Ruby Campbell-Stokes looks beyond the present crisis in the IT worker shortage to where future skilled workers might come from to fill the gaps | Content partnership
It’s no secret that in this post-lockdown environment, the shortage of workers has spread throughout the country. From empty shelves at the supermarket, the café on the corner closing early, to the empty desks in the office. The IT industry has been another casualty. “For the past few years, we have seen a nationwide shortage of skilled IT professionals and we will continue to see this for some time,” says Maree Hayes, general manager for the Wellington branch of Recruit IT.
“A key reason behind the shortage is the NZ exit, with people now leaving to travel overseas on their holidays, or moving to enjoy different lifestyles,” she says.
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According to Statistics NZ, in the year ending October 2022, New Zealand had a net migration of -4,117 (comparatively, in the year ending October 2019 the net migration was 63,598). But 5700 more people arrived in the country than left in the year to November 2022. New Zealanders are on the move.
Historically the shortfall between the number of positions to fill and the number of New Zealand-educated workers has been met by migrants. “It is well known the need to hire offshore – this has long been true for Chorus engineering staff, for example,” says Paul Brislen, chief executive of the NZ Telecommunications Forum. “Chorus has been lobbying for specialised IT workers to be added to the immigration green list, and the Government has recently answered these requests.”
On December 12 last year skilled telecommunications technicians were added to tier two of the list. “Broadband communications are now essential services, having an impact far beyond just the telecommunication industry. This change will take pressure off job shortages, wage growth and help us get the job done. No one wants to be without broadband,” Brislen says.
With luck, New Zealand’s tech sector may be able to benefit from staff cuts and freezes overseas, especially in the US. Apple and Amazon have implemented a hiring freeze and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, laid off 11,000 staff after its stock fell by over 70 percent. More recently Alphabet, Google’s parent company, cut 12,000 jobs after the hiring binge during the pandemic.
With the new additions to the immigration green list, it will hopefully be easier for New Zealand companies to find highly skilled international talent, companies say.
Hayes doesn’t expect the hiring freezes and layoffs seen internationally to be replicated in New Zealand. “With our talent shortage, companies will continue to recruit for roles they have available.”
The 2022/2023 Hays Salary Guide found 61 percent of New Zealand technology employers intended to increase their permanent staff numbers in 2023.
The IT salary guide says 98 percent of IT employers are experiencing a skills shortage, and for 96 percent of them, this shortage will affect operations or growth plans in the year ahead.
Another reason for the tech skills shortage is not enough people enrolling to study IT when they leave school, Hayes says. According to the Ministry of Education, 13,403 year 13 students were enrolled in digital technology courses at high school in 2020 but only 2,250 moved into IT degree courses. That’s below 17 percent.
Catalyst Open Source Academy funds an annual two-week programme for senior high school students, hoping to get them interested in careers in tech, including open-source tools.
“Back in 2010, Catalyst was looking ahead and could see more needed to be done to meet the future demand for IT talent across the public and private sectors, in New Zealand and internationally,” says academy training manager Ian Beardslee. “At the time we recognised not everyone had the same opportunity, or the same level of encouragement towards future study and then a career in technology."
Catherine Ma is a 2021 graduate. “The Open Source Academy showed students potential jobs in Wellington and around the country in IT and different roles that tech firms have, and we got to try a variety,” Ma says. “Through the academy I realised this is something I could see myself doing in the long run, and that inspired me to continue studying IT at university.”
Another avenue for new talent is experienced workers in other industries retraining as full-stack developers through boot camps and courses like the ones run at Dev Academy Aotearoa. Dev runs short, intense courses to reset career trajectories.
“We have seen a shift in hiring, with businesses now considering less skilled individuals who they are able to train in their environments,” Hayes says. Almost 85 percent of students who graduated from Dev Academy 12-24 months ago are now working in the industry full-time, and since 2013 it has produced more than 1200 graduates.
Rosemary Hawkes, a 2021 Dev Academy graduate, switched from a career in science to technology, influenced by the more flexible work environment, pay potential, and options to travel and work remotely. “I also liked the workplace culture present in the software dev space, as opposed to academia,” she says.
An ongoing Massey University survey of SME employees has so far found 67 percent of employees are wanting more work-life flexibility.
Meanwhile, a US study suggested tech or coding bootcamps upskilled more than 100,000 professionals globally in 2021, with that number likely to increase significantly by 2025.
Luring those workers to your company isn’t going to be easy in the present, tight labour market, Hayes says. “Having a strong employee value proposition is a must, and you also need the ability to hire and offer quickly in order to secure a good candidate."
Meanwhile, “make sure the candidate has a good experience during the interview process, such as meeting a hiring manager who is able to articulate the role, sell the benefits of working for the company, and show the candidate what a great team they will be joining”.
Potential recruits are likely to be looking for flexibility – including working from home and the ability to work hours that can adapt to fit their lifestyle choices, Hayes says. Workplace culture, training and development opportunities and ‘salary benefits’ are also going to be important.
The 2022-2023 Hays IT salary guide found 96 percent of IT professionals can expect a pay rise in the next year, and 58 percent say a pay increase of more than 6 percent “would reflect their individual performance and demand for their skills in today’s market”.
