With the world fast requiring the services of ICT contractors, it comes as no surprise that the latest data highlights the growing struggles for recruiters.
Analysing its SkillsMatch and BurningGlass data, the Information Technology Contract and Recruitment Association (ITCRA) revealed that the first quarter of 2015 continued to prove difficult for recruiters to find the right candidates for roles.
Contracting – the new dawn
For many years, IT contracting wasn’t seen as a viable career option due to need for professionals to be stationed at businesses on a full-time basis. However, as technology has developed, it is becoming more viable for contractors to now apply their trade and move across the country as required.
In fact, according to ITCRA’s statistics, the ratio of contractor to permanent roles has moved considerably in recent quarters. In September 2014 it was 80-20, before increasing to 87-13 in December and 91-9 in March. In fact, just seven per cent of advertised ICT roles in NSW were permanent in the last quarter – a real indication of where the market is heading.
State and territory comparison
With each Australian state and territory experiencing different influencing factors, it is important to note the variations between the average number of days to fill a contracting role.
Based on ITCRA’s figures, recruiters in the ACT faced the longest wait to fill a role in the first quarter of 2015 (49 days). This was up from 45 days in the December quarter.
The ACT was followed by NSW (45 days up from 28), Victoria (42 up from 33), Queensland (29 up from 25), Western Australia (29 days up from 20) and South Australia (24 up from 20).
ITCRA CEO Julie Mills explained that there are many reasons behind why wait times are increasing across the country.
“So the anomaly in the market indicators could be for any number of reasons including increased competition for specific skills such as in Big Data and Digital, recruiters searching for candidates without using traditional advertising, or employers hiring permanent roles in-house and outsourcing contractor recruitment,” she said in an April 29 media statement.
What is the next step?
When it comes to hiring the best candidates, recruiters would do well to set themselves apart from the crowd. The more progressive and engaged recruiters are, the more likely that the best candidates will be attract to roles on offer.
If this sounds like something that you would be interested in, contact the expert team at Oncore Services today.
