Skills crunch looms in WA as salaries surge

Author: Jennifer Foreshew
Appeared in: The Australian
Date: April 27th 2010

WESTERN Australia is leading a national surge in IT job salaries as the employment market opens up in the recovery from the global financial crisis.

More than 40 per cent of IT job categories in Perth have received a salary or contract rate rise in the first quarter of this year due to the rebound in the WA resources sector , a survey has found.

The study of salaries paid in more than 50 IT job categories in Australia’s six largest capital cities during the first three months of 2010 showed pay pressure emerging in all states.

The Perth market was beginning to experience a skills shortage in key areas from IT managers to program managers, engineers, application development managers and others. The increased demand was coming from the resources sector and the broader spectrum of financial services, manufacturing and other sectors that support it, the study found.

Peoplebank Australia’s salary data for the first quarter of this year, released today, found east-coast states had seen pay rises in fewer categories and more in contract than permanent.

Peoplebank acting chief executive Jeff Knowles said there had been an increase in the number of roles available as businesses continued to invest in new IT capabilities. “We expect increased demand right across the country in the coming months,” he said.

“People who over the last 18 months to two years may have stayed where they are for security reasons are seeing there is less need to do that.”

The number of roles Peoplebank has on its books in Victoria grew by 100 per cent in the past three months. Although permanent salaries stayed flat, contract rates increased by about 5 per cent since November 2009.

In NSW, vacancies jumped by 30 per cent for permanent opportunities and 20 per cent for contract jobs. Permanent salaries, in general, remained stable, but contract rates rose by 3-5 per cent since November.

In the ACT, Peoplebank was seeking contract workers for key roles from other states to supplement the talent base.

Meanwhile, the number of IT roles in Queensland improved with about a 30 per cent increase from April 2009. South Australia also saw a significant month-on-month lift in permanent and contracting roles.

The in-demand skill sets included Java, .NET and ERP, the survey showed.

Mr Knowles said the skills shortage would be more evident in the next quarter leading to some volatility, especially for contract workers with expertise in banking projects and with skills in business analysis, project management and Web 2.0. Pay rates, especially for contractors, would climb, tempting permanent workers into contracting, he said.