A recent survey has revealed that 45 per cent of IT professionals do not believe that the industry has embraced a flexible working culture.

Research conducted by theitjobboard.co.uk, shows that 17.4 per cent of respondents feel that flexible working has a negative impact on their career progression.

However, after salary, flexible working was seen as the second most important factor in selection criteria for a new job, with 57.4 per cent of respondents rating it as very important.

"The option to work flexible hours is clearly high on the agenda for IT professionals. It is is worrying therefore to see that many organisations do not offer it, and that many of those that do are not perceived to be getting it right," said Alex Farrell, managing director at theitjobbord.com.

He added that because of the current skills shortage in the technology industry employers should be looking to encourage and retain talent in IT departments.

The government recently revealed plans to offer employees the right to request time off work for training as part of its Time to Train scheme.