Technology Profession Broadens Its Reach

Hiring levels are continuing to grow in 2017, on the back of infrastructure projects in NSW, the ACT and VIC, according to Peoplebank's Salary and Employment Index - Winter 2017. Alongside the Index, which tracks salaries being paid for more than 50 job titles across Australia's major markets, Peoplebank notes that Australia's Technology labour market is being transformed with the addition of professionals whose backgrounds diverge from traditional technical skill sets.

Peter Acheson, CEO of Peoplebank, comments that the buoyant mood in south-eastern Australia has meant that NSW, the ACT and VIC currently dominate demand for Technology hiring.

NSW hiring is at its strongest for 18 months, with increased demand across the market, especially for Business Intelligence/Data Analytics, Digital & digital transformation roles, Project Managers, Developers and Engineers.

Demand for Technology skills also grew in VIC, especially on the back of demand for specialists in security, business intelligence/data analytics, developers, testers and engineers. VIC is also filling numerous roles in ERP systems (especially SAP) and CRM.

Within the ACT, with end-of-financial year contract renewals combining with strong business investment has yielded increased demand and some tightening of the availability of candidates with security clearance.

While overall Technology demand is flat (compared with last quarter) in QLD, strong export growth coupled with economic resurgence means the state's economy could begin to lift in the near future. Similarly, demand for Technology skills is beginning to rise in WA, on the back of recently-announced resources sector projects.

Acheson comments that there are now fewer candidates available for roles: for example, there may only be a handful of available contractors vying for a particular role, compared to a pool of up to 20 that would have been available 12 months ago.

However, despite strong demand, there is a steady balance between supply and demand, and few Technology workers have seen salary or rate rises over the past quarter.

"Equilibrium between the supply and demand for Technology skills is being maintained through factors including that large organisations, especially in the financial services sector, are assigning high-performing staff from non-technical business units to IT projects," Acheson says.

"As organisations become more confident in their capacity to deliver major IT projects – especially projects designed around business outcomes - there is more scope for organisations to bring different skillsets into the project team. Interestingly, participating in an IT project is increasingly being seen by non-IT staff as an asset in their career portfolio."

"Organisations are also becoming adept at integrating people with broader STEM skill sets such as mathematics and science into their teams, as data scientists or analysts. The next impact is that Australia’s Technology skills pool is growing both in size and in diversity as it absorbs people from a range of technical and broader skill sets. I believe the long term consequence is that Technology experience will be a stepping-stone to a broader career path: opening up new opportunities for industry professionals,” Acheson concludes.

Peoplebank's Salary and Employment Index is downloadable at www.peoplebank.com.au