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At the peak of the pandemic, IT Professionals found themselves in a sweet spot. Demand for their expertise was unprecedented and remuneration, exceptionally high. Unfortunately, the gravy train derailed.
The Recruitment Consulting and Staffing Association’s (RCSA) Jobs Report Data has revealed that in the past 12 months job ads for Technology Professionals nosedived 34.6%. The sector saw the biggest decrease in demand across all job types. There have been lay offs. Venture Capital investors began to pivot their start up clients from growth to profitability in response to the increased cost of funding. RCSA CEO, Charles Cameron predicts further IT related job losses throughout the year.
“We have seen larger corporations absorb a lot off this excess capacity because there are still staff shortages across the sector. That said, business confidence remains a little shaky in response to inflation and interest rate rises. The cost of doing business has climbed, so further downscaling is likely.
“While RCSA’s recent figures look daunting, it’s important to understand that the contraction in salaries and demand are a result of the market balancing out after a pandemic boom”, says Cameron.
Chief Executive Officer of Clicks IT Recruitment, Tamara Ryf says her organisation has seen a decline of around 40% in demand for IT Professionals in the past year.
“The last quarter of 2023, things got worse, says Tamara.
“I ran some numbers around the jobs we got in and new orders but found that the demand was only slightly below where we were in 2019.
“While we all got nervous seeing the job opportunities slip, the data seems to indicate that the market has righted itself. We just got used to such a strong market and the peel back came swiftly. I think it caught many off guard.
“Last year we saw some major companies announce large -scale redundancies and the subsequent media coverage created a nervousness that saw employers put a hold on hiring.”
For IT professionals who have been laid off and are looking for work, upskilling and professional development has become even more vital. The role of AI in automating and streamlining processes means that professionals need to prove their value and worth more than ever.
“At the end of the day, AI can make processes faster, but real inspiration and change comes with that human touch, says Tamara.
“Innovation and free thought will become even more important as AI progresses, so I think there is a real opportunity for employees to grow. I even think we will see new roles created as a result of emerging technology.”
RCSA’s Quarter 1 Jobs report for 2024 is due to be released in the coming weeks and while members report they do not expect an increase in demand for IT Professionals, Tamara says she sees light at the end of the tunnel.
“I would suggest that we are starting to see a greater appetite for spending money on projects such as addressing end of life infrastructure environments. This could strengthen demand in the future.
“Dropping ad volumes and rising applicant volumes creates its own opportunity. Employers can get back to the security of curated talent pools and take their time to hire against their Employee Value Proposition whilst utilising interim contract talent to keep the wheels turning."