates said "Surprisingly we’re seeing a surge in entry level jobs being advertised in the City, but this could be due to the work being put in to develop systems that allow for better risk. The good news is that we are seeing stability across entry level information technology job range as a whole. In fact, an increase in entry level Java jobs is a positive sign that companies are still looking to the future".