Huge increase in ICT job ads

ICT remains one of the key growth fields in the New Zealand employment market, with the continued increase in the number of jobs not easing the sector's competitiveness.

Reports from two of New Zealand's top job sites have both acknowledged the high number of IT job advertisements placed in recent months.

TradeMe Jobs says 6300 IT job ads were placed in the second quarter of 2011, marking a 60% increase compared with the same period last year.

Specifically, there was a 121% increase in the number of networking and systems roles, and a 100% increase in tester and helpdesk positions. The biggest category in IT, programming, was up by 50%.

Meanwhile, Seek has published a list of its top five most sought-after employees, placing ICT consultants in third after civil and structural engineers – enjoying unusual demand as a result of the Christchurch earthquake – and corporate accountants.

Interestingly, Seek also identifies help desk and IT support positions as being its most competitive, with these roles receiving more applications per role than any other classification.

Go here to read our story on the steps NZICT is taking to relieve the ICT industry's skills shortage.