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IT JOB MARKET REPORTMAY 2020

1

We started compiling information for this report before the wide-reaching effects of the Covid-19 pandemic began to impact New Zealand. We understand though that this global pandemic has changed elements of the lives of many tech and digital professionals across the country.

The purpose of this report is to capture a snapshot in time and provide relevant and meaningful insights. We know that talented tech professionals will remain in high demand, and this report helps to provide insight into drivers of change, engagement, and satisfaction.

Covid-19 has caused disruption on a global scale, and the tech industry has not been exempted from the impact. Despite the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the pandemic, the tech sector is proving to take it as an opportunity to revolutionise the way we use technology, and ensure that we will be able emerge in a better position than where we began.

A NOTE ON THIS REPORT

Industry leaders have been investing their resources into the development of innovative solutions that will play a vital role in our collective post-Covid-19 success. Technology is clearly a vital tool for both working and living. Asides from tools specifically designed for working from home, there have also been spikes in demand for health-tech and robotics in response to the crisis.

Due to the range of opportunities that have emerged, it is also clearly the time for tech organisations to ramp up on innovation. We need to be prepared for the significant disruption that will emerge as we move into a post-Covid-19 world. Therefore, instead of incremental steps, technology organisations should strive to direct their energy towards innovation in order to secure their position in the post-Covid-19 economy.

Technology will continue to prosper in the backdrop of the Covid-19 landscape, and innovation will be the true game changer.

Tracey Johnson,Tracey Johnson,General ManagerGeneral Manager

2

TECH & DIGITAL REMUNERATION

TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT

YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

PRIMARY WORK LOCATION

SECTOR

CHRISTCHURCH

WELLINGTON

WAIKATO & BAY OF PLENTY

OTAGO & SOUTHLAND

AUCKLAND44% 11%

36%

7%

2%

PERM

AN

ENT

CO

NTR

AC

T

FIXE

D TE

RM

68% 29% 3%

1-3 YEARS 3-5 YEARS 5-10 YEARS 10-15 YEARS 15 YEARS+

32%

Private Sector

Public Sector

Not for Profit/Social Enterprise

64%

4% 54%

21%

15%

6%4%

3

Top Five Reasons for Changing Jobs

Top Four Non-Financial Benefits

Difficulty Finding a Role Compared to This Time Last Year

When asked what their top motivators were for changing jobs, the survey respondents indicated that career development, a project coming to an end and feeling that it was time for a change were their primary drivers for changing jobs.

of IT professionals are considering a move to a

new workplace in 2020, an 8% increase from 2019.

64%

It was a similar case in 2019 where career development and a project coming to an end were the primary motivators wanting to change jobs while improved income was the third most important factor.

Flexible working options

Working remotelyCareer development opportunitiesAdditional annual leave

30%

26%

24%

9%

12%

8%

15%

20%

21%

Same

HarderEasierUnsure

27%

18%

9%

46%

Skills not being utilised

Improved income

Time for a change

Project coming to an end

Career development

4

Primary Deciding Factor When Accepting a New Job OfferWhen asked for their key deciding factor when accepting a job offer, the most represented responses were better salary, challenging work, flexible working, and training and development.These reasons were followed by better workplaceculture (11%), location and travel time (6%),innovative business approach (5%) and betterbenefits (3%).

Across generations*, we see variations in value of these primary deciding factors. Millennials are most focused on increasing their income with their secondary priorities being challenging work and training and development opportunities.

Gen Xers are primarily focused on improving their income and having challenging work while their third priority is having flexible working options.Meanwhile, the key deciding factor for Baby Boomers is challenging work followed by an improved income. Training and development was their least desired factor.

*Generations defined as:

Millennial: those born between 1980-1995

Gen X: those born between 1965-1979

Baby Boomer: those born between 1944-1964

BETTER SALARY

CHALLENGING WORK

FLEXIBLE WORKING OPTIONS

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT12%

13%

21%

29%

Primary Deciding Factor by Generation

Baby BoomerGen X

18%

20%

28%

22%

36%

14%

10%

15%

2%

8%

16%

29%

Millennial

Challenging Work Improved Income Flexible Working Options Training and Development

5

WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Across the board, IT professionals tend to be satisfied with their work-life balance.

However, since 2018 we have seen a slight 2% increase in those reporting a poor work-life balance.

Nationally

By Region

IT professionals in the Otago and Southland regions tend to be the most highly satisfied with their work-life balance. With 55% of participants reporting an above-average work-life balance, they are 16% ahead of Auckland where only 39% of IT professionals reported they had an above average work-life balance.

