Sourced Quarterly Market Update – Autumn 2019

Welcome to the first quarter report for 2019. It’s hard to believe we’re already close to Easter time. It’s been a busy quarter for the team here at Sourced and the first three months have certainly flown by.

In this quarter update, we look at the first quarter of 2019, what’s trending, how the year has kicked off from a recruitment point of view, who’s in demand, who’s moving, and a general view of the market. We hope this is a useful addition to the Sourced report which came out earlier this year, and as always, we encourage you to make contact if you’re looking for any specific market intelligence, salary surveys, role positioning or similar. We’re in a really unique position to watch the market as it evolves, and always happy to share these insights.

General Comments
2019 has really started with a bang. While traditionally the market remains flat through January and into late February as school holidays and final Christmas holidays are finished up, this year, it’s been busy right from the get-go in mid-January. This has been across both contract and permanent recruitment, and most role specialties and levels. Contracting has kicked off much earlier than usual, with demand steady for Business Analysts and Project Managers, and a small peak in demand for testers. We have also seen a return to demand for contract Software Engineers, predominantly in the C++ and C# areas.

We have not seen the traditional move around of local candidates that we often see at this time of year, although this was expected given the volumes who made the move in the last quarter of 2019. We have returned to an equal balance of candidates coming in from offshore, returning to employment after disestablishment, moving from contracting into permanent positions, and to a lesser extent, those candidates moving from one permanent role to another in Christchurch.

As we noted above, demand has been solid across most role specialties, however, we are seeing a higher than usual demand in the Infrastructure, Technical Support and Helpdesk areas, which have been quiet for some time. This is also true of the contracting area, and has been largely driven by roles being vacated, and hiring decisions deliberately being put on hold, with contractors being used to keep the seat warm.

All indications from our clients, who we’ve thoroughly enjoyed catching up with this quarter, are for a steady year with projects expected to keep things bubbling along, though without significant plans for growth. Ones and twos across the board are what we’re seeing in terms of hiring volume, with a major portion of our clients currently hiring, or having already hired in 2019.

We certainly expect the majority of restructures (as seen late last year) to be behind us, and are looking forward to a year of growth opportunities for many.

Within Sourced Walls

It’s been a busy but productive start to the year for the Sourced team. We have been delighted to introduce our new Candidate Resourcer Olivia to a number of clients, and she has settled in very quickly to the Sourced way of life. Olivia is proving instrumental in allowing us to provide an even higher level of candidate care to our permanent and contract candidates, and help to identify new talent coming into the market for our clients.

As of mid-February, Sourced went through the StaffSure assessment and we are proud to say we are officially StaffSure certified. This provides our clients and candidates confidence in our ability to work to the highest industry standards.

Who’s in Demand

As mentioned above, we are busy across all role specialities, with a particular rise in demand for IT Infrastructure, Technical Support and Helpdesk professionals at a junior, intermediate and senior level. This has been both contract and permanent, and in higher volumes, with some clients hiring two or three at a time, though largely ones and twos.

Demand remains very steady in the Senior .Net Development space, with an emerging demand for alternative web and front-end technologies including PHP, React and Angular.

The contracting space is hotting up again with demand remaining solid for good experienced BAs, Project Managers and Test professionals who can slot into project environments and add immediate value. Interestingly, we are seeing more and more candidates coming home and heading straight to contracting as opposed to considering permanent roles, and they are successfully making this transition. The last half of 2018 was very quiet in the contracting space, so it’s good to see a return to activity, generally indicating a good level of market confidence and growth.

General Round Up

2019 has meant all hands to the pump. Juniors through seniors are all in demand, with only a small demand for management candidates. Contracting is keeping pace with permanent employment, and Infrastructure is holding its own against the traditional Canterbury demand for Software Engineering professionals.

From a permanent perspective, we are seeing a good return to growth as we move through 2019, and as yet this doesn’t appear to be tempered by a resource shortage. We expect to be continuing to drive hard within our international talent pools, expat kiwis and in a new trend, North Island residents chasing the lifestyle opportunities available in Canterbury.

Work life balance, learning opportunities, growth and development and a positive work environment remain top on candidate’s wish lists, with salaries still remaining static.

We look forward to keeping you abreast with how the year evolves!

In Case You Missed It

Over the last quarter, we’ve written several blogs. You can find them below:

Assessing Candidates for Cultural Fit

Should You Include References on Your CV?

Tips for Keeping New Employees Engaged Before Day One

How do you ensure you keep your new employee “warm” between signing the contract and officially starting at your company? Here is a checklist on keeping your new IT hire engaged and interested before day one.