The shortage of qualified information technology talent in the Asia Pacific region is caused by lack of experience among the current IT workforce, according to 42% of respondents in a study of IT skills in the Asia Pacific region by Kelly Services Inc. (NASD: KELYA).

Several technical skills considered most critical for organizations and those skills in shortest supply overlap, according to the study. Those technical skills included applications development and integration, data management, enterprise systems integration/customization and customer relationship management.

The study involved more than 440 organizations. It's Kelly's first study of IT skills in the Asia Pacific region.