New positions drive IT job market skyward

The insatiable growth in demand for skilled IT staff is showing no sign of abating, and the diversification of the industry is making things even harder, according to figures from employment site Seek.

For the year to August, ICT listings have grown 27%, Seek says. ICT claimed the most new job ad listings out of any sector over the past 12 months, with 4200 roles hosted in August alone.

Janet Faulding, Seek New Zealand general manager, says the figures show the digital revolution is showing no signs of slowing down.

"In fact, we have noticed strong employment growth in the IT sector as a whole,” Faulding says, "and an increasing range of new and diverse positions advertised.

"The category has one of the largest sub-classification lists on the seek website, at 22.”

Where the jobs are

Regionally, and unsurprisingly, the majority of IT roles for the year were Auckland-based, at 59 %, followed by Wellington at 29% and Canterbury at just 7%. The remaining roles are peppered throughout New Zealand regions at 5%.

Ben Pearson, general manager of Beyond Services Limited in Wellington, explains that while the capital may be second to Auckland in numbers, he believes that Wellington is home to the larger IT projects and technology initiatives.

"Beyond Services is experiencing extremely strong demand for IT skills in Wellington,” Pearson says, "to the point where we cannot fill all our vacancies quick enough.

"This is being driven by the Government’s focus on value and efficiency, with the local IT sector scooping up numerous interesting projects requiring both staff and contractors.

"This pressure is particularly acute in software development across all role types from developers, application BAs and systems development project management."

Regional growth

While the number of IT roles based in Canterbury is comparatively low, it is the region that has experienced the strongest level of growth, at 57% over the past year.  Wellington has seen a steady 10% growth and Auckland continues to perform strongly with a 22% increase.

Job application activity

Application data on Seek reveals that across the country the most competitive roles are Helpdesk & IT support (consistently listed in the top five most competitive roles in New Zealand). Regionally, though, the ‘candidate rich’/’candidate short’ results are varied, with different regions experiencing shortages in different areas; in Auckland, Developers/Programmers receive the most applications per advertised role, yet in Canterbury this classification receives the least applications per ad.

Nathan Taukiri, GM of the company voted three times in the Seek annual recruitment awards as New Zealand’s favorite IT recruiter, Potentia, believes candidates are currently enjoying a market with more choice across most job families.

"The wider IT job market is looking healthy,” Tauriki says, "with hiring activity across all levels of seniority driven by both growth and attrition.

"Demand for people is strong in software development – developers with Java or.NET skills, business analysts, and testers. As companies grow they’re favouring intermediate level hires and this is where the supply of candidates is shortest.

"The market is becoming increasingly tight for good people and as a result, we’re seeing heightened interest in offshore candidates, with more employers reaping the rewards from braving the immigration process.”

Salary

The sector boasts a healthy average salary of $84,701 for ICT roles listed on Seek, and it is consistently placed in the top ten highest paying industries in Seek’s salary snapshot. Over a quarter of all IT roles listed on Seek boast an annual salary of between $100,000 to $200,000.

Of all the locations listing IT sector roles, Wellington currently has the highest proportion of roles offering an annual pay packet of $100K+, with 47%; Auckland is just behind at 44%, and Canterbury is at 17%.

Grant Burley, director of Absolute IT, says that in certain roles there has been strong growth in remuneration.

"We’re seeing more organisations focusing on maintenance, improvement and fine-tuning as opposed to investing in new projects,” Burley says.

"This is reflected in the increased remuneration rates for these types of skill sets. Software development, testing, web developers and managers have all experienced increases in salary.”

Absolute IT’s recent survey into hiring intentions in the IT sector revealed that over 75% of employers are looking to take on additional staff over the coming year.

"This means that demand for talent in the IT sector is likely to remain high and we expect to see more employers focusing on retaining good staff which will have a positive impact on salaries going forward,” Burley adds.

Go here to check out what's on the Seek website at the moment.