Security jobs - particularly those in auditing, forensics, and management - are among the "safe" IT jobs that will be most resistant to being outsourced over the next year, according to a study by research firm Foote Partners.
Security skills and certifications such as the CISSP and SANS GIAC will be in demand over the next 12 months, along with storage, networking and web services skills, the firm predicts.
The study involved 45,000 IT workers and 1,860 North American and European companies.
Hiring by IT firms accelerated in 2004, driving up pay for workers with skills in infosec, networking, applications development, web services, and systems integration, according to Foote. Pay for niche skills is also getting a boost from increased government regulation, which has spurred demand for IT consulting services.
Overall, companies have found offshore outsourcing to be more risky and difficult than expected and are now concerned about retaining top employees, the firm said.