Chrome OS to bolster open source job market

Developers will be needed to create or port current popular applications to work in Chrome

Google's recently announced Chrome operating system is expected to cause a surge in demand for IT professionals with strong Linux skills, according to IT recruitment agency CV Screen.

Chrome OS is built on the open-source Linux kernel, and Google aims to make the browser the primary interface for the platform. Developers will therefore be needed to create or port current popular applications to work in the new environment.

The news should come as welcome relief to many, as the recession has hit the IT jobs market relatively hard.

CV Screen's job index shows that the number of IT jobs has dropped by over 55 per cent over the past 12 months, but that the number of Linux jobs has dropped by only 30 per cent over the same period.

Google said in a blog post soon after announcing Chrome OS, which is due in the middle of next year, that it is seeking developers to work on the project in locations including the US, Canada, Japan, Russia and Denmark.

"In what has been a tough marketplace, we have seen demand for open-source technologies such as PHP, Linux and MySQL hold up fairly well, and it is one area where we have been regularly placing candidates," said Matthew Iveson, director of CV Screen.

"We anticipate that the long-term impact will be an increased demand for IT professionals to support Linux-based systems. This is likely to mean that Linux professionals with qualifications such as LCP, LCE or RHCE will be much sought after by employers."