Graduates are put off from pursuing careers in IT because of the perception that it is boring, new research suggests.

Respondents to the Career Development Organisation's (CRAC) Sector Intelligence survey stated that IT is regarded as a profession that has a bright future with good prospects for highly paid jobs.

It was also noted that half of all IT managers are struggling to fill vacant positions in their companies.

Despite this CRAC development director Robin Mellors-Bourne stated that perceptions of the industry should not be difficult to change.

"We found that very few of the students hold negative perceptions about the IT profession or its people," commented Mr Mellors-Bourne.

Other findings include that less than ten per cent of respondents felt that they had been told enough about the benefits of a computing degree while at school.

It was confirmed that work experience has the strongest influence on career choice.

Mr Mellors-Bourne concluded that there are some areas within the IT sector where "decisive change" could help harness the best talent.

A recent Connect survey found that the two major concerns about outsourcing services like IT support were 'loss of control' (56 per cent) and 'budget over-runs' (43 per cent)

The report was unveiled at the British Computer Society, which recently criticised government plans to remove funding for second degrees or degree level qualifications in IT.