Adelaide IT&T Market Update: April 2010

The forecast for South Australia’s IT sector is strong growth over the medium to long term, as the economy recovers from the effects of last year’s downturn, and on the back of proposed resources and defence industry expansion over the next five years.

The early signs of this growth have become evident in SA over the last three months, with dramatic month-on-month increases in the number of IT roles available.

More job options are becoming available to candidates for both permanent and contract IT roles. In fact, the IT skills pool is becoming tighter with an increasing number of candidates
having more than one offer on the table and candidates being counter offered by employers trying to retain key talent.

There has been a particular increase in demand for Helpdesk and Desktop Support and .Net Developers. We are also starting to see an increase in demand for Business Analysts and
Project Managers.

Skills shortage forecast for mid-year

If the growth in the number of roles available continues, we expect that the market will begin showing signs of a skills shortage as early as mid-year.

The consequences of a skills shortage would include upward pressure on salaries and contract rates, as well as rising staff turnover as employees pursue contract and higher-paying roles.

Peoplebank is advising IT employers to have a very clear employee value proposition, that will help build employee loyalty in the months and years ahead.