Hays Information Technology - July 2010
Hotspots
Ongoing needs exist in the Business Intelligence reporting space. This includes Microsoft technologies in SQL Reporting Studio and .Net. There is a definite ongoing requirement to apply current technology to produce higher level business intelligence. Organisations are keen for a more forensic understanding of all streams of their critical data, resulting in a marked increase in demand. This is also being driven by increased compliance and regulation in the market.
There has been an increase in demand for Helpdesk/Desktop Support staff and specialists within the areas of SCCM and VMWare. The increase in support staff is due to project work and the ever changing movement within the government sector. As people are seconded to other areas, employers need to backfill positions. In addition, the improving economic climate means businesses are more confident about employing staff, particularly on a permanent basis. Meanwhile, SCCM and VMWare are new and growing technologies that employers want to add to the services they can provide to clients.
Business Analysis has been an area of significant demand and we anticipate this will continue as new projects commence or are restarted. Many employers are also recruiting permanent Business Analysts in response to increased market confidence, particularly in the financial services area.
Experienced Project Managers will also be in demand, both across infrastructure and application related projects.
Within business, Trainers are wanted as new systems go live. Client Managers, Infrastructure Delivery Managers and Service Delivery Managers are needed for key shared services agencies while Business Analysts are sought in response to new projects in a new financial year.
Public sector trends
Demand for Business Analysts in the public sector is stable and it is the commercial sector that is largely driving demand.
Within the public sector, demand exists within infrastructure for Lotus Notes candidates in response to upgrades, Virtualisation skills and Windows 7 deployment. Within development, Content Migration Specialists are needed for website upgrades, while Senior Test Analysts are in demand for maintenance and enhancements. BI Developers are also wanted since commercially the importance of key data is critical to all government departments. GIS Analysts are wanted for Smartgrid projects.
The coming quarter
We expect there to be a continual growth in the permanent space as consumer confidence builds and the economy continues to recover. We've seen strong evidence of commercial employers rebuilding their teams and adding to their headcount, rather than solely replacing departing staff. Contract levels should also increase in the commercial sector.
Executive recruitment
Executives with a proven record of developing a new business are sought as employers seek to gain more market share on the back of the market's recovery.
Employer trends
Those employers who have been most successful in their recruiting efforts have moved quickly through the recruitment process. Good candidates will find another opportunity if the process takes too long.
Although job numbers have increased, employers are not yet willing to offer significant salary increases. Despite this, employers want quality candidates who can add additional value, such as team leader or specific project or niche system experience. Although salaries remain reasonably stable at present, promotion, training and other incentives are being used to help aid attraction and retention.
When recruiting, we advise employers to be flexible in their requirements, such as working hours, experience (determining what is essential and what is desirable) and in some instances salaries. Employers are also offering longer contracts.
Candidate trends
Strong candidates are secured quickly by employers with fast processes. So while high quality candidates are still available, they do not remain available for long.
Within the IT business area there has been a decrease in quality contract candidate numbers in some areas, with candidates instead preferring permanent work.
