Last year saw a significant shift among IT professionals away from permanent jobs toward lucrative short terms contracts, according to the latest ICT employment trends survey from Abrivia Recruitment.
The trend, said Cormac Moore, associate director, Abrivia Recruitment, is reflective of a rising market where professionals are confident enough of work availability to forego the security of a permanent position.
According to the survey results, 2014 saw a five fold increase in the number of contract staff, after a 31% increase in overall demand.
By contrast, nearly three quarters of employers (73%) said that they expected to hire permanent IT staff this year.
The skills most in demand, the survey found, are the usual suspects, with development positions in Java, .NET and web technologies figuring highly. IT security roles also featured significantly, as did data science.
The survey found that 2014 saw a significant recovery in certain roles that were victims of the recession, such as technical support/infrastructure and project and IT management.
The survey revealed a perception of a skills dearth, as nearly two thirds (65%) reckoned that IT positons would be the hardest to fill in the Irish market. However, nearly half (49%) of employers have indicated they are willing to offer sponsorship to non-EU candidates, with many also willing to invest the continuing professional development of their work force.
“Other than a global crisis,” said Moore, “nothing on the horizon will have a negative impact on roles and salaries/rates for IT professionals. The industry has weathered the recession storm more comfortably than any other, and will benefit from the improvement in the economy more than all others. 2015 will prove to be another year of the IT contractor as demand for highly skilled IT employees continues to outstrip supply.”
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