Welcome to our end-of-Q2 update and a review of how 2022 has been shaping up. We hope you're keeping warm and well, and we look forward to giving you a peek into what's happening out there in the world of tech recruitment.
General Comments
Salary movement
As you all know, this year started with a bang, with a surge of new positions coming to market in response to growth and new projects coming online, followed by ongoing recruitment for turnover. A significant number of candidates changed jobs in the six months between October 2021 and March 2022, with the tail of that movement still being felt. In addition, project work has continued to shape up and kick-off, driving ongoing buoyancy in both the contracting and permanent job markets.
It's been a really interesting watch. There is a definite sense of a softening of the manic six months mentioned above, and while higher salaries are still on the table, there is also a fair bit of push back from an employer point of view. Employers want to ensure those team members who are being paid over and above standard rates are able to add significant value, complement the existing team, and are not creating significant parity issues from a salary point of view.
Continued resourcing challenges
As was the case in Q1, with permanent recruitment continuing at pace, the contract market remains somewhat subdued, with the majority effort appearing to be in securing the best talent for permanent positions.
Resourcing continues to present a real challenge to meet the demands of our clients’ growth, and despite the recent opening of the Accredited Employer Scheme, we are seeing some reluctance from employers to utilise international talent pools, taking a 'wait and see' approach as this scheme beds in. We are seeing a significant upswing in candidates wanting to relocate to New Zealand and certainly hope these pools will be able to be tapped soon.
We have continued to see a slow down in candidates relocating into the Canterbury region from within NZ, particularly from Auckland, which previously had offered a great channel of talent into the city. We are still seeing a smaller trickle of candidates from Otago towards Christchurch chasing better work opportunities, this tending to be mid-level candidates with fewer family ties and seeking promotion opportunities.
Succeeding in the current market
We really feel for our clients, having weathered COVID-19 and now this talent storm. Many are having to reimagine what teams and talent look like, taking a much more flexible approach and considering remote working, flexible work arrangements and other incentives to ensure the ability to secure talent. Most have now engaged a recruitment agency partner to ensure they are first to new talent coming to market, and that their brands are presented as favourably as possible. While online advertising still has its place, it's that ability to get to candidates before they hit the open market that has really become key to success.
So, is it all doom and gloom from an employment perspective? No. Now that the heat is off slightly, we hope to see those international candidates becoming more viable, local candidates coming to market disappearing less rapidly, and with a little bit more time to breathe through the recruiting process.
Hot Jobs
Junior level
Systems and Technology Support Analyst
Our client is a fast paced, fast-growing company that operates within key primary industries. They have a focus on sustainability and an excellent workplace culture. These are office-based roles, where you will be the face of IT and where your customer service focus and technical know-how will add value across the business. Experience in or a desire to learn Microsoft Admin Centre will be favourably considered as is a strong customer focus, problem-solving skills and the ability to identify and implement improvement opportunities.
Intermediate level
Web Developer
This New Zealand company values its people and provides a great work environment. The development team is a hardworking and dedicated group of software professionals who all contribute to the ongoing success of the company and its intelligent solutions. Focusing on a great user experience, you will be responsible for developing high-quality, leading-edge web applications. Skills required include VueJs or React Js, Typescript, Restful API design and consumption and at least 3 years in commercial web development.
Senior level
Senior Integration Developer
Our Christchurch based company has a fast-growing customer base in the US. This role will draw upon your extensive API development experience in a Real Time software environment. This company is well established, and its team environment is welcoming and diverse and values the skills, backgrounds and contributions that each member brings. Skills required include at least 3 years of experience developing APIs, Services and Message Queues, C#, .NET 6, SQL Server, Azure DevOps, Azure Pipelines, Git Version Control, Typescript, Javascript, HTML, CSS.
Within Sourced Walls
It was lovely to see our team of contractors for our annual Mid-Winter get-together. This year we got together as a group at Winnie Bagoes for Pizza and Quiz night with some great success. We relish the opportunity to get our contractors together, not only to catch up with them – which is difficult during their busy work schedules – but also to have an opportunity for them to create new professional connections through our community.
We are looking forward to another of these events in a few months.
Unfortunately, with Orange COVID-19 restrictions we are still largely closed in the office to walk-in visitors but have managed to host visitors recently and look forward to this becoming more of the norm in the latter months of 2022.
Who's in Demand
In the Professional Services space, we have seen the biggest salary increases, particularly among BAs. These BAs remain in demand, with lesser need for Project and Programme Managers. Change roles continue to grow, with more and more coming through on both a permanent and contract basis. In the Test space, Test Strategy and Automation appear to be the most in-demand however not in huge numbers, and tending to be more mid-early senior level.
Within Development, demand remains very steady in the .Net space and also for JavaScript/PHP/Python skills, both contract and permanent. This is much the same as Q1 with roles typically being more operational than leadership and with more and more openness to training juniors and intermediates through, which is fantastic to see.
In the contracting space, it has largely been made up of the usual BA roles, mixed with a range of helpdesk, project management and systems engineering.
General Round-Up
To date in 2022, we have seen permanent recruitment activity and staff turnover at an all-time high. Multi-offer scenarios have been the norm, but this is softening. Negotiation around pay and work conditions has been in favour of the candidate, and this has really driven candidate activity. For the first time since 2019, candidates have moved around in significant numbers, but with a majority of that now complete, how do we continue to grow as a tech community? This will be the one to watch.
In Case You Missed It
Over the last quarter, we’ve written some new blogs. You can find them below:
Best Podcasts to Inspire Women in Tech
Being a woman in tech has its challenges, from getting your foot in the door, to being acknowledged as a leader. In these six motivating podcasts, hear from female experts in the field about the obstacles they faced and how they successfully overcame them. Learn more, here.
Building a Successful Cyber Security Career
Curious about a career in cyber security? It's one of the fastest-growing areas in IT with generous salaries to match. Find out about some of the career paths available and the training options to help you succeed in the industry, here.
