Welcome to the third quarter and the Spring market report for 2019. It’s so lovely to see the cold winter days giving way to longer hours of sunshine, and we really are now officially on the countdown to Christmas! It’s always hard to believe at this time of year that we’re here again, so we hope you enjoy a bit of time to reflect on the year that’s been and the remaining few months of 2019.In this quarterly update, we look at the last three months of 2019, including what’s trending, 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 contact us 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 are always happy to share these insights.General CommentsWhile 2019 really started with a bang, we noted a definite move into more of a ‘business as usual’ phase between April and June, and we’ve certainly seen this continue and with a shift towards business improvement. Talking to a lot of hiring managers over these past three months, there has been a real focus on efficiency gains, business improvement and finding better ways of working. In the last month or two, quite a number of businesses have been right-sizing, restructuring and ensuring resources are in the right places with the right focus, as we see the year out and look ahead to 2020.Staff turnover levels remain low, which is a real salute to all of the effort that has been going into the culture, engagement and development of talent from within. Where we are recruiting new permanent roles, requirements are specific, more considered, and hiring decisions taking just a bit longer. Where replacement recruitment is happening, again culture is king, with many businesses prepared to wait or forgo tech skills for the right cultural fit.While we have been consistently engaged across both contract and permanent recruitment, we have not seen the same urgency as in the first half of the year. Permanent recruitment is currently sitting slightly ahead of demand for contractors, with a real spread across Business Analysts/Product Owners (Business Process, Digital and Business Transformation), Developers (C#) and Testers (Automation). We have also seen new roles coming to the market across BI Management, Network Engineering and UX/UI – areas that have been very quiet throughout the year.As noted above, we are continuing to see a reasonably flat market in terms of local candidates moving around, as well as an equal balance of candidates coming in from offshore and returning to employment after disestablishment and to a lesser extent, moving from one permanent role to another in Christchurch.All indications from our clients are for a steady remainder of the year, with projects expected to keep things bubbling along, though without significant plans for growth.Within Sourced WallsIt’s been a nice and steady quarter within the Sourced team, with not a huge amount to report. We thoroughly enjoyed hosting our contractors for a night of Ten Pin Bowling this month, with the Sourced Consultants taking the glory for top scores (depending on who you talk to). It’s always a great opportunity to get everybody together, as well as for our contractors to network and meet others who may be working in completely different businesses and roles or have similar experience. We look forward to continuing these events in the future, with talk of BBQ or karting being thrown around!Our internal team remains stable and engaged and have really enjoyed a productive 2019. We’ve all managed to enjoy well-earned breaks over the past couple of months, and everybody is refreshed and ready to crack on with the remainder of the year.Who’s in DemandAs mentioned above, we are busy across all role specialities, with a particular rise in the Product Owner/Digital/BA space and new demand in the Network Engineering, UX/UI and BI areas.Development, Test and BA have kept us busy in the contracting space, but this is falling off now as we approach Christmas.Demand remains very steady in the .Net Development space, both contract and permanent, with less demand for alternative web and front-end technologies such as PHP, React and Angular, which we’d seen at the beginning of the year.General Round-Up2019 has meant all hands to the pump and it feels like right now there is a slight lull in that activity as our clients focus on getting their teams and structures right and on deliverables for 2020. Juniors through to seniors are all in demand, with only a small demand for management candidates. Contracting is lowering as permanent employment remains steady, and demand in the Software Engineering space is back, which is typical for Canterbury.From a permanent perspective, we are seeing a conservative approach to growth as we see out the year, though, as yet, this hasn’t really hampered our levels of recruitment activity. We expect to be continuing to drive hard within our international talent pools, with expat Kiwis and North Island residents chasing the lifestyle opportunities available in Canterbury.Work/life balance, learning opportunities, growth and development and a positive work environment are still top on candidate’s wish lists, with salaries continuing to remain static.We look forward to keeping you abreast with how the year evolves!In Case You Missed ItOver the last quarter, we’ve written some new blogs. You can find them below:Handling Salary Negotiations: Knowing Your WorthSo, you’ve been offered your dream role but the salary doesn’t quite match your expectations. Do you walk away or put your negotiating hat on? In our latest blog, we’ve put together some of our best tips on approaching this often-awkward subject with potential employers.Should You Include a Photo in Your CV?If you’ve ever wondered, “Should I include a photo in my CV?”, there are a few points to consider before getting out your camera and adding a professional photo to your next IT job application. Find out the answer, here.6 Top Tech Podcasts You Should Be Listening ToWe know how important it is for tech professionals to keep building their industry knowledge and stay up to date with the latest developments. That’s why we’ve created this list of the best tech podcasts to help you get started. Find out more, here.
