Welcome to our end-of-Q1 update and a review of how the year up to Autumn 2023 is shaping up. We hope you’re keeping warm in what’s been a really unsettled March and look forward to giving you a peek into what’s happening out there in the world of Technology Recruitment.General CommentsWe were really interested coming into the new year to see whether the pace of 2022 would continue and if this was even possible. Last year as we all know was unprecedented, for both growth and staff turnover so it was with some trepidation that we kicked into 2023. We’ll cover this in detail throughout this report, but on the whole, the market has continued with a pace just not at the same level of pace as last year. Project work continues to shape up and kick-off, driving ongoing buoyancy in both the contracting and permanent job markets. Luckily, we’re not seeing any real signs of significant downturns or recession effects. There is a slight improvement in candidate availability after the great jump around last year.However, we are seeing this more in the contractors market compared with permanent, with most local candidates having made their move last year. Those who are coming to market on the permanent side are still asking for higher salaries and are tending to be those transitioning out of long-term projects. When it comes to salary there is also a fair bit of pushback from the employer’s point of view. Salaries are no longer leading the conversation and we are getting back to what’s important team, professional development, and work flexibility.We saw a slight uptick in demand for contractors in the first couple of months of Q1, however, this appears to be quietening again and was largely contained to Professional Services/BA and Technical support functions. Longer-term projects are tending to be recruited as either fixed-term or permanent, and contractors on these projects are being used more sparingly.candidate-driven market? No, but nearly. While there has been a slight softening, this has only meant returning to a talent-short market. The market is no longer ‘on fire’, but it’s never going to be a walk in the park to fill project teams or attract talent. International candidates are relieving some of the heat, and we hope to see them settle permanently into the New Zealand tech landscape. Within Sourced WallsIt was lovely to see our team of contractors at our recent ‘what felt like winter’ breakfast at Little Poms. Interestingly, 80% of attendees were Business Analysts! This wasn’t intentional, but probably points to where the market is currently most buoyant.Michelle and Andrea had the privilege of visiting the University of Canterbury to chat to final year Marketing and Commerce students about getting themselves ready for the transition into the workforce. They discussed using LinkedIn technology to build networks, promote their skills and experience, and have the best chance possible of securing great employment options. This has always been a cause very close to our hearts and it was great to talk to students about perceived challenges, getting noticed, developing specific employment goals and getting themselves out there.Finally, we are absolutely delighted to announce that Olivia King has returned to Sourced, as our newest Recruitment Consultant. Many of you know Liv, who worked for us up until 2021 as our Candidate Manager. After a very successful period at ARA, Liv made the decision to re-join our team as a Consultant and we couldn’t be happier to welcome her back.Who’s in DemandDemand remains high right across the spectrum, with roles in the Infrastructure and Service Desk spaces continuing to be market heroes both contracting and permanent. BAs remain in demand but this will likely never change, it just seems to be an ongoing theme in our market. Project, Program, and PMO Specialists have also featured highly over the past three to six months. Test Professionals at a mid-level have been in demand in permanent positions, and otherwise, demand has been very broad across most disciplines. CIOs, as mentioned above, have been moving in very high numbers, and being at the top of the food chain, we expect to see themes in demand emerging over the remainder of the year. We feel like we are doing less and less turnover recruitment now, with the bulk being new positions. There really doesn’t appear to be any slowing down, with some significant projects and business improvement initiatives kicking off. Within Development, demand remains quiet and steady. .Net resources have not been in high demand, with a shift more to Cloud technologies and more but not significant demand for JavaScript/PHP/Python skills both contract and permanent. In the contracting space, it has largely been made up of the usual BA roles, mixed with a range of helpdesk, Project/Program/PMO management, and systems engineering.General Round-UpThis year to date (Autumn 2023), we have seen a flow on of permanent recruitment activity from 2022 and staff retention consecutively at an all-time high. While multi-offer scenarios are now less common, negotiations around pay and work conditions are still in favour of the candidate. With candidates having moved around in significant numbers in 2022, this year will likely be more focused on cautious permanent candidates, international candidates and ex-pats.
