The Brightwater
Technology Survey
An Introduction
At
Brightwater, we firmly believe that as professional recruiters within the technology sector, that we have a responsibility to truly engage with the Northern Irish IT community. Our consultative approach has led us to organising a number of IT networking events in the past year which have given us the opportunity to facilitate discussion and opportunities for learning. The IT sector here is continuing to grow with new companies entering the province as well as the ongoing development of a start-up ecosystem. Anecdotal evidence would point to a number of tensions and pressures within the sector but without going to the people working in this market and asking their opinions, a clear picture couldn’t be achieved. Hence, we decided to survey IT professionals currently working in the sector to gauge what issues are particularly pertinent to the IT sector. A huge thank you to all who participated in the survey; your input is much appreciated and I’m sure you’ll find some of the results both interesting and surprising.
M.Kearns Michelle Kearns Commercial Director, Brightwater NI
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The Brightwater Technology Survey
2012
Contents Survey objectives
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Data collection process
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Demographics
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Survey findings
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Conclusion
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About Brightwater NI
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The Brightwater Technology Survey
2012
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Survey objectives The main objectives of this survey included: To gain an understanding of trends and developments in the local technology sector To gain an understanding of perceived challenges and areas of concern in the local technology sector
To assess how the education system aligns with the needs of the local technology sector To benchmark perceptions of salaries in the NI IT community To assess what motivates IT professionals locally To gauge the demand for IT conferences in the province
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Data Collection Process
Demographics
This report is based on a survey specifically issued to a carefully selected panel of local technology leaders and members of the development community and was managed via Survey Monkey software during April 2012. Any questions regarding the report should be directed to Michelle Kearns, Commercial Director of Brightwater NI.
The data in this report is based on the survey responses of a representative cross-section of the local IT community made up of CEOs, Technical Leads, Software Architects, Senior Software Developers/ Development Managers and Software Engineers.
The Brightwater Technology Survey
2012
Survey findings The impact of inward investment “The IT sector in Northern Ireland is overwhelmingly positive about the impact of inward investment on the local economy”, says Michelle Kearns. “Without question, this is one of the hottest topics being debated in the tech sector at the moment. 81.4% of respondents thought that continued
inward investment has been a good thing for the local economy with 7.1% responding that it puts a real strain on recruiting skilled staff”. While sentiment was overwhelmingly positive, it was somewhat qualified with one respondent commenting that
“there can be too much of a short-term impact in the market”. There was also a consensus that more needs to be done in order to support the start-up ecosystem for local entrepreneurs with additional support required in terms of both financing initiatives and business mentoring . See figure 1.
Figure 1 What is your view on inward investment in the IT sector in Northern Ireland? Really good for the local economy
81.4%
There has been too much over the last 5 years
1.4%
Is detrimental to established companies in NI
The Brightwater Technology Survey
2012
2.9%
Puts a real strain on recruiting skilled staff
7.1%
Other
7.1%
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Demand and future skills Similarly, there was a consensus that more needs to be done to attract more students into computing related courses in order to meet the buoyant demand for skilled staff. See figure 2. Perhaps most notable was that only 28% of those surveyed felt that local universities give students the skills & knowledge they need to secure an IT job when they graduate. The prevalent theme was that whilst there are more graduates available, the percentage of graduates with highlevel programming skills is low. “There is still a large gap between what the universities teach and what happens in the real world”, commented one respondent. See figure 3. 81% of respondents asserted that graduates need to be better prepared in terms of what employers are looking for; chiefly that they need to be equipped with stronger technical and practical coding skills. A common thread was that placement years in technical roles are very important to give students exposure to skills they will need to have in the “real world”. Universities and schools should also have more of a focus on providing STEM and problem solving skills along with exposure to writing enterprise code. There was also a general consensus that students need to be better prepared in terms of their interview performance. “This is something which has become increasingly important in recent years”, continues Kearns, “with the interview process now covering myriad skills such as technical questions, technical tests, detailed company research and competency based questions”. See figure 4.
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The Brightwater Technology Survey
Figure 2 Do you feel that we need to consciously attract more students into computing in Northern Ireland to satisfy the increased demand for skilled staff?
Yes
78.6%
No
10%
Don’t have a view
5.7%
Other
5.7%
Figure 3 Do you feel that local universities give students the skills and knowledge they need to secure an IT job when they graduate? Yes
40%
No
20%
Don’t have a view
28.6%
Other
11.4%
Figure 4 In which areas do you think that universities could improve in terms of the assistance they give to students to increase their employability prior to graduation?
