November 2009
Labour Market Wrap – IT sector
The state of the IT jobs market
The IT industry is beginning to show signs of recovery, however many organisations remain cautious
about permanent hiring as a result of budget constraints. There was a modest increase in hiring of both
permanent and contract job categories over the three months to September. This is set to slow slightly
over the Christmas/New Year period and will likely gain pace approaching the second quarter of 2010.
There is good news for candidates, with a noticeable decrease in the overall number of applicants,
signaling an increase in placements; however it is not so good for employers who will be nervous about
a return to the debilitating skills shortages experienced before the global financial crisis.
Roles in demand
According to Kelly Executive Principal Consultant, Kushal Wijesundera, the IT industry is currently seeing
increases in project spending in the areas of systems development and maintenance.
Mr Wijesundera predicts that during the next quarter, business analysts
will be in high demand
especially candidates with specific industry expertise
-
be it financial services, energy and utilities, or
government policy - who have worked on large IT transformation projects.
On
the technical front, candidates with good database design and administrations skills,
coupled with
business intelligence product knowledge, will also be in high demand due to organisations investing in
customer-oriented strategies, and an increase in demand for reporting and compliance.
Infrastructure project managers are
currently
the least in demand –
a direct result of
the downturn in
major project spending over the past 12 months.
Mr Wijesundera said that despite the emerging recovery, businesses are cautious not to overspend and
that this vigilance is flowing into the types of employment being offered to candidates.
“As a result of the economic slowdown and a drop of business activity, many organisations have been
reluctant
to offer permanent positions, instead, offering short-term contracts, heavily skewing the
market towards contract employment.
This should improve over the next quarter as confidence
returns”.
Remuneration has
stabilised during the past quarter according to Mr Wijesundera. He says most
organisations are willing to pay the market rate, and those with specialist skills or skills in high demand
have enhanced bargaining power.
About the Market Wrap:
Kelly Executive collates the latest recruitment trends, forecasts and opinions from its specialist recruitment staff in this monthly
market wrap. The Wrap covers industries including finance, IT, sales and marketing and operations. Kelly Executive recruitment
consultants quoted in the Wrap are available to further discuss any of the topics. Please contact Bob Bowden, Foresight
Communications, for more information.
Bob Bowden, Foresight Communications, 02 9241 2811, 0412 753 298, bbowden@bowmac.com.au
NEWS 
