A lack of IT skills can mean a job is much harder as many vacancies are now posted and applied for online, an education body has said.

The Learning and Skills Council also said this was in addition to many bosses already expecting candidates to have certain skills in computing.

Officials also said learning computer skills from scratch could be daunting for anyone unfamiliar with technology.

In a joint statement with UK Online Centres the council said: "Modern PCs and operating systems are not necessarily intuitive and obvious to the uninitiated."

The groups also gave an example where new users could be confused by the fact shutting down a PC can often involve clicking 'start'.

Manipulating a mouse is also an acquired skill which could be difficult to IT first-timers, they added.

Research by BlackBerry has previously suggested young girls in particular are put off IT careers because of a lack of well-known female role models in the sector.