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Greythorn Australia's managing director, Richard Fischer, the survey of 959 hiring managers did, however, highlight the effect the global economy was having on some of the big players in the market. 'It would appear that large organisations with global operations or head offices in Europe or America, are feeling the effect of the economic uncertainty in these regions and are adopting a 'wait and see' approach to 2012 with the majority (60%) looking to maintain current IT contractor levels.'
Fischer said that many medium sized companies that are less reliant on global cost containment are able to proceed with projects as planned for 2012, adding that specifically 18 percent of medium sized organisations (those with IT teams between 50-200) were planning to increase contractor levels in 2012 compared to only 8 percent of large organisations (over 200 IT staff).
However, it appears IT hiring managers are bemoaning the fact that there is a lack of quality candidates, with Greythorn finding that almost half of respondents (44%) saying this was the biggest challenge they are facing when recruiting, particularly for those niche skills required for specific projects.
'It is essential for companies to plan projects well in advance for 2012, to ensure they have adequate resources available, particularly when the projects require hard-to-find skill sets,' Fischer said, adding that the industry concern was compounded by candidates who were 'reluctant to move roles given economic uncertainty.'
Fischer warns that a lack of quality skilled candidates in the current market can seriously jeopardise projects in the pipeline, and he says it is essential that employers look at their 'value proposition in order to attract quality candidates whilst maintaining high performers,' and that 'career prospects and flexibility remain the key factors to attract and retain skills.'