On the contrary, 14% of IT professionals in Canterbury reported that they felt their work-life balance was below average closely followed by those in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions where 13% was reported.

43%

48%

9%

Above Average

Average

Below Average

9%

43%

48%

36%

43%

48%

9%

Above Average

Average

Below Average

9%

43%

48%

36%

39%

51%

10%

49%

38%

42%44% 45%

55%

48%

35%

13%14%

7%

10%

Beow AverageAverageAbove Average

Auckland Waikato/BOP Canterbury Wellington Southland/Otago

6

WORKPLACE SATISFACTION

of IT professionals consider their current workplace to be a good place to work. This is a 2% drop from the 88% of IT professionals

who reported that their workplace was a good place to

work in 2018 and 2019.

86%

Contributors to Workplace Satisfaction

52%

16%13%

10% 9%

Workplace Culture Management Style Salary Career Progression Diversity

Between 2018 and 2020 we have seen slight changes to the top indicators of workplace dissatisfaction.There was drop from 16% to 9% in the importance of salary when it comes to workplace dissatisfaction. In turn workplace culture has made a 5% increase since 2018 to 29%.

Additionally, management style has made a steep drop from 49% as reported in 2018 to 41% in 2020.This indicates a rise in the importance of workplace culture in relation to workplace satisfaction.An additional 7% of respondents stated all five elements were factors in their workplace dissatisfaction.

Across all genders, elements which impact workplace satisfaction remain the same. The key factor for workplace satisfaction is workplace culture and the primary detractor for workplace satisfaction is management style.

7

FLEXIBLE WORKING

Advancements in technology have changed the way we work so it’s no surprise that these advancements have changed where and how we work.

We found that the vast majority of IT professionals had the option to work flexibly and remotely while an additional 7% have flexi-hours as an option over 2019.

By Region

Nationally

71%

12%

4%

13%

68%

15%

4%

13%

75%

12%

6% 7%

68%

16%

2%

14%

59%

10%7%

24%

Remote access onlyFlexible hours onlyFlexible hours & remote working

None

Auckland Waikato/BOP Canterbury Wellington Southland/Otago

71%

12%

11%5%

Flexible hours onlyFlexible hours & remote working

Remote access only

None

71%

12%

11%5%

Flexible hours onlyFlexible hours & remote working

Remote access only

None

8

WORKING OVERSEAS

of IT professionals are considering working outside of New Zealand in 2020, a 2% increase from 2019.31%

Top Three Destinations

Australia

46% 21% 20%Europe North America

According to Techopedia, the top locations for tech professionals to work outside of Silicon Valley are:

When we asked the survey participants what their top motivators were for working overseas, we saw that the majority of responses indicated that lifestyle, money and career development were the primary driving forces. This is a slight variation from 2019 where career development took out the top position with 50% of respondents choosing it as a key motivator, followed by lifestyle with 48% of respondents and money with 47% of respondents.

Berlin, Germany

Austin, Texas

Toronto, Canada

Stockholm, Sweden

Singapore

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Seattle, Washington

Tel Aviv, Israel

Motivation to Work Abroad

45%

43%

38%

30%

28%

LIFESTYLE

MONEY

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

TRAVEL

FAMILY

9

Profile of IT Professionals Planning to Work Overseas

GENDERTIMELINE FOR MOVING OVERSEAS

SPECIALISATIONAGE

PRIMARY WORK LOCATION YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

18-24

40

30

20

10

25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

1-3 YEARS

3-5 YEARS

5-10 YEARS

10-15 YEARS

15+ YEARS

0 10 20 30 40 50

53 %12 %

27 %

6%

2%

36%

Unknown at this stage In 6-12 months In the next 6 months

16%

19%65%

36%

Unknown at this stage In 6-12 months In the next 6 months

16%

19%65%

MaleFemaleNon-Binary

84%

1%

15%

MaleFemaleNon-Binary

84%

1%

15%

13%

11%9%

8%

Software Development

Project Management

Business Analysis

Management

13%

11%9%

8%13%

11%9%

8%

Software Development

Project Management

Business Analysis

Management

13%

11%9%

8%

6%

8%

16%

22%

48%

10

INTERNS & GRADUATES

of employers found value in taking on interns and

graduates.

