TEKsystems Research Finds Steady Increase in IT Hiring Expectations Into 2011
Oct 26, 2010 | HANOVER, MD | For media inquiries, please contact us at media@TEKsystems.com.
HANOVER, MD – October 26, 2010 – TEKsystems®, the nation’s leading technology staffing and services company, today announced findings from its quarterly IT and Talent Survey, conducted in partnership with the Inavero Institute. Overall, IT leaders maintain a positive outlook on hiring, with 43% indicating increases in temporary IT hiring, 42% in permanent IT hiring and 26% in temp-to-permanent hiring over the next six months. Technology service needs are also expected to grow. Of the 1,000 IT executive respondents in the U.S. and Canada, 61% cite expected increases in IT project services, 38% in IT education and training, and 36% in IT outsourcing.
According to TEKsystems’ Market Research Manager, Tania Lavin, “It’s not surprising that the increases IT leaders report show only steady growth in their needs for the fourth quarter. Companies do not typically make significant adjustments to their workforce and service portfolio plans during this time. Instead, they are focused on hitting goals and closing out the year strong.”
The percentages of IT leaders reporting steady increases in IT service needs were relatively consistent across industry verticals and all U.S. regions. Slightly more Canadian IT leaders reported increases in temporary IT hiring compared to U.S. IT leaders (49% vs. a U.S. average of 41%). Conversely, fewer Canadian IT leaders reported increases in permanent hiring and IT project needs (30% vs. a U.S. average of 43% and 46% vs. a U.S. average of 61%). Overall, these findings suggest a relatively even incremental increase in IT hiring and services needs over the course of 2010.
“IT is core to the business, which is why demand for IT talent and services remains relatively strong despite a weakened economy. Additionally, the majority of hot IT projects – virtualization, business intelligence, unified communications, etc. – create long-term cost savings and efficiencies, making them attractive initiatives in any economic climate,” says Lavin.
The majority (72%) of IT leaders expecting increases in temporary IT hiring plan for those increases to occur in the fourth quarter at a rate of about 6% more headcount than the third quarter. Several skills are likely to be sourced via IT staffing companies as IT leaders report they are particularly hard to find. Of the most difficult roles, Enterprise Architects top the list with 67% of respondents rating the difficulty a seven or above, on a one to 10 scale. More than half of respondents also rated Security Specialists, Network Architects, Business Intelligence Specialists and Database Administrators a seven or higher in terms of difficulty to fill.
“When you consider the demand for technical skills in tandem with the need to find someone with the right industry knowledge, business acumen and cultural fit, the difficulty of finding and attracting that particular person into your organization grows exponentially,” says Lavin. “Organizations seeking top tier talent will need to prioritize workforce planning as they enter 2011 in order to remain competitive and accomplish the strategic work they need to get done.”
About TEKsystems
People are at the heart of every successful business initiative. At TEKsystems, an Allegis Group company, we understand people. Every year we deploy more than 80,000 IT professionals at 6,000 client sites across North America, Europe and Asia. Our deep insights into IT human capital management enable us to help our clients achieve their business goals–while optimizing their IT workforce strategies. We provide IT staffing solutions and IT services to help our clients plan, build and run their critical business initiatives. Through our range of quality-focused delivery models, we meet our clients where they are, and take them where they want to go, the way they want to get there.