AN IT company has raised concerns about a lack of technical skills amongst young people in the region as it struggles to fill a number of new jobs it has created.

Razorblue, in Catterick, recently won more than £2m of work with a number of high profile organisations - including Sports Direct and Furlong Flooring in Dublin - and, as a result, has created six new jobs with more planned for the start of 2015.

However, it has been unable to recruit the necessary staff and fears the lack of technical skills in the North East could hinder the region’s growth in the sector and could be as a result of the so-called ‘brain drain’ as many young people move away once qualified.

As well as a number of senior technical positions, the company is also trying to recruit apprentices with a view to training and supporting them in their career development.

Many of its 35 staff have been with Razorblue since its launch in 2006, working their way up to senior positions through a variety of industry training programmes.

Dan Kitchen, technical director, said: “Staff turnover at Razorblue is very low compared to many other businesses in our sector and that’s thanks to the competitive salaries we offer and our commitment to career development.

"However, we have been shocked at the lack of skilled people and apprentices available for the jobs we’ve created especially amongst the 18 to 25 age group where we’re often told that there are high rates of unemployment.”

Chris Gill, Razorblue’s commercial director, said: “We’ve invested a lot of time and money in trying to find the right people for our roles and it’s of great concern that there appears to be a skills shortage - and a possible brain drain - in the North East. I really believe it could hinder the region’s development in the technical and IT sectors.”

The company is based at Colburn Business Park with offices in Newcastle, Leeds and York and has plans to open on Teesside. It specialises in consultancy, managed IT services, hosted solutions and connectivity for a wide range of SMEs, business parks and public sector organisations across the UK.

In the last year alone, Razorblue has seen contracts grow by around 40pc and expects to increase in size by a further 50 per cent in the coming six months.