UPDATE 2-Recruiter Hays expects IT sector fees to double in 5 years

* Q4 fees up 39%, UK & Ireland up 48%

* Sees FY 2021 operating profit of around 95 mln pounds

* Consultant headcount up 4% y-o-y
(Adds CFO comment, more details, shares)

By Indranil Sarkar

July 15 (Reuters) - Hays, one of the world's
biggest recruiters, said on Thursday it expects a shortage of
skilled labour and higher wages to double the fees it earns from
filling vacancies in the information technology sector in the
next five years.

The comments, which came after the company reported an
almost 40% jump in fees for the three months to the end of June,
are another sign of sustained recovery in the recruitment
industry after it was hammed by the pandemic last year.

Demand for new hires has picked up as easing restrictions
and successful vaccination drives provide an economic boost.

"We have a clear strategy in place to double the size of the
fees earned in the IT sector from 250 million pounds to about
500 million pounds over the next 4 to 5 years," Chief Financial
Officer Paul Venables told Reuters on a call.

IT accounted for almost a quarter of Hays' total net fees in
its fiscal year to the end of June.

"We are strengthening management, adding consultants and
moving into more sub-specialism in the sector," Venables added.

Hays, which focuses on white-collar jobs, said fees reached
their highest levels in June since the start of the pandemic,
with the UK & Ireland surging 48% in its final quarter from a
year earlier.

Rivals PageGroup and Robert Walters lifted
their annual targets last week owing to the rebound.

Hays, said it expects operating profit for the 12 months to
June 30 to be ahead of market expectations at 95 million pounds
($131.58 million). Last year it reported an operating profit of
135 million pounds.

Shares in the mid-cap company have gained over 15% in value
so far this year after slumping 22% in 2020. They were 4.5%
lower by 1014 GMT, with the wider index down 0.4%.

Hays said its consultant headcount rose by 6% in the
quarter, and by 4% year-on-year, and expects it to increase by a
further 5% next quarter.

($1 = 0.7220 pounds)

(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber, Kirsten Donovan)