Many of the skills required by IT professionals 10 years from now will be very different to those listed in a typical job advert today.

Judging by the number of letters Computing receives about recruitment issues and the shift of programming jobs offshore, most readers are aware that change is inevitable, but few are receiving clear guidance on how to cope.

For IT directors focused on hitting budget targets and implementing new technology programmes, the skills they might need to recruit in the next decade are unlikely to be a top concern at the moment.

But those staff you need in the future are going through the education system today, and will already be selecting or studying for degrees. There is a strong case to be made for greater involvement for IT leaders in what those students are being taught now.

IBM is encouraging some of the UK's leading universities to consider the need for a new discipline, focused on a future IT workforce dominated by the need for services skills.

When the world's biggest technology company also announces 13,000 job cuts, this is another indicator of changing priorities.

But are these the skills you will need? Computing's Agenda Setters initiative last year recommended that employees and students be equipped with a better mix of IT and business abilities. This suggests that IT directors are aware of their shifting needs, but are concerned about whether academia is delivering.

Government will encourage educators to follow one route, IT suppliers perhaps will push a different way. But it would be interesting to learn whether many IT directors are working with local universities on the future skills their organisation will need. We would be keen to hear if you are.

Tomorrow's skills may not seem like today's priority, but forging close links with the institutions that will help to develop them should be a key consideration for all technology leaders.