PREDICCIONES

ICT Trends – Employment Prospects for 2014

IT Sector – Supply & Demand

The message contained in the final newsletter for 2013 for anyone contemplating a career in ICT is very positive; the number of well-paid jobs in the industry with good long term prospects, not just here in NZ, but globally is well documented.

There are two major factors influencing the rosy outlook for employment in this industry; demand - a continuing growth in new jobs, and supply - a shortage of both graduates, with the requisite knowledge and skills, and highly skilled professionals.

This positive employment outlook is reinforced by a number of recent stories with headlines such as Techday’s IT Brief “Don’t leave town before you’ve seen the booming ICT market” and Computerworld’s “NZ ICT sector faces 'dire' skills shortage”.

The Techday article states that, according to the latest Absolute IT Employer Insight Survey, a whopping 75 percent of employers are planning to hire new staff in 2014, the majority within the next 3 months, with the main reason being new projects.

In the Computerworld story the CEO of IT services company Fronde, Ian Clarke, states that there is a dire shortage of highly skilled IT professionals in the country, despite the fulfilling and lucrative careers the sector delivers.

This shortage of highly skilled IT professionals is further emphasised in the Techday article with the headline “Kiwi IT jobs boom smashes $110k salary mark”. Head of Trade Me Jobs, Peter Osborne, states that eight of the top ten highest-paying jobs are in the IT sector and paying at least $110,000 per year. A real shortage of IT gurus is leading to these high salaries being offered as businesses throw more money on the table to attract people into their roles.

Across the Tasman, under the headline “Shortage of IT graduates a critical threat”, an analysis by The Australian Financial Review of university course take-up by domestic undergraduate students since 2001 shows a 36 per cent decline in students starting IT degrees, and a 41 per cent decline in students ¬graduating from those degrees in the same time frame.

Worldwide there are many similar headlines (refer News Bytes A – Z) heralding the widening gap between the expanding IT job market and the shrinking availability of skilled IT professionals.

So just what is the current state of supply and demand here in New Zealand?

Tertiary ICT Enrolment Trends

Figure 1 indicates an increase in ICT diploma EFTS (equivalent full time students) for 2012 of 7.4 per cent on the 2011 figures. International enrolments, however, are down by 5.7 per cent for the same period thus continuing the overall decline in international diploma enrolments from peak numbers in 2009. Completions for 2012 year are up by 5 per cent on 2011 (Data derived from the MoE Education Counts website).

Fig.1 Diploma ICT Enrolments (EFTS) & Completions 2005 – 2012

Figure 2 illustrates an increase in ICT bachelor EFTS for 2012 of 9 per cent on the 2011 figures while completions are up 27 per cent for the same period. Enrolments overall have increased by 30 per cent since the 2008 trough of 4830 enrolments (EFTS).

Fig.2 Bachelor ICT Enrolments (EFTS) & Completions 2005 - 2012

Conclusion

The domestic ICT enrolments (EFTS) for both diplomas and degrees continue to trend upwards, providing an encouraging outlook for prospective employers of ICT graduates.

Seek ICT Job Adverts

The Seek ICT job adverts for January and February are currently tracking the 2013 numbers, as can be seen in figure 3.

Fig.3 Seek ICT Job Adverts Monthly Trends 2010 –2014 (February)

Trademe IT (fig.4) job adverts are up 5 per cent on this time last year.

Fig.4 Seek ICT & Trademe IT Job Advert Trends to February 2014

The monthly Seek ICT job adverts for February (fig.5) have increased for the main regions with an overall increase for all New Zealand of 43 per cent. When compared with the same period in 2013 the numbers for Wellington and Canterbury are slightly lower while Auckland is up by 8 per cent (Refer fig.6

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