Almost eight in 10 (79%) of IT directors think they would get better value from private sector employees.

Michael Bennett, director of ReThink Recruitment, says: “The government has been suggesting that the private sector could fill the gap in the employment market following the public sector cutbacks. Yet there is an immediate concern among private sector employers that public sector IT employees offer less value for money.

“It is clearly not going to be as easy for public sector employees to make the switch into the private sector as has been suggested. Although staff with experience of managing very complex IT projects have transferable skills, there is a growing demand from the private sector for so-called hybrid IT staff.”