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Ayman Abouseif has seen the effects of the shortage of IT professionals in the industry. During a recent interview with a prospective hire, Abouseif, who is the regional vice-president of sales for SAP, was faced with what he considered "an extremely high salary demand".

Abouseif said so, but the candidate, who had previously worked for Dubai Municipality, replied that the salary was justified.

"Listen," he told Abouseif. "You're going to call me after hours. You're going to make me work on weekends."

In most industries, those complaints would get you shown the door, but in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, the shortage forces companies and personnel to consider unusual terms and compensation.

According to IDC, an international IT research company with offices in Dubai, the UAE currently needs almost 14,000 additional people to handle its growing networking demands. Next year that gap is expected to jump to 19,000. In the GCC, the demand next year will be almost 96,000 people, which represents a 35 per cent gap between supply and demand.

The report does say that the UAE is "expected to address the supply of networking skills," but a lot of companies, including those that handle networks, software and hardware, are struggling.

"I certainly think it is a very hot market," says Kevin Scott, SAP's chief operating officer for the Mena region. "There is certainly a lot of pressure on many IT companies in terms of finding suitable skilled people for the region."

Serious problem

The reasons behind the shortage are varied with many of the experts pointing to everything from the industry's reputation, to the impact of emerging markets and competition from the government.

Alexander Lehman, the director of certification and education for HP, thinks that part of the industry's problems go all the way back to problems of 2000.

"We've seen the dotcom bubble burst," he says. "At that time it became 'not in fashion' anymore to pursue an academic career in IT, and we see the consequences today. We see there are not enough skilled IT people especially in the technical spaces."

That's a serious problem for IT companies, where the ability to innovate, or the failure to, can either make or break a company. Nick Donofrio, IBM's executive vice-president in charge of research, agrees that the ability to attract talented people can be crucial to a company's survival. "Our concern all the time is our talent pool. Our technical talent is our company," he says.

While there may be a general shortage of skilled technical people, the problem is made worse by global demand. Even companies in the US and Europe are straining to retain and build new talent.

"You're facing the boom economies. The Middle East is one. China is another," Scott says.

In the UAE, the boom economy means that private companies are at a disadvantage, especially when they try to hire local talent.

"Most private business cannot compete with the government," says Abouseif, "meaning if you are a highly-skilled UAE national you are not likely to work for a private company. Because the government pays more, the working hours are less, you get an annual increase, and you are hired as a manager in your first day."

Even without the competition, there just isn't enough local talent.

"If you were to rely on the talents available locally, there is no way you will get skills to cover everything," he says. To get the needed skills, many companies in the UAE have traditionally gone overseas, but because of the global demand, that is not as easy as it used to be.

Serdar Urcar, an HP general manager in the Middle East, says demand in India is actually draining personal from the region. "India is a big talent pool, but what I see is a decrease in the attractiveness of Dubai and the region in attracting Indian talent, and on the top I see some reverse immigration taking place," he says.

"India is growing fast. The compensation benefits in India are rising fast, and now Indian people here are planning to go back. Now, when you try and go to hire from India it's not as easy as was before."

Not everyone agrees. In fact, opinions differ widely. Ghassan "Gus" Takkale, SAP's human resources director for the Mena region, says that Dubai's changing image is attracting talented people.

"Yes, there is a skill shortage," he says, "but Dubai is becoming more attractive. It is becoming more cosmopolitan. People are actually moving here, so it's not like they're just coming here to work. There buying a house, etc."

Urcar agrees that Dubai still sees talent coming, but it's not enough.

"In our enterprise business we are growing at about 30-35 per cent," he says. "When you look at the growth and when you look at the influx - and there is an influx - it's still not enough to cover the gap."

In other areas around the GCC, solving the skills gap problem is even more challenging, mainly due to government initiatives.

Saudi Arabia

"When you look at companies in Saudi, for example, the limitation is much more strong, and there are some local policies - we are not against these policies, we support them - like Saudisation and longer visa cycles, that are also affecting the industry," Urcar says.

But the problems here in Dubai aren't exactly the same facing the companies in other parts of the world. While technical talent is needed, the majority of IT companies in the region are more focused on sales than on research and development. That's especially true in the software field.

"Microsoft isn't just looking for technical people but for employees with a combination of technical and commercial sales skills," says Pramukh Jeyathilak, Microsoft's regional human resource director. There is a challenge in finding the right technical skills, he says. Sales are easier to find, but just as necessary, "especially at the rate we're growing."

He estimates that the difference between supply and demand for Microsoft is in line with IDC estimates on networking, or about 35 per cent.