IT bonanza: salaries and offers to rise further in 2009

Lia Timson
Thursday, 26 June 2008 07:50

IT People - Enterprise

Albeit from a low sample base – the survey spoke to only 137 employers and 1052 employees in the IT sector - that’s between 174 and more than 930 new permanent job opportunities considering only the respondents’ own commitments, not their national statistical representation.

“69% planning to increase - that’s quite high. It’s a good indication of where the market is at,” says Simon Lynch, director of technology at Michael Page International.

A similar commitment was shown for contract positions, with 31% of employers planning one or two new hirings (up to 84 new contracts) and 19% planning three to 10 (up to 260 new contracts).

But with the skills shortage approaching boiling point and the 457 work visa class under review by the Federal Government, Lynch warns there could be major disruptions to IT projects around the country if those vacancies can’t be filled.

“There is no magic solution for the IT community. There is a skills shortage and if the 457 is changed, it will cause massive issues in the industry. Companies have to be more flexible with the skills they accept. Training and career development are also very important because the university graduate numbers continue to decline,” he says.

The survey advised employers “to promote the range of exciting career opportunities on offer” to help boost graduate numbers and reverse the threat to the future supply of IT professionals.

You can see the full survey and how much you should be earning on the salary tables here (http://www.michaelpage.com.au/pdf/AU_0809_Technology.pdf)