Soft skills : Key to securing a job for IT contractors in 2024

- Strong Demand for Technical Roles: Hands-on roles such as software development, IT architecture, and cyber security remain highly sought after, with organisations willing to pay top dollar for experienced professionals. In contrast, roles in project management and business analysis have seen a more selective hiring approach.
- Biggest Rate Increases: Cybersecurity engineers, project managers, and front-end developers have seen notable rate increases, reflecting the growing need for specialised skills in digital transformation projects across various industries.
- Regional Variations: The guide also highlights regional differences in contractor rates, with states like Western Australia and the ACT seeing higher rates due to ongoing transformation projects in the mining and public sectors.
- Federal Government Contracts Shifting: IT contracts offered by the Federal Government are diminishing in length of term. Recruiters are seeing engagements shorten to between six and 12-months, where previously there were many rolling 12-month contracts. Additionally, ahead of the Queensland election, Hays has seen a pause in government hiring. This is expected to result in a large uptake of programs in 2025, regardless of the election outcome.
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in recruitment and workforce solutions, such as Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provider (MSP). The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As of 31 December 2024, the Group employed over 10,300 staff operating from 225 offices in 33 countries.
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