Information Technology Market Overview 2016

Overall, the labour market is definitely recovering, a fact that is easy to see in most domains. The evidence is there with regular announcements of growth in various sectors and job creation in others. There has been quantifiable data to support these signs: an increase in employment, a decrease in unemployment (both with number and long-term unemployed). We can say with certainty that 2016 has seen a truly positive year for the Irish economy.

So, what are the areas that have been most notable for growth? What areas have seen the biggest shift in skills needed? What areas will be the beacon for growth in 2017?

General Observations

Of the respondents we approached in the local IT market, 46% said that they would expect to move jobs within 6 months and half of those would consider a move immediately. The reasons for this were many, but the biggest were due to a lack of career progression and frustration with their careers, with 48% of people who were interested in the job market saying this was their primary motivator. In addition, 42% of career-mobile IT professionals were concerned about ever-present compensation concerns, while the work/life balance was the least of people’s concerns with only 8% of people citing it as a primary motivation for seeking new employment.

Clearly, this is a worry for businesses, as is the frequency of how often IT professionals move between employers. A huge 78% of our respondents say they will look to move employers within 5 years and half of those expect to move within 3 years.

So what do they expect to find in a new employer? What are the factors that they will be looking for when considering a new employer/job? Our respondents were asked to choose 3 of the most important factors that are critical to them in a new role. Unsurprisingly, most of them chose work culture, better career prospects and better remuneration; while, surprisingly, few of them chose job security, perhaps a symptom of the confidence that exists in the market for the availability of new opportunities.

Salaries & Compensation

The best-paid individuals in the IT sector are professionals in leadership roles who are paid on average of €95,000 per annum and can expect an average bonus of 17.5% of the base compensation amount.

The average IT professional is paid €64,000 and demands an average bonus of 6% per annum. For a full breakdown of each specialism and the associated average rates (low, medium and high), take a look at our statistics in the salary tables that follow.

Salary is right up there as an essential reason why people are seeking new opportunities, so how much are they looking for? 14% of respondents would consider nothing less than a 20% increase on their current salary, while 58% would need up to 15% more on their base salary in order to consider a change.

So let’s presume that all of these things can be offered to a candidate and everything that they desire in an employer exists. What then causes a candidate to lose interest in a new job opportunity during the interview process? The overwhelming answer is that an interview process simply takes too long, according to 72% of IT professionals. Two-thirds of these respondents felt that an interview process of less than 30 days was the most acceptable.

For a breakdown of salaries in this sector please click here.

Summary

There are many strong IT professionals out there. The companies that are more agile in their recruitment strategy and pay attention to the speed of hire and candidate interview experience will fare better than those who ignore these factors. Good IT candidates will always have more than one option open to them and employers must recognise this.

For a full list of opportunities in Information Technology, please click on the following link, you can also contact me on 01-661 0444 or email an updated CV to jhowe@lincoln.ie.

To view the full survey results please click here.

About the Author

Lincoln Recruitment

info@lincoln.ie+353 (1) 661 0444

Recruiting Excellence