I’d never claim working as an IT contractor was easy. But if you’re between jobs, looks like you have more chance of being hired than in most other contracting areas — and more chance of getting a job than someone seeking a permanent tech role.
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The quarterly Employment Trends report from recruiter Hudson suggests that intention to hire sits at 29.4 per cent for IT roles, up 2 per cent on the previous quarter and higher than any other vertical market. The average intention across all sectors is 19.1 per cent.
For existing roles, 69 per cent of companies intend to maintain current contractor headcount. Notably, intention to hire new IT employees is 25.4 per cent — lower than the contractor number.
“Project work is always a primary driver for contractor demand and the continued investment in business transformation projects across the country is one key demand generator for contract IT professionals,” Hudson ICT director Tim Davis said in the release announcement. The areas of strongest demand are for project managers and business analysts, something we’ve also seen reflected in recent salary figures.
Whether you have a current role or not, check out our tips on how to stay happy as a contractor.
Comments
2 responses to “Good News: IT Contractors Still In Demand In Australia”
As a consultant that dabbles from time to time in recruitment to support my clients, I can say that the IT sector seems to be booming for contractors at the moment. I’m supporting him on a project that needs 16 Architects and PM’s ant the moment (for a year) and we have sight of one next month that will need 40. Any Network Security Architects/PMs and Infrastructure PMs drop me a line!
Hi celeryman, I’ve created an account specifically to PM you, but there must be a time-restriction on the ability to do that for new accounts. Can you ping me re the above?
I’m the sole wage earner in the family. I’d be far too terrified to rely on contracting at this point
I got a lot of calls around December/January from agents for contract and perm roles in Sydney. I would have liked to have jumped ship for a higher daily rate but I’m not the type to ditch a project that I’ve rescued when it’s close to go-live. Perhaps it was a bad decision to stay because the market seems a little bit less busy now. I think the market is okay but not really booming when you compare it to 2011. Rates have come down or stayed static since then, IMO.