IT job market begins to free up

A crush of information technology workers will be on the job hunt this year but vacancies and salaries are unlikely to spring back to pre-recession levels, recruiters say.

An employee intentions survey of more than 3800 candidates by recruitment firm Absolute IT found 82 per cent were employed in the sector, 67 per cent of whom were looking to change jobs in the new year.

Director Grant Burley says it is not unusual for people to seek new work in the new year – with many taking the opportunity to re-assess their jobs over the holidays – but it is unlikely there will be enough opportunities for those after new challenges. "We don't have a huge leap in vacancies to place every single candidate."

However, there is strong demand for particular skills and certain projects will stimulate activity, he says.

Java and .net developers and project managers are perennially in demand, and the market "cannot get enough of business analysts".

The public sector will continue to provide work, and the Government's "three strikes" policy for violent criminals will require departments to change their systems.

Candidates with SAP skills will continue to be hot property, with several major SAP projects – including at Fonterra and Contact Energy – under way.

The clamour for business analysts shows firms are planning to embark on projects and the likes of developers, testers and quality assurance professionals will be sought by employers, Mr Burley says.

An Absolute IT salary survey in October revealed pay packets were static last year and – while some contractor rates are rising – this is likely to be so for six months.

"Employers will sit on their hands unless they've got talent they really want to keep, and to do that they've got to pay a wee bit more."

Twenty-eight per cent of candidates canvassed in the employee intentions survey said a salary increase would stop them leaving their current role. Employers need to be aware their staff may have itchy feet.

"A lot of employees currently in work are looking out there. There will probably be a lot more movement occurring – whether it's wanted or not."

Nathan Masters, general manager of recruitment company Ninetwenty, says there had been a surge of new opportunities recently, but it was difficult to say whether vacancies would spring back after dropping as much as 40 per cent last year.

"Chunky" government projects this year will stimulate demand in the consulting services and vendor space, but departments will continue to be cautious in their hiring.

Remuneration for business analysts and testers took a hit last year, but their salaries and rates will likely bounce back, he says.

Salary freezes put in place last year will probably come off, but any pay rises are unlikely to match those won pre-recession.

"But overall there's a much stronger, positive sentiment ... there will be more opportunities out there for people."

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