A shortage of people skilled in IT and engineering will hamper the rollout of high-speed internet services in Australia.

This is according to the Australian, which claimed a pending report from Innovation and Business Skills Australia on the national broadband network (NBN) has suggested costs could be pushed up by the gap in talent.

The study estimates, the news source reports, that the telecommunications sector is short of around 8,000 skilled professionals in the field.

Individuals seeking IT jobs in Australia may be interested in the assertion that more needs to be done to increase the supply of network engineers, cablers and other experts for the eight-year project.

The industry skills council is also expected to say that 60 per cent of respondents to a poll reported a shortfall of talented staff, which could have significant ramifications for the $43 billion NBN scheme.

Meanwhile, a recent report from the Australian Institute of Management suggested firms in the country are finding it harder to recruit skilled staff and meet their salary expectations, amid pressures to keep costs low.

Posted by Fiona Summers