96%

18%

12%

16%

15%

39%

WITHIN THE LAST 1-3 YEARS

4-5 YEARS AGO

6-10 YEARS AGO

11-15 YEARS AGO

15+ YEARS AGO

found their internship or graduate programme valuable.

were neutral about their internship or graduate programme

did not find their internship or graduateprogramme to be valuable.

82%

12%

6%found their internship or graduate programme valuable.

were neutral about their internship or graduate programme

did not find their internship or graduateprogramme to be valuable.

82%

12%

6%

Time Since Internship & Graduate Programmes

IT Employer Internship & Graduate Programmes

YES55%

NO45%

of IT professionals completed an internship or graduate programme at some point in their career. Of this group, 17% are female, 82% are male and 1% are non-binary.

19%

Of the employers surveyed, 55% have taken on and intern or graduate at some point while 45% have not.

The primary reasons for not taking on an intern or grad are:• The cost factor • Lack of positions available for entry-level tech

employees • Not enough time or bandwidth to provide a

positive experience

11

IT EMPLOYER SNAPSHOT

SECTOR PERCENTAGE OF ORGANISATIONS WITH CORPORATE-SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INITIATIVES

PRIMARY WORK LOCATIONSCOMPANY SIZE

Private SectorPublic SectorNot for Profit/Social Enterprise

57%

36%

7%

Private SectorPublic SectorNot for Profit/Social Enterprise

57%

36%

7%

CHRISTCHURCH

WELLINGTON

WAIKATO & BAY OF PLENTYAUCKLAND

39% 15%

36%

10%

51 - 100 staff

151 + staff

1 - 10 staff11 - 50 staff

101 -150 staff

50%

7%8%

25%

10%

51 - 100 staff

151 + staff

1 - 10 staff11 - 50 staff

101 -150 staff

50%

7%8%

25%

10%

33%NO

67%YES

12

HIRING TRENDS FOR 2020

PLANNING TO DECREASE THE SIZE OF THEIR TEAM IN 2020

PLANNING TO RECRUIT PERMANENT IT TECH IN 2020

IT Employer Recruitment Needs for 2020

TYPE OF TALENT TO EMPLOY TOP TEN IN DEMAND SKILLS FOR 2020

1. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

2. BUSINESS ANALYSIS

3. IT SUPPORT/HELP DESK

4. PROJECT MANAGEMENT

5. ARCHITECTURE

6. DIGITAL & CLOUD

7. NETWORKING & INFRASTRUCTURE

8. AGILE

9. TESTING/QA

10. BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Compared to 2019, Software Development and Business Analysis have retained the top two positions while Agile has dropped from third to eighth. Project Management has moved from sixth to fourth place and Architecture has moved from ninth to fifth place.

New projects are the primary driver for the need to recruit new techs in 2020, followed by the replacement of staff and an increased demand of IT by the business.

The primary reason for decreasing the size of the tech team is a three way tie between project completion, reducing headcount and improved efficiency and productivity.

No

Unsure

Yes

87%

8%

5%NoYes

70%

30%

Contract

Permanent

70%

30%

13

LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY ATTRACTING IT TALENT COMPARED TO A YEAR AGO

FAST FACTS

What Does Remote Working Look Like to NZ Employers?

PRIMARY BUSINESS CHALLENGES FACING EMPLOYERS IN 2020

REMOTE WORKERS

• 46% of IT employers offer remote working for staff in their business.

• 7% of IT employers who do not currently offer remote working plan to offer it in 2020, primarily to attract IT talent from across NZ.

The top three reasons why employers are currently offering remote working is to:

• Retain staff who want to work remotely

• Retain IT staff who are moving away

• Attract IT talent from across NZ

In 2017, we saw the inverse of this data with 23% of IT employers reporting that they found it easier to attract IT talent compared to 2016. Additionally, only 6% were

finding it more difficult to attract IT talent. This shows that some employers have fund it more difficult

to source talent since 2016.

52% of IT employers state that the biggest benefit of remote work is happy, motivated workers followed by 39% who say the biggest benefit is not being limited to the talent available in their location. 65% of employers say that the biggest drawback of remote working is the loss of personal connection to team members and 25% who say that it has a negative impact on team dynamics.

The SameHarder

Easier

Attracting and Retaining Staff

Budget Constraints / Funding

Staying Price Competitive

31%

26%

14%

Mix of working remotely and coming into the office

All work and meetings are done remotely

Mix of working remotely and a satellite office/shared office space

63%

23%

14%

Mix of working remotely and coming into the office

All work and meetings are done remotely

Mix of working remotely and a satellite office/shared office space

63%

23%

14%