THE SKILLS shortage in Kent has been highlighted by a firm's 12-month search for an IT specialist.

InfoTech Solutions (UK), a growing IT services company based in St George's Centre, Sittingbourne, felt the IT skills shortage in the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector when it sought a senior person with substantial IT knowledge.

But it eventually found Louis Campbell, a 37-year old semi-professional footballer with Edgware Town. He lives in Sandwich.

Jason Foord, managing director, said he could not understand why it should be so difficult to find a sales director for his successful and fast growing company.

" We rely on word of mouth and referrals from satisfied customers, so it was essential to have the right person for the job," he said. "But we did not expect to be looking for over a year."

The IT sector is still suffering after the bursting of the dotcom bubble and the after effects of the Millennium. Big companies have laid off IT staff - but still small firms in Kent cannot find the skills they need.

Despite the slowdown, the UK is facing a 25% shortage of network skills and in general the UK has a shortfall of more than 200,000 skilled IT professionals, according to a recent survey.