Demand for IT executives strong, bucks overall downward trend

Stan Beer
Thursday, 01 November 2007 08:34

IT People - Enterprise

While demand for senior positions dropped sharply across the board in Australia during October, the IT sector completely bucked the trend with an exceptionally strong upswing in demand for senior IT roles, according to a new survey.

The E.L Index published monthly by executive search firm E.L Consult, which leads many other economic indicators, fell a further 4% in October after a fall of 2% in September creating the largest two-month fall in demand since April 2005.  The falls were widespread across industry sectors, including finance (down 6%), engineering (down 3%) and management (down 13%).

However, the Information Technology index was a stand-out performer, rising 12% compared with the previous month.

According to E.L Consult, the trend in the IT industry is difficult to divine, with sources of future growth difficult to identify. However, the market for executive-level IT experts has become more internationalised and that is providing opportunities for those looking to change jobs.

The analysis by E.L Consult appears to match the findings of a recent survey by global HR consultant Mercer which found that Australian IT management salaries are now among the highest in the developed world, suggesting demand is outstripping supply of senior IT personnel.