ICT salaries up as skill shortage continues

Salaries in the ICT sector were up by 12 percent across the board for the six months to December, as employers fought to attract and retain talent, a new report says.

IT recruitment firm Ambition Technology’s latest report, 'Market Trends and Salaries Report – Summer 2007', shows the job market has been, and remains, hot with demand for skills outstripping supply.

Salaries have jumped 12 percent over the six months and the technology recruitment market can’t bridge the demand gap. That means the war for talent will continue in 2007, said Andy Cross, managing director at Ambition Technology.

The demand has been strong for both short term contractors to fill vacancies as temps, but also for longer contract roles of 12 months plus. Hour and day rates were strong for CRM roles with rates of as much as $1200 plus per day, he said.

“While we haven’t gone back to the heady days of 1999, we are seeing some good returns for those with the right skills sets,” said Cross.

According to the report demand for application developers, data management professionals, and business analysts was continuing with this trend expected to go on strongly into 2007.

Cross believes there will be intense competition between employers to attract and retain the right talent with businesses seeking candidates with a combination of technical and business skills.

“Whatever your role in ICT, you need to be able to analyse, solve problems and work as part of a team – on top of your technical skills,” he said. “The days of IT employees being judged solely on their technical skills are over.”

The high levels of recruitment activity in the ICT sector of the past twelve months are predicted to continue according to the report.

In the banking, finance, and government sectors, a number of large projects being undertaken will require significant staff increases.

There is also a trend towards the development of in-house resources to reduce reliance on vendor and consultants, said Cross.