Several business sectors increased levels of IT recruitment in the third quarter and many firms are planning to take on more technical staff next year, according to the latest data from recruitment firm Robert Walters Ireland.
In its latest update, the firm said there was a “consistent flow” of new roles being advertised. Although many companies are still cautious about hiring and costs are being closely controlled, most are planning for growth and have new projects slated for the remainder of the year.
Employers are being very specific in detailing recruitment requirements and interview processes are rigorous, Robert Walters said. Most of the IT roles being advertised are new positions rather than headcount replacements. Companies are mainly hiring to fill skills gaps for a particular project in areas such as architecture, support, database analysis and development.
Roles such as business system analysts, data analysts and project managers are being sought across sectors such as banking, insurance, telecoms and fund administration. According to Robert Walters, these requirements stem from those companies assessing existing systems and implementing necessary upgrades. Demand for software engineers and experienced programmers also increased during the quarter, with several firms taking on .Net developers, Java programmers and C# engineers.
Contract roles increased
Both permanent and contract roles increased compared to Q2. Companies tended to prefer contract positions to permanent roles, especially for senior positions. Many organisations were willing to pay daily rates – which tend to be higher than salaried jobs – in order to hire the people they needed.
Moderate salary increases seen in the second quarter remained static, with candidates moving to new roles at an average pay increase of 5-10pc. Permanent IT staff that have been subjected to pay freezes over the past two years are now more likely to consider moving if no opportunities emerge within their own organisations. Salary reviews are still the exception rather than the norm, however, but Robert Walters said the signs indicate companies are budgeting for increasing their IT staff headcount next year.
