Network World (01/03/12) Bednarz, Ann

As companies try to balance the technical challenges and opportunities on the information technology front, they are also dealing with a shortage of skilled professionals. IT pros with application development, virtualization, or cloud computing skills are in short supply, as are those with business analytics expertise.

The number of available IT jobs in the U.S. is up about 12% compared to a year ago, and demand for tech professionals is expected to get even stronger in 2012, according to Dice.com. When the jobs site surveyed 1,200 IT hiring managers and recruiters, 65% said they are planning to add tech professionals in the first half of 2012. Among those planning to hire, 27% said they plan to expand headcount by more than 20%.

Tech professionals with in-demand skills and relevant experience are not having trouble finding jobs, notes Jack Cullen, president of IT staffing and recruiting firm Modis. “If candidates have strong skills, robust backgrounds, and they communicate well, they’re getting snapped up fast,” he says. In fact, many hiring managers haven’t adjusted to the new pace. “They’re still slow to react, still very deliberate in the hiring cycle,” Cullen says. “They’re really looking for that quality hire.”