There is an abundance of untapped IT talent across the UK, according to The OrderWork Q4 survey, which found a quarter of all IT services staff are not being used on client work at any one time.

The survey found that the skills are there but big business is not seeing them. It found that 42% of companies have suffered an increase in their operating costs as a result of sourcing hard to fill IT vacancies.

Neil Bradford, chief executive of OrderWork, says: "The survey shows the potential of flexible outsourcing – tapping into the UK's rich base of local and national IT firms to provide the much-needed skills UK PLC needs.

“This survey shows there are pools of resources out there but UK PLC needs to evolve its sourcing methods to tap into them.

"There is a need to go beyond traditional outsourcing. Supply and demand needs to be aligned on a more timely basis and in a way which delivers quality."

The research also found that the highest demand for skills will come from wireless networks.