According to the Information Technology Contracting and Recruitment Association (ITCRA), ICT recruitment is currently keeping in step with the general labour market, with the ITCRA Trends Report and reports from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicating both sets of data are performing “almost in balance.”
ITCRA CEO, Julie Millls, says this is “off the back of ICT recruitment trending better against the ABS indicator in the past two quarters, but this is not unexpected as last quarter saw the political landscape continue to drive uncertain business conditions across the country.”
Mills says that by the time the next report is released, business expects some certainty in the political agenda for the next three years, and it is hoped that investment in major projects, infrastructure, and new business initiatives will come into sharper focus.
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“This is not suggesting additional employment opportunities but rather that there are more jobseekers available with skills to fill the roles on offer and also that the ITCRA Members are managing their talent pools effectively to support clients when positions are need filling.”
ITCRA reports that contracting continues to be the most prevalent "style of work” in the ICT employment space, although permanent placements are trending at an average of 15 to 20% of placements made.
“The nature of ICT projects and the need for mobility of talent are drivers of the contracting agenda for the ICT workforce and the business community at large,” Mills says.
Doris Huminicki, Manager at ProLearn, who partner with ITCRA in reviewing the education programs undertaken by those seeking work in ICT, reported recently that they are “seeing an increasing demand from business for work ready graduates with Help Desk/Support skills and Project Management qualifications.”
“It is interesting to note that the past quarter the SkillsMatch Dashboard continues to show that Help Desk/Support was at the highest ranked of the Skills in Demand and ranked third in the Skills Offered,” Mills observes.
“More importantly, 83% of roles were filled with available candidates, while Project Management reflects a stronger demand - second on the Demand hierarchy, fourth on the Offered listing and only 56% of roles filled, which mirrors what business is asking of the TAFEs and Universities.
“At the other end of the spectrum we still see SAP and Microsoft Windows Desktop in Demand not even registering on Skills Offered listing with only 21and 26 per cent of roles being filled respectively.
“Data such as this is what drives the skills shortage conversation. Specialised skills such as these are essential for core projects and if the talent can’t be sourced domestically, business has to wait until talent becomes available or go offshore to avoid productivity being impacted.
“While the placement count has increased only slightly this quarter the number of suitable candidates has shown a dramatic increase, but as the Skills Fulfilled Dashboard indicates, this would be skewed to some roles. As always, there are opportunities, but now there is a greater depth of talent seeking those opportunities. Even more challenging is the widening divide between the Skills in Demand and the ability to fill those roles, with only the first four Skills in Demand achieving 60 per cent or greater fulfillment.”
Mills cautions: “Now more than ever the market knowledge and analysis that typifies an ICT recruitment professional will be essential to ensure that the ICT talent in Australia is managed and supported in preparation for the, hoped for increase in projects and infrastructure into the future.”
