8 July 2009

New technology initiatives drive IT jobs growth

A push by many employers to upgrade to new technologies is good news for IT job seekers, says leading recruiter Hays Information Technology.

“The move by employers to upgrade their technology systems is a positive sign that Singapore’s IT jobs market will grow in coming months,” says Chris Mead, General Manager of Hays in Singapore.

“In the Finance Technology space many organisations are now utilising in-memory databases in order to take advantage of their superior speed processing power.  For example, technologies such as KDB are now quite popular in the algorithmic trading market. Upgrade projects are also taking place. For example, a number of financial institutions are seeking to migrate from dot net 2.0 to 3.5.

“In the information technology and telecommunications space, cloud computing continues to be a growth sub-sector with wide-ranging advantages seen across applications, infrastructure and ERP.  

“The telecommunications sector continues to invest in transformation projects in order to keep their offerings competitive in a fast changing market with extremely high customer expectations.  For example in the portal space we have seen strong demand for candidates with in-depth experience with advanced CRM, billing and BSS.

“Mid level to senior management candidates with business or sales experience are sought, predominately on a permanent basis, while there is a growing trend to employ technical staff on a contractual basis.  From a candidate’s perspective, contracting is becoming an increasingly attractive option.

“Other companies are restructuring in order to maximise efficiency, creating a greater demand for candidates with experience in infrastructure and applications as well as exposure to enterprise architecture. Software and system re-engineering consultants are also important assets.

“Employers have however become very particular in the skills they require in candidates, and are unwilling to consider a candidate that doesn’t match their exact prerequisites. They are also taking their time when recruiting, exercising caution to ensure they hire the perfect candidate.

“While an overall market recovery may still be a way off, optimism can certainly be found in these hiring expectations and the willingness of employers to invest in their IT capabilities,” says Chris.

For further information, please contact Chris Mead, General Manager of Hays in Singapore, on cmead@hays.com.sg or +65 6223 4535.