Whilst attending the FST (Financial Services in Technology) event last Friday, I listened to Greg McAweeney, the GM of RaboDirect, speaking about using Social Media to enhance customers experience. Rabobank Direct is a specialist online-only savings and investment bank and the only bank that publishes a blog on its website. They feel this demonstrates their openness and transparency and I was surprised to learn they are not afraid to showcase the good and the bad on their site for all to see. The brainwave idea is that we must relinquish control, as Greg says, we never had it anyway! We must embrace the opportunity to show ourselves “warts and all” to redress some of the crowning issues that have recently dogged the banking industry and, on reflection are the same complaints that have, over the years, been leveraged against the recruitment sector. The banking industry has taken a hammering post GFC with little trust and much anger from the general public, as with the recruitment industry key concerns predominately focus around openness, transparency and honesty.
With many unscrupulous and unethical agents and agencies around it is my experience that consultants with an honest, ethical and assiduous approach will always shine out from the pack. In addition using social media is a fantastic way to create communities and become a “trusted advisor”, a specialist in your chosen field and with something of more value to give than your average “common or garden” variety recruiter. It is a wonderful opportunity to create an open forum for feedback and ultimately lead to innovation as posts both positive and negative can be analysed and addressed. Read more…
The hottest topic in IT at the moment is undoubtedly Cloud Computing. It received a lot of attention at last week’s vForum and is due to be one of the areas of focus at this week’s FST event. However, being a recruiter specialising in the IT Infrastructure space, I am very keen to find out how the move towards cloud computing could impact the size of IT departments and whether cloud arrangements with providers around the globe could mean a decrease in IT vacancies in Australia.
I have read a number of articles on this topic and opinion seems to be divided. In 2009, Richard Marcello, President of Technology, Consulting, and Integration Solutions at Unisys, speaking at the Cloud Computing Conference and Expo in Santa Clara, California, said that “We were able to eliminate a whole bunch of actually U.S.-based jobs and kind of replace them with two folks out of India to serve a 1,200-person engineering organization,”. Read more…
![iStock_000006541024Large[1]](http://techblog.ambition.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/iStock_000006541024Large1-150x150.jpg "iStock_000006541024Large[1]")
I can already feel the thoughts of apprehension from readers as they scan the title of this blog. DO NOT BE ALARMED! It will not be as provocative or suggestive as the title’s potential allows it to be.
When youngsters are asked what they want to be when they grow up… You are likely to hear aspirations of being a lawyer, glamorised in movies portraying unrealistic courtroom dramas… “You can’t handle the truth!” You are also more likely to hear about dreams of becoming a doctor, in the hope to one day emulate the drama that unfolds on ‘ER’ or ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’
Unfortunately, you are not likely to find a member of Generation Y fantasising about becoming a .Net programmer. IT jobs have not been romanticised in the media as a dramatic and exhilarating professions. This is in complete contrast to the slick-talking, supercilious lawyer who by day acts as an upholder of justice, and by night lives the playboy life of a movie-star. Moreover, you are unlikely to find television programmes with George Clooney, the handsome Old age pensioner, playing the part of a data analyst. Instead, you will find him working in a hospital struggling with his own personal complexities, maintaining a saucy relationship with a nurse, while at the same time saving patients seconds before they flat-line. Read more…
2010 has so far been a year of recovery for the Australian economy. The vast majority of us have breathed a collective sigh of relief as the unemployment rate reduced with consumers and businesses sharing a more positive outlook on the market. Balance, however, is a difficult state to obtain and Australia is now faced with another challenge…
As businesses boost their ranks to meet increased consumer demands, the market of skilled-candidates is fast tightening. This is particularly true of the IT industry. September’s Clarius Skills Index, released this week, reported that there is currently a shortage of 2,800 IT professionals across Australia. Read more…
There seems to be a much greater focus on diversity in the workplace since our new female PM Julia Gillard was appointed. I am a firm believer that the ‘right’ person should be hired for the job regardless of their gender, however, I also believe that everyone should be given a fair chance without judgment.
A significant finding from The Reibey Institute – Australian Research Institute for Women’s leadership, indicated that ASX500 companies with women directors delivered a higher average ROE (return on equity) over 5 years. (11.1% higher than those without women directors). In fact, in 8 out of 10 sectors, companies with women directors demonstrated higher ROE than those without. Rather alarmingly, It is also apparent woman hold only 6% of the ASX500 board positions in the Technology sector. Read more…
After many years of experience and listening to people’s reasons for looking for work and why they became successful or unsuccessful in their job applications, I have formed a good understanding of job security in the IT industry.
