What are the Hottest IT jobs in NZ for 2016?
With a successful 2015 behind us we already have a number of live IT roles for 2016. So here’s some of the skills we placed for 2015 in Christchurch and the South Island of New Zealand and the IT skills we’re currently looking for in 2016…..
Front-end / UI JavaScript Developers
Whether it's React.js, Node or Angular these client-side frameworks are increasing in popularity thus we need Web Developers to work on web products utilising them. With Web being more mature, demand is high for developers at the front-end, driving more performance & usability for fast loading sites & applications responsive on multiple browsers, platforms and devices - websites accessible anywhere, this is a key skill set.
BIG Data Developer / Data Scientist
It's joked if you add 'Data Scientist' into your CV you can put your salary up by $30k+! With the propagation of squillions of amounts of data we need people to organise and make sense of it.... this is the new BI / Datawarehousing with a focus on NoSQL technologies enabling large scaling data platforms and creation of associated software tools. Experience with the Hadoop suite - Spark, Cassandra and databases like MongoDB are highly valued.
Mobile Applications Developers (iOS or Android)
Mobile is 'eating the world' and good native developers within the iOS or Android SDK are highly sought after producing apps for Apple & Android devices.
Software / Solutions / Technical Architects
Developers who are designing the software solutions whether it’s the whole shooting match (Solutions Architect) or a Senior Developer at the top of their game designing the technical solutions or applications as Technical Lead / Principal Software Developer.
Full Stack Developers - C#.Net Full Stack Developer or Java Full Stack Developer
The term is becoming increasingly popular amongst hiring Development Managers who want core back-end skills in C#.Net/SQL and Java combined with strong front-end (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) skills as nearly everything is being presented on the browser.
Software Developers / Engineers (whether it’s C#.Net, Java, EmbeddedC, iOS, Android, PHP, Ruby on Rails, Python, EmbeddedC/C++ etc)
Good Devs are always in demand for good reason, they can create & craft software that solves real world problems & systems to make users job (& lives) easier and more efficient:
Java Developers
Java is still an industrial strength coding language that is in demand, especially now as it ties in with BIG data software suites like Apache Hadoop and Android Mobile development.
C#.Net/SQL Developers
Windows is still viewed as a strong, secure stack to develop on and with C#.Net becoming open source it is regarded as a good choice of language with a strong following. C# skills on the .Net framework are in demand with VB.Net requirements less so. These core C# skills are key and now often clients are looking for additional full stack responsibilities adding HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript to the JD (Job Description) as per above.
EmbeddedC/C++/Python Software Engineers
Embedded software engineers enjoy creating efficiency within tight parameters of memory and often have the satisfaction of making hardware work with their software which is a tangible outcome. With future demands for 'Smart Products', IoT (Internet of Things), this will continue to be a valued coding language.
C++ 11/14 Software Engineers
Whether it’s for industrial applications or games development C++ will not go away because of its industrial strength & ability to make things go super fast.
PHP Web Developers
Yep PHP is still the code choice for the WWW and it’s not going away. Often we get requirements for full stack Web Developers so if you have strong HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript to boot you’ll be in demand for the foreseeable future.
Web Designers / Front-End Developers
Look & feel of great looking websites & web applications are still in demand as creative skills are a real talent. The artists of the web are key in creating beautiful UI’s & improving usability using CSS3/HTML5/JavaScript/InDesign/PhotoShop.
UX Designers
UX or User Experience is a specialism not to be mistaken with a Web Designer who does a a bit of UX on the side (sometimes coined UI/UX). We’re talking about measurable usability, studying user behaviour to get your experience bang on for your specific audience and have your customers coming back for more.
DevOps / Systems Engineers / SysAdmin (Systems Administrators)
With a lot of processes being automated there’s a demand for Systems Engineers who can script whether it be Powershell for Windows or Bash for Linux. Keep improving systems, automating processes and producing significant performance improvements.
Systems Analysts / Applications Support / Support Engineers (1st/2nd/3rd line support)
With the amount of tech devices & hardware that an organisation has, often growing with BYOD, great customer service & technical trouble-shooting is always welcomed when you have a technical glitch. And now with mobiles, tablets, cloud-based/SaaS applications to support, a friendly techie is there to get your working day back on track!
Network Engineers / Security & Infrastructure Architects
Core network infrastructure skills are always sought after to deliver great network services within telecoms, residential or corporate internet services. Some large corporate end-users will often have in-house skills managing their large network. Security is always a key priority for any organisation with new things 'popping up' that could take down your whole business - whether this is being resourced in-house or externally it's crucial.
Automation Engineers
A good Tester is like gold dust, but take that and add scripting / coding skills into the mix + experience of a specific automation suite like Selenium, FitNesse, TestComplete, Ranorex etc and you’ve got a niche within a niche. Automation is not the future, it’s the NOW.
QA / Software Testers (Functional & Manual)
Strong Functional & Manual testers with great analytical skills who often work within agile teams taking a collaborative approach with developers to produce quality, bug-free software products are always highly valued.
SQL DBA’s (Database Administrators) / SQL Developers
For businesses that Data is their company, like banks & insurance companies, Data is key, not only protecting it but performance -tuning and enhancing it to take competitive advantage. We tend to find Christchurch / South Island companies are heavier on the SQL side rather than Oracle.
Product Owners / Business Analysts / IT Project Managers
That rare mix of people, business and technical skills make these skills invaluable to ‘make IT happen’ - excuse the pun…..Now we’re often looking for additional depth of knowledge within Development to shape software products.
Digital Marketers (SEO/SEM)
Now websites only make one part of the whole digital marketing proposition so Digital executives will make sure your social media (Facebook/ Twitter/ Instagram/ LinkedIn/ SnapChat) channels are all sharing the same message & promoting your brand. They’ll set up ‘advertising campaigns’, make sure your SEO is tip top using Google Analytics, promote your site more with Google Adwords and may be Google Accredited.
IT Account Managers / Business Development Managers (BDM’s)
Let’s not forget the sales peeps. Great customer service to support IT software & hardware products, spot opportunities and sell the features & benefits of a product. Take this to the next level and you have IT Sales Executives or BDM’s who carve out new territories, markets & customers, write tender documents and get deals over the line. Generating revenue for an organisation is key to organisation's success.
Development Managers / IT Managers / CIO’s / CTO’s
Of course we need great Chiefs to manage people, drive strategy and oversee service delivery. People Management is often described as its own skill set with broader activities like recruiting, networking, stakeholder relationships, project management, presenting and working with partners or 3rd-party suppliers. Great leaders are highly valued because they steer the ship, lead by example & motivate people to learn, development & achieve.
For our current live IT jobs please CLICK HERE
Well there you have it. If you would like more info on market rates within Christchurch, NZ (permanent or contract) please feel free to get in touch: paul@sunstonetalent.com
Paul is founder of sunstonetalent.com an IT Recruitment & HR Consultancy based in Christchurch, New Zealand