Information Technology Market Update
Perth, WA
Last time I’m sure we need to hear it, but what a year…”and that’s all I have to say about that.”
So let’s talk about 2021!
The good news is that organisations that have solid or strong balance sheets, and following their strategic plans, are certainly being quite bullish about their hiring for the first half of 2021. The even better news is Perth is well-positioned to benefit from this improved demand, helping fix the current job demand / supply balance.
What we’ve seen over the last few months, and will continue into 2021, is continued new hiring growth, more demand for multiple hires of staff, and a number of pilot / test case / MVP mini projects kicking off.
The usual areas of supply chain optimisation, Line of Technology (IoT), Operational Technology (OT), cloud and security related projects are leading the way.
In Perth’s Technology startup tribe, there have been some wonderful success stories with more coming down the pipeline. On a note closer to home, we bid bon voyage to Robbie Nolan, who heads back to Ireland this month after several years promoting Perth’s tech and startup community to the world.
Your key Takeaways:
- You’re a Contractor
- If you’re a contractor, you could see a slight increase in rates in 2021. More importantly, you should see longer contracts being offered to you. Min 6 months with a few 12 month engagements available.
- You’re a Permanent employer
- If you are a permanent employee exploring new opportunities in 2021, Technology Sales and more Executive IT roles are in demand. Software Developers (CRM, .NET, Java) and Architects are two roles in hot demand at present.
- Industry demand
- We would encourage that although Perth is very much a mining and resources town, there are a number of opportunities in other industries where you can make a real difference. So if you do get an opportunity to look at other areas and industries, please open your mind and explore these fully. You will be pleasantly surprised.
- Take a well deserved break, please!
- Finally of course, please take a physical, mental (and technology) break. It’s been a very different year. Please enjoy a real summer break with family and friends. See if your daily decisions can be; beach, book, boardshorts, bike, BBQ, bumming around etc. You get the picture.
Sectors hiring more actively than others:
- Mining and Resources. Again core commodity prices are still heading in a northerly direction!
- Niche consulting firms with targeted service offerings (strategic roadmaps etc.)
- Software Development focused firms integrating with larger application architecture.
Technology Skills (still) in demand | Specific IT Job Titles in Demand (again) |
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Advertised IT positions (WA only) – Difficulty to fill
(Source: Seek Analytics, December 2020)
Year on Year Change in Market Demand for candidates – Western Australia
(Source: Seek Analytics, December 2019 vs December 2020)
Year on Year Change in Market Demand for Information & Communication Technology Candidates – Western Australia
(Source: Seek Analytics, December 2019 vs December 2020)
Year on Year change in advertised Information Technology jobs – Western Australia
(Source: Seek Analytics. December YoY jobs advertised vs views).
Data Science Growth in Western Australia in 2021 and beyond
WA continues it’s productivity revolution with an increase in Automation and Machine Learning being the driving factors.
It was predicted by McKinsey Global Institute in 2018 that 375 million workers worldwide will potentially need to deviate from their current occupation by 2030 due to artificial intelligence. That said, the future demand for some occupations, including Technology professionals – specifically Data Scientists, will grow further with these changes.
The WA Data Science Ecosystems Report produced by the Western Australian Data Science Innovation Hub based at Curtin University was released earlier this month and outlines how Data Science is a key growth industry for WA. Grab a copy for your summer reading!
Some of the current or envisioned industry applications for data science in WA include:
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing – digital soil and crop mapping in combination with disease detection and pest management
- Mining – prediction and optimisation across many business areas from HR to heavy machinery
- Construction – construction simulation, design issue prediction and warranty analysis
The report also highlights several barriers within the industry:
- The search for the right talent is often global, according to the companies surveyed. This is due to the fact that the required data science talent needed to have that combination of statistics and mathematics, domain knowledge, communication and analytical skills etc within Australia is extremely difficult.
- The occupation of “Data Scientist” is also not yet listed within the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) occupation classification. Data science is still perceived as a very new and not often well understood discipline in the wider economy, but demand for data scientists is growing.
At Beacham Group, we are seeing similar increased demand for Data Scientists from both our top enterprise customers, as well as our smaller, niche firms.
(Source: Business News – Big data, big potential, big challenges November 2020)
(Source: Curtain University – New report finds data science a key growth industry for WA November 2020)
How Covid-19 changed the way Australians live and work, forever
The COVID-19 pandemic created an early window into the future of life and work. It brought into sharp focus that the future will be underpinned by technology (and other things of course). But there is a critical need to develop the skills required to realise this technology-enabled, digital based future.
As a result of our response to C19, Australia has further enhanced it’s international reputation. Our Australian success can be leveraged to attract further investment, and at a later phase in the ongoing recovery process, skilled migration, while other parts of the world are still in the response phase. Think black swan opportunity.
Workplace has now been replaced by ‘workspace’. Workspace being anywhere you make a difference in your role in a safe, effective and efficient manner. Work will no longer be defined by a physical location; with staff culture, engagement and innovation needing real attention by leaders in the future if they want their businesses to really thrive in 2021 and beyond.
NBN Co research indicates that a majority of people expect to work at home a little more after the crisis has ended.
(Source: NBN – Australian Covid-19 Behavioural Change Survey May 2020)
(We source, acknowledge and use data from a range of information sources which may include: Federal & State government bodies, Seek, ABS, IBS, ANZ job series, Jobadder, LinkedIn, Indeed, NPA Worldwide, RCSA, APSCO and many others).