Speaking with one of my clients a few days ago, he mentioned he is ‘open to opportunities’. When I asked why he was looking for work when he was relatively new in his role and working in a fairly stable company that had a great reputation, he responded in a way I have never heard before but on reflection which I absolutely agree with. He said; “Companies have no loyalty to the employee unless you the employee are delivering what they need right now. No matter what you have done in the past for them they wouldn’t hesitate to let you go if it was going to benefit the company now. The only job security in the IT industry is being employable not employed.”
I believe job security in the IT industry is more volatile than other industries due to a number of factors including;
• Changing project requirements.
• Sitting as a cost centre rather than a revenue generator.
• High levels off shoring, outsourcing & cost reduction strategies.
• Rapid growth of new and evolving technologies/methodologies.
• Technical skills rapidly becoming obsolete. Read more…
//I am not sure why this works but it fixes the problem.
/*
* You may think you know what the following code does.
* But you dont. Trust me
* Fiddle with me, and youll spend many a sleppless
* night cursing the moment you thought you be clever
* enough to "optimize" the code below.
* Now close this file and go play with something else.
//When I wrote this, only God and I understood that I was doing
//Now, God only knows
Whilst double dips and roller-coaster balance sheets belie their funfair parlour, Australia’s Technology Industry at![markettrendsq120101-150x150[1]](http://techblog.ambition.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/markettrendsq120101-150x1501.jpg "markettrendsq120101-150x150[1]")
least, appears ready to hop back on the merry-go-round of a candidate skill short market. We’ll explore whether this is myth or reality, and what we should be doing in either scenario.
In this edition of the Ambition Technology Market Trends report:
Ongoing debate around whether a technology skills shortage exists depends on who you ask but rest assured it’s once again a hot button.
Positivity in business sentiment is tempered by the ability to deliver on growth plans with the availability of resources (people and capital).
How to refresh your workforce from within: does the vision still hold true and are we really living our values
Salary reviews: When to give them, why and how much?
As usual we are always keen to hear from you, please leave your comments, questions or suggestions in the comment section below.
Or view the embedded version after the jump. Read more…
As a specialist in IT infrastructure recruitment, we have taken some time to review the salaries and rates within this sector in the year so far.
The IT industry was one of the strongest sectors during the GFC and has also been one of the quickest to regain momentum during the recovery. This has led to quicker than expected competition for IT resources, with pressure growing on both salaries and contract rates.
Some key points to note are:
- Competition is rife at more junior levels as company’s look to gain value for money.
- Contract rates have accelerated at a faster pace than permanent salaries.
- High demand for specialist skill sets in storage, security, virtualization and cloud computing.
- Management salaries experiencing a slower increase as companies focus on technical resources.
- Very high demand for project staff with a number of delayed IT investments now under way.
- High demand for IT infrastructure transition, consolidation and integration skills.
- IT service providers driving demand for infrastructure architects, pre-sales and delivery professionals.
The figures are to be used as a guide only, these figures have been taken from placements that we have made, candidates we have on our database and jobs that we have recruited for this year. The correlation between years experience and salary is based on the skill level, performance and ability of individuals and is not necessarily a direct reflection of the number of year’s experience.
If you would like a more tailored indication of salary and rate information specific to your business, one of our Infrastructure specialists would be happy to arrange a meeting to discuss.
Questions or comments can be directed to our Blog site or directly by email to Rory Herity directly at rory.herity@ambition.com.au
In a recent article featured in the MIS Financial Review magazine, Brian Corrigan addresses Succession Planning and whether businesses are doing enough to bring in the next generation.
Brian spoke to leading IT profiles to understand their experiences, the challenges involved and the recommendations to fill the void.
The article also features Ambition Technology Director, Andy Cross, who commented “It’s all about looking at your skills and where the gaps are below you… You need that plan in every team and every division. It was a lot more in vogue a decade ago though has been given more lip service than real support in more recent times.”
The article presents key points to achieving an active approach to succession planning:
- Mentor potential candidates so they are aware of what they have to do to succeed.
- Give them the opportunity to act in the role when you are absent or undertaking higher duties.
- Formally assess their performance at the completion of their acting CIO or other relevant assignment.
Visit www.misaustralia.com to view the full story.
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