Published on the 25/07/2017 | Written by Jonathan Cotton

The latest review of SEEK data shows boomtime in the tech sector…

Demand for ICT candidates continues to increase, especially in NSW and Victoria. Over the last three months, ICT was the third most advertised industry on SEEK with NSW and Victoria, Australia’s largest labour markets, seeing job ads rise 7.1 percent y/y and 12.8 percent y/y respectively. In both states, the top advertising industry was, again, ICT.

According to the website’s data, there were 10.9 percent more new job ads placed this June than 12 months ago.

For recruiters, it’s no surprise.

“We made about 130 placements last year,” said James O’Reilly, talent acquisition lead Australia at Xero. “The high number comes as no surprise. There is definitely competition from new entrants in the market. It’s competitive and you’ve got to move quickly on top talent. Right now good talent has got options.”

We’ve recently commented on the ICT sector’s unquenchable thirst for young (cheap) talent, but O’Reilly said there’s more to it than simply getting the most manpower for the smallest spend.

“It’s a supply and demand issue of course. Last year iOS developers were very much in demand and that provided them with some bargaining power.”

But, he added, candidates are attracted to a business for many reasons outside of remuneration. “That’s why it’s so important for us to provide a great experience for [the candidate] and show them what the benefits are to working here.”

While programmers and engineers may have their pick of companies, job-seeking ICT execs may face slighter prospects, at least in the short term. An executive job index report for June from NSW-based consultancy EL Consult reports a reduction of 4 percent in June after a 6 percent retraction in May, due to “a slowdown in hiring budgets”.

Grant Montgomery, MD of the firm said: “The small monthly dip was affected by the end of the financial year. It was particularly due to an almost complete halt in hiring by the public sector as departments run out of budget before the new financial year.”

“But the slight overall loss doesn’t take away from our assertion that the economy is doing far better than most people think.”

He might have a point. While the E.L Index did slip 4 percent on a month on month basis, it remains 19.5 percent higher than the same period 12 months ago and 42 percent higher than in June 2015. (That assessment is also supported by research agency Fitch which forecasts that Australia is about to share in perhaps the strongest global growth since 2010).

“The road is not likely to be smooth…but the trend is going to continue up and this will show up in general employment, retail sales and capital investment in the new financial year,” said Montgomery.

“What is surprising is just how much of Australia’s overall economy is driven by Victoria and NSW with…more than three quarters of all new Australian middle management positions….All other states represent a relatively small proportion of overall demand.”

And if you’re looking for even longer term predictions, the Department of Employment’s Job Outlook overview of ICT job prospects until 2020 (for what that’s worth) predicts steady growth, with job openings for ICT managers rising sharply over the last decade and expected, over the next three years, to grow “very strongly”.