The demand for IT contractors in Australia is growing, according to one recruiter who credits the resurgence to businesses freezing permanent staff numbers.

Economic uncertainty and the reduction of work abroad has also seen the return of IT professionals to Australia, said Neil Pilkington, IT contracting consultant in Australia at recruitment firm Robert Walters.

Pilkington believes these expat IT workers are returning to Australia when they might not have otherwise, and are increasing the level of expertise available in the local IT contracting market.

However, Bruce Henderson, general manager for Robert Walters in Western Australia, said that IT contracting would always remain a very fluid marketplace, with demand high when there were a large number of contracts underway.

Henderson believes that one of the reasons for increased demand for IT contractors in Western Australia is a result of companies finding that they had cut too many staff in retrenchments. "Then the minute business cycles or activity or projects start to build these organisations then find themselves a little short," he said.

While the number of IT candidates on the market is clearly good for employers, this can lead to tough competition for jobs. "The supply of candidates is not an issue at the moment," Henderson said. "As an IT contractor [employers] are looking at this person's pedigree--the types of environments they've worked in, training and development, certifications and, probably more than ever, the soft skills."

"People clearly want to know the person has contracted and worked in a quality IT environment," he said.

Henderson believes that employers are now also interested in candidate's business skills, and that raw technical skills alone often no longer cut it.

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