Demand for ICT professionals in Australia is expected to increase again
from March next year, according to the Clarius Skills Index.
The September quarter of the index found that even though the shortage
of ICT professionals has decreased, there was still demand for 5925
jobs.
According to the index, business sentiment and the resulting uncertainty
has left the market extremely difficult to predict, resulting in some
unusual and unexpected outcomes in the latter parts of 2012.
New South Whales and Victoria saw a rise in permanent staff in the
second half of the year, while the market in WA has come to a standstill
in the last quarter, with many projects shelved until 2013.
This can be attributed as a reaction to China reevaluating its resource requirements, according to the index.
Mobility has been named as a key growth area that will continue to rise
in 2013, with a predicted three million Australians expected to own a
tablet by the end of next year.
As a result, ICT professionals will have greater opportunities to work
in sales and marketing, app development, the application of such devices
to the workforce and security.
Demand continues for project managers and business analysts across
Australia, excluding Queensland, and the demand for permanent staff in
the banking and insurance sector has picked up.
South Australia remains steady in the contract market and Canberra continues to display demand.
The index found employers are looking for value for money, and
candidates who have more than just technical skills. However, there will
be a renewed focus on technical skills when the market picks up, demand
rises and contract rates rise.
CEO of Clarius Group, Kym Quick, said in an interview with Sky Business
News that close attention needs to be paid to how IT as a sector
develops in the future.
“Not only are we seeing increased demand, because obviously technology
drives so much of an organisation in this era, we’re seeing a huge
decline in the number of graduates going into university courses and
coming out with qualifications in IT,” she said.
“I suspect in the next 10 years that’s where our most critical shortage
is going to be, because the university intake in some sectors has
halved. So we’ve got a growing demand and a declining supply of
employees coming through.”
The Clarius Skills Index measures supply and demand of skilled labour in
Australia and is based on Australian Bureau of Statistics and
Department of Employment, Education and Workplace Relations data, which
is analysed by KPMG.
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