Has the IT Job market gone bonkers? What’s really happening in the Christchurch software & IT jobs Market

With so much talk about the cost of living, the increasing price of real estate and the impact on the job market, what’s the real story? What are we actually seeing in the market?

There’s definitely a lot of movement, and the market has changed significantly with an ever increasing demand for IT professionals and a skill shortage within NZ.

We’re seeing a change in what candidates are looking for from their next employer, with their number one focus being flexibility. This is likely to remain a key focus with the impact of higher inflation rates leading people to reduce their costs as much as possible including fuel costs and work clothing. Even buying lunch is viewed as an extra cost.

The feedback we’re hearing is that candidates are looking for either a WFH role or a hybrid approach with some contact days in the office for connection, especially within software engineering where brainstorming is important. A lot of companies are now offering the flexibility of allowing their employees to decide how many days they would like to work in the office.

We’re seeing a lot of talented people looking to make the move to Christchurch or its surrounds, with both the lifestyle and the cost of buying a home making it a very attractive proposition. This coupled with the ability to WFH and visit the office on a regular basis, even if it’s not in the same city, is leading to a very active market with lots of movement.

What we’ve also started to see with border restrictions being lifted is companies happy to start recruiting overseas. We understand there are visa processing delays with NZ immigration but this is welcoming news for companies struggling to hire locally or nationally and overseas candidates who want to land their dream job in Aotearoa.

If you’re interested in finding out specifics, and how much the market has moved in your sector, give me a yell for a chat.

I'm Paul, I’m a Dad who loves coffee, dogs, biking, surfing & skiing. Founder & Principal Consultant of Sunstone, an IT Recruitment & HR company specialising in recruiting IT roles within software, web, mobile, blockchain, big data, cloud infrastructure, security & networks in Christchurch & South Island of New Zealand.