Growing demand for IT specialists in NZ

An increasing number of organisations in New Zealand are offering, or want to offer, services through various digital channels and this is leading to the creation of new roles and greater demand for specialised skills, according to Hays, the jobs and recruitment specialists.

Data scientists, automation testers and information architects are among the roles topping the Hays Quarterly Report of skills in demand for IT for the period July to September 2015.

"The need to update digital services is creating high staffing demand for automation test analysts as well as test analysts who are experienced within the digital/mobile area," says Jason Walker, Hays New Zealand managing director.

"With a number of companies investing in new projects, most employers are focused on securing permanent candidates.

"Automation skills are a must, and ideally candidates should have the ability to set up automation frameworks. Web/mobile and online project experience is also preferred, and the top candidates have multi industry experience," he says.

Another major driver of IT vacancy activity is growth in the data analytic and data science space, says the recruiter.

"Companies are investing in data warehousing to ensure all existing data is in readable formats so that data scientists can extract and provide meaningful insights.

"We will see a number of data scientist/analyst vacancies this quarter as a result," says Walker.

"However given that this skill set is quite rare in New Zealand, there are a number of overseas interviews taking place.

"Both soft skills and technical skills are required for these roles as communication is key to the successful delivery of meaningful insights.

"Therefore we're seeing high demand for professionals with not only strong communication skills but skills in SAS, R, SPSS, SQL and Matlab," he says.

Meanwhile demand remains strong for information architects who have technical and functional skills across the business intelligence sphere. Developers, business analysts and helpdesk staff are also sought after, according to Hays.

"Candidate movement is high, and moving forward employers may need to consider offering higher salaries in order to attract and secure the top talent," says Walker.