Out of work IT professionals need to increase their skills, particularly around new technologies, if they are to boost their chances of finding work, it has been stated.

Deputy editor of ComputerworldUK.com Siobhan Chapman explained that managers may want to look at retraining, as this will allow them to invest in new money-saving technologies with more knowledge, such as cloud computing or virtualisation.

She added that IT managers should also make efforts to raise their public profile by creating a blog or speaking at conferences and events, particularly about good news stories which can help others while promoting themselves.

Ms Chapman concluded: "Chief information officers and IT managers are possibly better positioned than back office workers, as they are more likely to have business acumen. Once the recession is over, businesses will be looking for senior IT workers with leadership qualities."

The advice follows a survey by the IT Job Board, which found there to be a 50 per cent decline in the number of sector vacancies advertised online, with a further decline in jobs in May of 57 per cent when measured year-on-year.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).