IT employment has continued to mend, with employers indicating positive hiring intentions for the second quarter of 2011.
In the latest report from recruitment firm Hudson ICT, which surveyed 5072 employers nationwide, reports 38.6 per cent of IT professionals signalled plans to increase staff levels over coming months while 32.9 per cent plan to increase the number of permanent staff.
The firm’s national practice director, Martin Retschko, said demand for various skills sets continued to outstrip the number of qualified candidates.
“As investment in technology continues, we’re seeing employers scrambling to attract and retain the right candidates, and some find that they need to offer increasingly competitive remuneration packages to secure the skills they need,” he said in a statement.
Despite the positive outlook for hiring staff, the report noted IT employer confidence has reduced by 3.6 per cent on the last quarter’s figures.
“This is partially due to businesses turning to contract resources to supplement their permanent capacity rather than taking on additional permanent employees, or not being able to find permanent staff with the skills they need," Retschko said.
Demand continues for specific skill sets including developers, testers, business analysts, project managers and solutions architects while the expectations continue for the National Broadband Network (NBN) to further drive industry growth this year.
“With the country at technical full employment, a stabilising economy and steady employer confidence across the IT sector, competition for employees is growing rapidly,” Retschko said. “It is becoming increasingly difficult for employers across the nation to identify and retain the best talent.
"Talent management programs will need to be well-thought through and selection procedures robust in order for employers to identify the correct people to drive their organisations forward throughout 2011."
Hays recruitment recently echoed this sentiment in its April-June quarterly report, which indicated ongoing investment in software and infrastructure projects had driven the specific demand for program managers, employees with experience within outsourcing companies as well as Windows and Windows Server engineers.
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