Tougher times finding IT talent: report

Stan Beer
Thursday, 11 May 2006 18:59

IT People - Enterprise

Accenture-owned IT recruiter, Diversiti, has released preliminary survey findings of its IT Hiring Influence Report 2006, confirming that the current tight skills market is set to get even tougher. 

78 per cent of respondents identified the global competition for skilled IT resources as the factor that will have the greatest impact on availability of IT labour in Australia in the next 12 months. 

69 per cent of respondents also believe that retaining talent will be their biggest hiring challenge in the next 12 months, closely followed by recruiting the right skill set (63 per cent) and a shortage of skilled candidates (61 per cent).

These preliminary findings are part of the Diversiti IT Hiring Influence Report 2006, and were released today at the CompTIA panel discussion – IT Skills Crisis: fact or fiction - at CeBIT Australia.

Full results will be launched in Sydney on Tuesday 6 June 2006. The Diversiti IT Hiring Influence Report is endorsed by CompTIA, Queensland University of Technology and Accenture.

“These results dispel the myth that the skills crisis is fiction. There is absolutely no doubt that the key challenges facing employers over the next 12 months relate to the supply and retention of talent,” commented Deborah Howard, Managing Director of Diversiti. “Despite these findings confirming that the hunt for IT talent is set to get harder, employers are confident that they will still be able to source the majority of their IT hires from within Australia.”

Also highlighted in the preliminary report:

* Nearly half of respondents believe it will be harder to find relevant IT candidates in the next 12 months
 
* 47 per cent of respondents cited ‘competition from other professions’ and 45 per cent cited ‘continued decline in IT enrolments’ as other top five factors impacting the future of Australian IT labour supplies
 
* Half of the respondents believe less than five per cent of their future IT hires will be sourced from outside Australia in the next 12 months
 
The survey targeted Australian employers who currently hire candidates across all IT functions. 365 respondents took part in the research, representing CIOs, IT Managers and HR Managers ranging from small, medium and large businesses in all industry sectors.