5th September 2005
The IT Jobs Market in New Zealand
According to Hudson Recruitment, New Zealand's IT employers are unhappy with current immigration policies and processing times.
Meanwhile, candidates continue to be attracted to New Zealand, citing lifestyle as a key factor.
IT jobs are strong in:
the government sector in Wellington
the accounting and finance sectors in Auckland
software application development in Christchurch.
The Wellington market is the most active, followed by Auckland then Christchurch. The salary gap in these centres has been narrowing with salaries becoming more consistent nationally.
Over the whole country, average salary increases of between two and six percent are reported in the last 12 months.
There are increased job opportunities in development, systems analysis and testing, and particular demand for:
Test Analysts
Business Analysts
Application Development (Java /J2EE and .NET Technologies)
Systems Analysts
Systems Development and Architecture
Technical Consultants, Senior Project Management
IT&T Management
Telco 3G Technical Specialists
Cisco qualified professionals
IT&T Sales and Business Development
Campbell Hepburn, National Practice Manager at Hudson, said "growth in the telecommunications sector, along with ongoing investment in leading edge technologies, VoIP, and increased uptake of 3G technologies is making hiring very competitive."
Mr Hepburn added that contractor rates have remained more consistent, with the most significant increases in system architecture and development, senior systems analysis, test analyst roles, as well as data warehouse specialists.
The government sector intends to move increasingly towards permanent or fixed-term employment arrangements over independent contracting.
"We're finding that many organisations are increasingly looking to hire permanent staff due to cost savings and, just as importantly, they retain the IP gained during projects.
"For many employers, the sought-after skill-set stretches beyond the technical, and now commonly includes project management ability, and strategic analysis.
"Employers are looking for certificated new hires (particularly as prospective clients are increasingly demanding suppliers who are certificated in a range of specialisations), while employees and job seekers are expecting a high level of professional development in their roles."
