“Almost every candidate has more than one job offer, with a high percentage of candidates already employed being counter-offered by their current employer. As a result, we’re seeing bidding wars and steep wages growth,” Woo says.
While there’s hope that a newly created graduate program aiming to attract teens exiting tertiary education will help, it takes time to foster talent. SiteMinder has also put time and energy into building development programs to train up existing employees.
The challenge isn’t filling the role – the challenge is filling the role with the right person.
— Steven Armitage of The SANS Institute
It has had to employ talent located outside Australia at higher levels than ever before. “COVID has taught us to work remotely, so we’re no longer constrained by geography,” Woo says.
While money talks, securing the best people comes down to more than simply being able to offer competitive salary packages.
“While that remains important, we’re seeing a greater emphasis placed on company culture and open working policies in the queries we receive, as well as internal development programs,” Woo says.
Building a pipeline in unconventional areas is enabling the SANS Institute to attract and reskill Australian Defence Force veterans and provide them with opportunities to re-enter the workforce.
There is a tech talent shortage, but there isn’t a people shortage, says Steven Armitage of The SANS Institute.
The cybersecurity training organisation has built a blended curriculum and offers cybersecurity and soft skill training and employment preparation.
“This helps address the skills gap while also empowering veterans, which has long been an issue,” country manager Steven Armitage says.
Offering a rapid, at scale course can make a real contribution to addressing the tech talent shortage, he says.
“There is a tech talent shortage, but there isn’t a people shortage, he says. “Organisations are recruiting for cyber professionals, and the challenge isn’t filling the role – the challenge is filling the role with the right person.”
If organisations wait for a person to apply with the required skill set and experience, they’ll be waiting a long time, he says.
“Our strategy is to find the person with the right personal attributes and transferable knowledge, so their skills can be developed through the appropriate training program,” Armitage says.
Grassroot players struggle
It’s particularly tough for start-ups without the runs on the board to attract new talent. Many have to deploy radical measures if they have any hope of growth.
Tech start-ups like cybersecurity operator Sekuro has only ever known life in a tight labour market. Despite this, it has managed to grow its head count by around 20 per cent since October 2021.
Managing director Noel Allnutt, who was promoted to the role a couple of months ago, admits the skills shortages has impacted all areas of technology.
“Certain skill sets and experience levels are more dominant in overseas locations and Australia wants that expertise, so the inability to bring those people into Australia impacted us all. That’s why it’s really important for the industry to focus on what can be done to offset unforeseeable macro issues in the future,” Allnutt says.
For example, programs offering foundational technology skills in schools will go a long way to help grow tech talent and become a leader in innovation, he says.
“Sekuro has invested in growing local graduates from the ground up in order to build its own pipeline of future leaders. We’ve found entry-level roles are important as a talent feeder for the company, so we’ve created a broad-reaching graduate program to attract and upskill staff.”
The company has also built a healthy referral program via its networks, who help scout for people who share the same values and outlooks. “We’ve also found a lot of success in incentivising all staff to actively participate in attracting talent to the team. Good people want to work with good people, so it serves everyone’s best interests to invest time and effort into hiring.”
Fattening up salaries has also helped, Allnutt says.
“We’ve seen an increase in base pay expectations across the tech industry generally. From our experience, the sales and technical roles have seen the biggest increases, likely because we lack the volume of people with these speciality skills in Australia.”
Other tech companies are allowing students to work on tech projects in a bid to get access to new talent.
Businesses need to grow and develop talent, says Angela Anasis of Randstad.
Brisbane’s Lilly Wang was curious about the opportunities a career in tech could provide so signed up for a micro-credential course to get a taste of working as a digital designer.
It was a big change from working as a pharmacist, but being able to access intensive education appealed to her. She had also worked in risk advisory in the tech space, and also risk and compliance space.
One of the projects she worked on during the course was for cybersecurity firm Avertro.
“After finishing the course, they reached out to me to see if I would be interested in doing some work for them,” she says.
She accepted, and now works three days a week for Avertro and spends the rest of the week working as a pharmacist.
Australia’s talent scarcity is among the worst in the world, research shows.
More than three-fifths (62 per cent) of HR and C-suite leaders admit the talent shortage is causing huge problems for their organisations. This has led to 82 per cent of organisations being more focused on the employee experience, it reveals.
Putting talent needs at the centre of the business strategy, including protecting diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging has never been more important, Randstad Sourceright executive general manager Angela Anasis says.
“Another effective element for business leaders is to hire for potential by channelling energy into the growth and development of new recruits and existing staff. We firmly believe that the businesses who shift their mindset towards this talent and human approach will see positive impacts both short and long term,” she says.
The problem isn’t going away anytime soon, either. Australia will need another 6.5 million digital workers in the next four years to keep up with technological changes, research from Amazon reveals.
The number of newly skilled and reskilled technology workers will need to increase 79 per cent by 2025 and the average worker will need to gain seven new digital skills to keep pace, the report from Amazon Web Services says.
IT project managers are in greatest demand to lead digital transformation programs, recruitment firm Hays reveals.
