IT pros on New Year jobhunt?

Linux, coupled with governments looking at moving to open source, could offer increased job opportunities for Australian IT professionals this year, according to one recruitment firm.

Emma Stonham, national marketing manager at recruitment agency Candle Australia, said that over the last six months there had been a high turnout in clients with positions available. “We see this trend continuing well into 2004,” Stonham said.

ERP and project management were two main fields in which IT clients were trying to fill positions, according to Stonham. She identified SAP as an area Candle has had trouble finding employees, saying the company had spread its search to countries such as the UK and Japan to find recruits.

One of the most popular areas for IT professionals, Stonham said, was in project management. She said this was a field where people with business acumen to complement their IT skills were more likely to land roles.

“Nowadays people have to be involved in the business [as a whole], not just an IT field.”

She said IT project managers were now expected to interact with the CIO, with marketing and have a general overview of the organisation. Therefore IT professionals who were finding it hard to get work could skill up by enhancing their business communication skills, she said.

When asked about regional differences, Stonham told iTnews that Sydney and Melbourne continued to have the highest level of openings. She said that, due to government initiatives at the moment, “Perth is very quiet.”, and Queensland was starting to pick up in terms of recruitment.