Does NZ really have an IT Skills shortage?

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surfisup1000

5288 posts

Uber Geek

#198751 21-Jul-2016 11:21

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11677903

Salaries in New Zealand's IT sector have fallen 2 per cent due in part to the increasing arrival of international talent and a lift in the number of job applicants.

IT salaries dropped from $82,000 to $80,000 in the January year, says recruitment consultants Absolute IT in its latest remuneration report.

I'm guessing the article applies more to developers/application support type roles.

There is a skills shortage so you'd think salaries would be on the increase.

Is there really a skills shortage or are employers just unwilling to pay market rates and/or train locals?

My opinion is more the latter, although I concede there will be some specialist areas with real skills shortages.

It makes me question whether schools should provide IT training as a core subject (as has been reported in the media over the last week or so).

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133 posts

Master Geek

#1596093 21-Jul-2016 11:33

There is most definitely a shortage in certain areas.

Cloud computing is one of those. We are seeing a lot of companies having to head overseas to find staff with the required skills, as anyone with the required skills in NZ have been snapped up already.

MikeB4

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#1596094 21-Jul-2016 11:35

It's been a wee while but I had no problems filling vacancies. According to associates it is still the same and the market is quite fluid. Salaries at entry level have fallen back a bit but at higher levels salaries are still maintaining the advantage and offshore recruiting is required in some fields.

dryburn

430 posts

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#1596204 21-Jul-2016 12:57

I was also surprised by that article. I have been applying for roles daily since June but nothing.

I am here in Auckland, have a Work Visa and over 5 years of work experience.

antoniosk

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#1596215 21-Jul-2016 13:03

I've found in the past that with sentences like 'there is a skills shortage' there is an unspoken rider that goes '... at what we're willing to pay'.

"I can't find a decent plumber.... that will only charge $25/hr" for example

________

Antoniosk

surfisup1000

5288 posts

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#1596219 21-Jul-2016 13:10

dryburn:

I was also surprised by that article. I have been applying for roles daily since June but nothing.

I am here in Auckland, have a Work Visa and over 5 years of work experience.

In which technologies?

dejadeadnz

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#1596220 21-Jul-2016 13:11

Employers have a long-standing pattern of self-interested proclamations of skills shortage. It's in their interest to increase supply.

timmmay

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#1596221 21-Jul-2016 13:12

I find we get plenty of applications for technical roles, but the people don't always have the right experience or background, even going through a recruitment firm. It looks like demand might be picking up again.

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spearsniper

133 posts

Master Geek

#1596222 21-Jul-2016 13:12

antoniosk:

I've found in the past that with sentences like 'there is a skills shortage' there is an unspoken rider that goes '... at what we're willing to pay'.

"I can't find a decent plumber.... that will only charge $25/hr" for example

The one we are seeing way too often is "I can't find a decent engineer.... that can do what their CV says they can do"

olivernz

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#1596227 21-Jul-2016 13:16

I'd say it's not an IT people shortage.

It's a shortage of excellent/specialised skills.

The amount of people that treat IT just as a job is quite high. The ones that see it as a profession and challenge and a chance to develop are far and few between. Those are the people that are missing but immigation would never be able to specify that in a way that would work.

MadEngineer

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#1596309 21-Jul-2016 15:10

I wonder if this is more a case of spikes in demand for 1st level support roles which have lower wages

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

dryburn

430 posts

Ultimate Geek

#1596341 21-Jul-2016 15:52

@surfisup1000

I have experience in IT Support Administration and Managerial experience in supporting a University.

Been applying for IT Support, Network Admin, IT Admin also has non-commercial software dev experience.

1101

3122 posts

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#1596343 21-Jul-2016 15:54

surfisup1000:

Salaries in New Zealand's IT sector ......

"IT Sector" is such a generic term with regard to jobs, its now meaningless gibberish .
Its a term a wide as contractor or professional.
A bit like reporters just saying "in the cloud" with no other info or reference.

Exactly what type of jobs, what type of skills.
Perhaps all the missing skilled IT Sectorites have moved into the cloud :-)

Inphinity

2780 posts

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#1596344 21-Jul-2016 15:55

I have found that there are a lot of people with entry level IT competencies. There are significantly fewer people with any actual IT skills. The former tend to be people who have memorised the answers to a certification exam, whereas the latter are people who can actually perform in real world scenarios that often don't fit into an exactly pre-defined mould.

vexxxboy

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#1596389 21-Jul-2016 16:16

i see these articles and comments and worry because my son is finishing his degree in computer science this year , hes coming out of it with first degree honors specializing in Metaheuristic algorithm's and Cryptography, he loves writing code he tells me. Are there openings or shortages for what he can do in NZ or does he have to go overseas. he also has a degree in Chinese, so can speak, read and write Mandarin. Just interested .

Common sense is not as common as you think.

timmmay

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#1596396 21-Jul-2016 16:44

vexxxboy:

i see these articles and comments and worry because my son is finishing his degree in computer science this year , hes coming out of it with first degree honors specializing in Metaheuristic algorithm's and Cryptography, he loves writing code he tells me. Are there openings or shortages for what he can do in NZ or does he have to go overseas. he also has a degree in Chinese, so can speak, read and write Mandarin. Just interested .

Security professionals are in high demand. Aim to get an industry certification, but many of them require 5 years in a security architect or similar position, and it can take 15 years to work your way up to that.

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