![iStock_000012110987XSmall[1]](http://techblog.ambition.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/iStock_000012110987XSmall1-150x150.jpg "iStock_000012110987XSmall[1]")
Last year was a very difficult time for the global job market. Most people were struggling to find jobs, maintain their current job, and earn a decent salary. Times were tough and most of us didn’t have many options so we settled for anything we could get.
This year however, we have experienced quite the opposite. As the Australian economy prospers, technology employees are starting to ask for an increase in their salary. There is a huge skill shortage amongst technology employees, which makes it easier for people with the right skill set to demand a larger amount of money. In turn, companies are being forced to pay higher rates to people with these valued skills. Are these people actually worth what they are asking for, or are the companies paying extra because these are the best options they can find? Are companies now in the reverse role and having to settle because there are such limited options?
Pay rises are not only happening in Australia, but also the USA. Google just released a statement saying they would give a 10% pay rise to all of their employees next year. The reason behind this decision was to try and entice their employees to stay with the company as opposed to being poached by other competitors such as Facebook. Google is choosing to increase pay rates to their employees because they value their skills and want them to stay onboard.
Is there a difference between the pay rises we are seeing in Australia compared to the pay rises companies like Google are implementing? Is Australia being forced to give pay increases because there is a lack in numbers of skilled workers? Are we able to choose what kind of pay we are giving, or are we being forced to choose between quality and quantity?
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…
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…
One of the most common questions being asked right now is “are salaries and contract rates going up in line with the increase in demand for IT resources?” My initial reaction is a resounding, ‘yes’, however looking a little deeper there are some interesting points of note starting to occur across the Technology Industry.
Using the relatively widespread salary benchmark reports that pop up on the internet from a variety of sources, I was surprised at how low some of the average salaries were being reported. They certainly didn’t match up with what I was seeing day-to-day but with any statistical data you cannot read too much in to it without carefully examining the small print i.e. Scope and reach of the survey and the number and class of respondents.
So digging a little deeper I used a matrix of tools to see if there really was any truth to the rate changes being reported. Using a number of major job boards and cross referencing our own candidate database information and job placement data I was able to refine my findings. Finally to add a further layer of reference I spoke to other IT recruiters and a number of my current clients. Read more…
While it may be a little colder down south, things are certainly heating up in the Melbourne IT Market, with massive growth in the number of IT jobs across the board.
With two of Australia’s most prominent banks based in Melbourne and many head offices, and shared services teams it seems that if you’re in IT then Melbourne is the place to be.
Recent confirmation that the NBN (National Broadband Network) head office will be based in Melbourne, means an expected 25,000 positions will be generated during the projects lifespan. With majority of these jobs being IT centric, particularly in infrastructure fields, Melbourne will become a goldmine for the IT job hunter. Inevitably IT professionals from around the country and abroad will be called upon to lend their skills down south.
View our IT Jobs in Melbourne
With this week’s announcement of the 4th generation iPhone and the recent release of the iPad, Apple now looks well placed to lead the pack in the mobile computing world. Finally adding mulit-tasking, respectable push email services and document editing abilities, these two ultra desirable personal products can now seriously compete with the likes of the Blackberry’s of the business world (although I’m still baffled and annoyed by the lack of Java support!). In recent years, this technology has revolutionised mobile office functionality, to the point where it is very easy to work and communicate when on the move. Proving their popularity, it is almost impossible not to see these devices in the hands of every commuter on their way to and from work. Here at Ambition we are a recruitment company, therefore staying connected and contactable to each individual client and candidate is essential to our successful business, and these devices are radically increasing our service levels.
So where do we go from here? Originally published in a 1965 paper by Intel co-founder Gordon E Moore, Moore’s Law states that the number of components in integrated circuits used within any electrical device had doubled every year since these circuits were invented. Amazingly this law has proved precisely accurate to this day, allowing all electrical devices to shrink in size yet increase in power on a regular and predicable basis. While it remains hard to envisage what electronic products we will all be communicating with and utilising in the years to come, it is clear that they greatly increase our abilities to service our client and candidate requirements.
Read more…
The past few years have heralded what would seem to be the new era of off shoring here in Australia. Numerous large Australian corporations made the big decision to off shore a lot of their IT functionalities to various countries such as India and China in an attempt to capitalize on cheaper labor costs in those countries. I aim to explore the impact of such decisions in the Australian ERP market place and who is really affected by it.
The decision to off shore IT functionalities by Australian corporations created an influx of candidates primarily within the technical space. A lot of developers got relinquished back into the market place as companies off shored any ERP development work that they had. The combination of a decline in the Technical positions available, coupled with the increased number of candidates in the market resulted in not only a reduction on salary expectations but also an increasingly competitive job market amongst technical consultants. Luckily, and unlike their technical counterparts, Functional Consultants were not greatly affected by this as businesses chose to retain their consultants due to the necessity for them to work closely with business users and stakeholders on a regular basis. Read more…
Just as the warm summer weather fades from memory, so too does the first business quarter of 2010. The results for the most part have been encouraging and the sentiment of many is that the good times are once again just around the corner.
In this edition of the Ambition technology Market Trends report:
- A quicker than expected return to the skill shortage problem that has plagued the Australian Technology market for the past decade.
- The drive to recapture market share for many organisations puts pressure on resources internally and creates strong demand for extra headcount.
- It’s not the quantity of resources you employ but the quality and with the imbalance between demand and supply it’s a challenge to find the people who will truly deliver value to your business.
- Perhaps driven by project requirements or maybe by precedent the search for specialist resources pushes up the salaries and rates for technology professionals.
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…
With the release of the Rudd government’s budget this week, speculation is that employment growth will strengthen from 1% to around 3.5% in 2010. Realistically this means that unemployment rates will drop, demand for talent will increase and the recruitment market is likely to take a turn towards a severe skill shortage not experienced for quite some time. With this in mind what are you, the employer, doing to avoid attrition rates creeping up and losing your key talent to competitors?
With demand increasing dramatically this year within the Banking and Financial services space for Project Managers and Business Analysts, a skill shortage of experienced, competent and skilled candidates is a reality. In a bid to push through various projects and programmes of work delayed due to the GFC, many organisations within financial services now have multiple requirements ranging across a high number of projects. Some organisations are now offering rates and salaries way above market rates in an attempt to attract the best talent in the market, and to tempt those key performers away from their current employers.
Read more…
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