Recent data collected by a leading recruiting agency has shown that 80 per cent of local employers in the finance and IT sectors who were surveyed are planning to increase their headcount in 2013. There has been an overhaul in recruiting – more than merely recruiting by profession, employers are seeking people with specialised skills to sustain their business in the specialist world of technology.
The strong demand for technical skills on our local shores has affirmed companies are seeking individuals in possession of specific techniques and those who possess these sought-after skills have myriad opportunities ahead of them. Besides software houses, other sectors such as finance, igaming and telecommunications are also in search of IT gurus to increase effectiveness and create optimal results for their companies.
If you take web design, for example, the skills which are most in demand include experience with Adobe Creative Suite as well as a good knowledge and experience of user interface and user experience. Web designers are also being asked to have experience with Flash.
While employers insist on having employees with these skills, they expect the latter to be complemented by an extensive portfolio that showcases an array of different creations by the designers for the employer to have a glimpse of the designer’s creativity – so whether you design a website for your employer or for your neighbour, it is imperative you get creative and design as many sites as you possibly can.
On the other hand, the demand for web developers lies in a need for strong experience in HTML and CSS while extensive knowledge of Java Script, jQuery and XML are also being widely requested. Furthermore, strong scripting experience in frameworks such as .Net, PHP, and PL/SQL has also been demanded.
Despite the similarities in skill demand, the different sectors generally have their own requests for the IT gurus to come on board and adhere to their industry. Financial institutions generally ask for the IT specialist to have a background in the financial sector while igaming companies generally demand IT specialists who have extensive experience working with a wider range of skills, as generally, they expect them to have worked with a number of programs. More so than that, people working in this industry need to know how to work with Java or jQuery for example and implement them in different frameworks.
The palpable truth perceived across the different recruitment agencies nowadays is that there are professions which did not exist a decade ago. User experience analysts, user experience designers and app developers are emerging professions just as cloud computing services are. The tech market is buoyant in various sectors and with professions becoming more specialised with every new step the technological world makes, the future looks bright for all the IT gurus who want to be part of this community.
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Sarah Borg is brand officer at Castille Resources.