Firms hunt for skills edge

When it comes to IT budgets, companies are looking to make every dollar count. Photo / Supplied

People with strong IT skills are in short supply, according to one Auckland recruitment firm.

Another says some job hunters need more training to improve their chances of getting a job.

Martin Barry of Absolute IT says demand for experienced people is increasing, despite a rise in the number of IT staff arriving from Christchurch in recent weeks.

"We have already placed people from Canterbury in contract roles," he says. "In addition, inquiries are coming in from job hunters in Christchurch looking to move to Auckland."

On the skills shortage side, Barry says there is a strong demand for people across the board. But skill-shortage hotspots include the SAP sector, java and dot-net development, from intermediate to architect roles.

Barry has more than 20 years' experience in the IT recruitment industry and says the number of IT project-management roles are increasing as firms start to update their networks.

"But there is still a reasonably good supply of people at a senior level, compared to a couple of years ago," he says. However, Barry says many companies are keeping a tight rein on their purse strings when it comes to their IT budgets, making sure every dollar spent delivers a worthwhile return. It seems that essentials are in while nice-to-haves are still on the backburner.

"Companies are spending money to get a competitive advantage, such as with improved processes," he says. "Money is being spent on IT but mainly on essential things."

Barry says business analysts are also in demand and that during the past two months people with program-testing skills have been thin on the ground.

Despite increased demand for skilled IT people, apart from a few exceptions salaries are not rising that much, he says. The company keeps tabs on salaries via its website itsalaries.co.nz.

Barry says the Christchurch quake is causing many companies to review their disaster-recovery plans, and this may lead to more work as firms find their systems wanting. The benefits of cloud computing have come to the fore since the quake.

Many companies were hamstrung with all their data sitting on computers in buildings they couldn't get access to.

Cloud computing allows people to store data on remote hard drives or servers. To access files, all people need is access to the internet. During the past 18 months Barry has seen an increase in the number of jobs requiring people to work on cloud-computing systems.

"People with a good understanding of the cloud are in demand," he says. "We have also seen application-development roles ... not so much writing in-house systems but systems that will sit on the cloud."

Over at Momentum Group, John Bailey, general manager of 920 - the firm's IT recruitment arm - says its Wellington office has seen an increase in job hunters from Christchurch.

"We could do with more people," he says. "We need more contractors and more permanent staff."

Bailey says a lot of the new work has come from the project-management space, with companies investing in upgraded IT systems. "At this time of year firms re-jig their business plans relative to their perception of future market conditions."

But he is concerned by under-skilled people presenting themselves for jobs. "It would be great to see more skilled developers in the market."

But Barry says employers are becoming more flexible and are prepared to look at people who may not have everything they want.

"They will compromise on some of the technical skills if they find the right quality of person. Then it becomes a joint responsibility for the employee and the employer to work together on up-skilling."

* Steve Hart is a freelance writer at www.SteveHart.co.nz