14 April 2005

IT hiring looks set to rise for the next five years - at least

If indications from the UK market are anything to go by, the current hiring spree - now very evident, at least in the UK - is set to continue for the next five years. This should spell good news for SA because good sentiment – and hiring habits - emanating from overseas markets often has a knack of spilling over into South Africa.

This is according to Org Geldenhuys, director of Pretoria-based executive search and IT recruitment company, Abacus Recruitment. "While we are seeing a lot more desire to hire in SA one of the major exacerbating factors we are facing - which is arguably unique to this country - is that we cannot find the right skills to place in the increasing number of vacant spots on offer by companies. This is, in part, due to the fact that we have legislation that tries to enforce hiring policies that favour previously disadvantaged people (PDIs) - an admirable pursuit, but one that often limits the take-up of available appointment opportunities."

Meanwhile, reports emanating from the UK seem to show that hiring is moving into top gear after a sustained tech slowdown after the dot.com bust at the turn of the century. But companies are now hiring, thanks to new IT projects, integration projects from merger activity and increased investment in Internet, security, telecomms and storage.

Geldenhuys said this revival - and the increase in IT investment - has been a boon to IT contractors in the UK. According to a report in on-line recruiting publication, UKcontractor, contract assignments have been extended by as much as 15%.

The Spring Group, UK's largest technology recruiter, reports that the UK staffing industry experienced a resurgence in demand for IT professionals after almost three years of declining demand

"This is more or less what we are experiencing in SA, although SA companies are showing a tendency to rather opt for permanent staff - and are increasingly eschewing contractors, except for specialist projects requiring specialised skills. I don't believe we are experiencing such a big increase in IT projects, but there is a noticeable increase in spending within the overall IT industry. Many companies active in the often low-margin distribution channel are even predicting growth in the double digits. Right now UK statistics are pointing to an upturn that could last five to seven years. Hopefully the momentum will pick up even more over the next few years," said Geldenhuys.

Commenting further, he said SA's biggest challenge is to "quickly add" to the overall IT skills pool. "Unfortunately, Rome was not built in a day and, even if we bank on the most positive training results, we will not be able to create enough specialised skills from the PDI marketplace to fill the vacancies that will become available in this country over the next five to seven years in the IT industry."

Meanwhile, confidence continues to strengthen in the UK and other overseas markets - including in the USA - as does expenditure on information technology and communications. "The UK and internationally," he added, "appears well-positioned to continue to grow."