Unless IT departments make an effort to hire staff from a broader age group, they could face skills shortages in the future, according to a Cambridge University study.
The research found that the effects of an aging population could have a serious impact on the IT skills available to business. More than 50% of IT employees are under 35 and more than 80% are under 45. Men also dominate IT.
If this trend continues, businesses will struggle because there will be fewer young people as the average age of the population increases, according to Kerry Platman, senior research associate at Cambridge's faculty of social science and political sciences.
The IT industry is going to have to make better use of its existing workers when they get older, she warned.
