Hays Information Technology - July 2009

Hotspots

.Net developers, Sharepoint developers and SAP consultants are the prime areas of candidate demand at present. Many Government projects involve .Net and Sharepoint, so private IT consultancies are searching for candidates with these skills in order to tender for the work. Meanwhile, the demand for good developers is likely to continue.

JAVA and infrastructure candidates with excellent communication and business skills are also in demand, as are those with project management experience who are defence cleared in light of the number of defence projects underway, particularly in South Australia.

Finally, employers will always consider good senior BA's.

The coming quarter

The private sector remains hesitant to make the financial outlay for new staff unless they are crucial to the delivery of a contractual agreement. Until Governments release budgets for IT projects, the recruitment picture will remain as is, with the hotspot areas the focus of all recruitment activity.

More companies are looking for 12 month contract appointments.

Executive recruitment

Executive recruitment is not a priority at present since internal movements within some major private companies mean vacancies do not reach the general market. The Government is recruiting a number of low-level executive roles, however candidate quality is a concern and many departments seek further resumes after the closure date.

Salaries

Salaries will remain stable, with employers adopting a more standardised approach to their salaries, rather than the previous situation where candidates were able to dictate salary levels. In general, employers will offer non-financial benefits such as flexible working hours in place of salary increases.

Candidate trends

Like most sectors, the increase in candidate volumes is offset by the skills, quality and experience of a large percentage of these candidates.

Candidates that for many years focused their job search on securing lucrative contracts are now seriously considering and applying for stable permanent roles within the public sector. This is most obvious within the contract market, and the concern is that when the market stabilises, the priority of such candidates could again become money.

Another trend that will impact the contract market this quarter is the seasonal increase in candidates at this time of year. Projects are often put on hold or contracts come to an end, and so there will be higher availability for temporary assignments, particularly IT support staff.