5thbeatle

Whilst listening to a local radio station here in Manchester it was said that the I.T. market in Australia is crying out for people. Can anyone in the market substantiate this?.

Nicky & Dave

Yes, when we were in Sydney last month there were a number of articles we read in the Herald about the current IT skills shortage. It's one of the reasons we are pushing ahead with our application now, as my other half is a Systems Designer which is currently on the published shortage list. If you look at any of the Oz IT jobsites, there are hundreds of positions advertised. It's all good news for those looking to move to Oz who work in IT.

regards,
Nicky

bondipom

Don't believe everything you read in the press.

Wahroonga Boy

I'll let you know next week. In the UK I was an IT Manager for a consultancy firm and I am just finishing off my CV and then sending it out to.

Hopefully there's a massive skills shortage and I'll get paid meggabucks.

Nicky & Dave

Valid point, Bondipom - but all indications are that there IS a shortage of skilled IT professionals at the moment. I would be interested in hearing back if your experience over there has made you think otherwise.

Regards,
Nicky

bondipom

There is no general shortage and IT graduates have one of the highest unemployment rates of uni leavers. Certain parts of the industry talk up the myth of shortages to bring in cheap 457ers on temp visas. There is a small battle with the ACS. There are some specialist areas that are in shortage. Things are better than a couple of years ago but they couldn't have got much worse.

pandya_m

I give a damn about the news if it real or fake...
I thought
I planned
I tried and applied for it (PR)
I got it.
And I am going to go for it...
The Oz way good or bad...
But with face...

Nicky & Dave

You've made me chuckle. And at the end of the day, you're absolutely right! Whilst I'm concerned about Bondipoms comment, like heck is it going to make any difference to whether we apply or not. My man WILL get a job!!

Nicky

bondipom

Don't expect y2k salaries and employers fighting for you. Better to be prepared with realistic expectations and plan accordingly. Your man should get a job but don't expect it to be an easy ride.

Nicky & Dave

Thanks Bondipom. I absolutely agree about having realistic expectations - Dave contracted during the Y2k rush, earnt wonderfully silly money and then spent six months after the Y2k bubble burst, chasing the same contract work as 50,000 other contractors. In all seriousness, we have done quite abit of research and at the moment his skills do seem to be one of the ones in demand, but we will keep our eye on the market. Thanks for the wise advice.

Nicky

BAY

A shotage in what sector of IT though ? Its very dangerous to generalise.

Is it not the same as here ? A shortage of the latest technology skills ie. JAVA, web stuff etc. but not not a shortage in established technologies ie. mainframe COBOL, DB2, desktop support etc ?

SarahMarx

Don't believe everything you read on a web forum either!

JackTheLad

Well when I left the UK, there was a screaming shortage of GOOD cobol people.

One thing I've noticed in Oz, they'll hold out to get the right people. They won't take the best of whats on offer. I've gone for a few jobs, which frankly I wasn't that well qualified for. They rejected me (and every other candidate), and re-advertised the job. This has happened a couple of times in a couple of jobs. So, they may be short on IT people, but it doesn't mean they'll take whatever is available.

Its not that I'm not well qualified, its just I'm going for jobs I'm not right for, or I don't have enough experience.

I'm also a picky b*stard trying to get a promotion as well as a new job

Cheers,
JTL

Badge

Half decent programmers will always do OK - the problem is that everyone seems to be a PC support/systems admin network type and these jobs seem rarer now. All the cowboy 'web' bods during-the-web-boom have been left at the wayside - the classic programers will do better.

Programmers still get good money - middle - seniors can get 70+.

Badge

NickyC

Half the jobs in the press are the same jobs duplicated by all the different agencies. I work in a pretty specialised area and I always know when there are big developments happening in my area.

You see an ad for '6 IBM M/F developers needed for V+ project' from one agency. Then you notice some more very similar ads from different agencies: '6 V+ programmers', '6 Paysys-experienced coders', '6 Cobol programmers for new project' etc, etc.

You'd think the market was crying out for IBM programmers but it's not really. There aren't 24 jobs being advertised - there are only 6 - but each agency puts it's own seperate ad in, giving entirely the wrong impression....