Top tech jobs for 2006

Where the jobs are

Where you are and where you're prepared to move to are important factors when it comes to finding work in the IT industry today.

Andrew Millar, consulting manager for the IT Contracts Division at Link Recruitment (which has offices across the country) says while the traditional markets of Sydney and Melbourne remain strong, lifestyle choices and better Internet connections are leading to growth in other states as well.

"Generally the demand for IT staff in Melbourne and Sydney is greater than in other areas due to the size of the cities and the fact that that's where most large corporates are based," Millar says. "However ,there is an increasing level of activity in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth as IT becomes more and more accessible to the wider community due to Web technologies."

There are also significant drivers at the macroeconomic level which are leading to demand outside Sydney and Melbourne. A booming resources sector in Western Australia is making Perth an attractive option -- and Queensland is riding a similar wave -- while a raft of government work is increasing demand in the ACT (see table below).

According to the Olivier Recruitment Group's Job Index, which researches demand based on Internet advertisements in Queensland, the state's job market is going gangbusters -- growing by 86.4 percent in the last 12 months. While demand for IT skills in WA is similarly high, Olivier director Bob Olivier believes growth rates in job advertisements in Perth and surrounding areas are due in part to difficulties in convincing skilled, experienced professionals to move from the eastern states.

"We often see a lot of growth in areas like Perth and Brisbane, not so much because there is substantial growth in the number of jobs, but because there is a mismatch between supply and demand," offers Olivier. "If a position hasn't been filled it will continue to be advertised and counted each week."

Leading the boom is demand for skills in the customisation and management of ERP packages from SAP, Oracle and Peoplesoft. After heavy investment from government departments, universities, and Australia's top 100 ASX-listed companies, most of the demand for skills in this area is focused in the head-office centres like Sydney and Melbourne. Nonetheless the minerals boom and accompanying skills shortage is pushing up demand and salaries in non-traditional areas like Brisbane and Perth.

Microsoft-based government projects are seeing a healthy demand for these skills, as well as for developers with .NET and C# experience in the ACT and QLD.

Industry pundits generally agree that Business Analyst roles are particularly hard to fill in the rapidly expanding economies of WA and QLD, because the position increasingly requires both IT and business experience in a particular sector.

This in turn means prospective candidates with several years' experience are often already established in a particular city, and less likely to pick up and move to another state. "It is challenging to get people to move if they are older, more experienced or have a wife and family already established in one city," says Darly Keeley, managing director of Macro Recruitment. "And the problem is exacerbated in regional areas. Often companies in places like Shepparton will source staff directly from overseas rather than try to recruit from within Australia."

The IT jobs boom is also affecting whether or not you can expect permanent or contract work. Find out how in Day Three of our coverage.

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