More information on local IT companies
2012
40%
More understanding of what employers are looking for in terms of their graduate intake
81.4%
Interview techniques from both technical and competency based perspective
31.4%
Better CV preparation guidelines
21.4%
Other
18.6%
What motivates the technology community? Our findings indicate that whilst salaries in the local IT market have remained relatively steady over the past 3 years, there is an acknowledgment that in comparison to other professional disciplines, the sector is performing well due to increased competition among employers. See figure 5. However, 57% of respondents felt strongly that IT salaries in Northern Ireland aren’t in line with other UK regions when cost of living and other regional factors are taken into account. There is certainly a perceived ceiling for local developers which may lead to a danger of losing some of our top talent to other regions where salaries may be in excess of 30% higher. See figure 6. The point was also made that while companies often offer pay rises to attract new staff, more focus needs to be made in terms of retaining current staff.
Figure 5 What is your view towards salaries within the local IT sector? Have increased significantly over the last 3 years Have stayed the same over the last 3 years Don’t have a view Other
24.3% 8.6% 10%
Figure 6 Do you feel that IT salaries in Northern Ireland are in line with other geographical areas, taking into consideration cost of living and other regional factors?
Yes
27.1%
No
57.1%
Don’t have a view Other
In terms of career planning and hiring of staff, the results were very interesting. When considering a job move, there was not just one single motivating factor with 40% of those surveyed considering salary, benefits, career progression, exposure to new technologies, and training equally important.
The Brightwater Technology Survey
51.7%
2012
10% 5.7%
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The second most popular answer was career progression at 35% but perhaps most interestingly, despite this being an “engineer’s market”, only 7% considered salary their most important priority. “This certainly reflects what our candidates tell us on a daily basis”, comments William Cranston, IT Consultant at Brightwater. “Rarely do IT candidates tell us that they want to move for a salary increase alone. Most often they are motivated by a combination of factors such as those reflected in the survey”. See figure 7. When looking to attract new talent, engaging a professional recruitment company is the method of choice. The consensus was that press advertising is prohibitively expensive in the region when compared to other areas while online job advertisements can get “lost” in the crowd. There was both praise and constructive criticism for recruitment companies which is understandable in a crowded marketplace. It was suggested that recruitment companies should be careful to take a more highly selective approach to the selection of candidates presented to clients for consideration.
Figure 7 When you look for a new position, what is your main motivating factor?
Salary Career progression
7.1% 35.7% 4.3%
Exposure to new technology stacks
2.9%
Increasing your skills base Better benefits
1.4%
More training opportunities
1.4%
All of the above Other
40% 7.1%
Figure 8 When looking to attract high skilled staff, in your view, what is the best method to do so?
There was praise for the industry though with professional recruiters using innovative and targeted approaches with particular mention of social media and networking events. See figure 8.
Direct advertising on an online job board
21.4%
Advertising on your own website
4.3%
Print media advertising
5.7%
Word of mouth Social media Engaging a recruitment company Other
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The Brightwater Technology Survey
2012
22.9% 8.6% 30% 7.1%
The importance of networking A demand for more networking events for IT professionals in the province was also evident with over 94% of respondents agreeing that this is required. See figure 9. “At Brightwater we firmly believe that organising such events is an opportunity for professional recruiters to truly engage with the local IT community and provides real opportunities for learning as well as networking. The goal for Brightwater is to bring an international conference to Belfast in 2013 with global technology giants, local success stories and a real focus on supporting technology startups� says Michelle Kearns. See figure 10.
The Brightwater Technology Survey
Figure 9 Do you feel that we need more IT focused events in Northern Ireland?
Yes
94.3%
No
1.4%
Other
4.3%
Figure 10 Would you attend a 2 day IT conference with both international technology companies coupled with local companies, showcasing the best of current and upcoming technologies?
2012
Yes
77.1%
No
11.4%
Other
11.4%
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Conclusion
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It’s great to see lots of positive messages coming from this survey”, comments Kearns, “as well as important feedback about what recruitment companies do well and where the industry needs to make improvements. Brightwater has stringent quality procedures to ensure that quality candidates are selected for our clients. Our ethos is to use the personal approach of listening to what our candidates and clients actually want to make sure we deliver the best results and add value in any recruitment process. It’s also especially positive to see categorical confirmation that our IT professionals
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The Brightwater Technology Survey
aren’t purely money motivated. They consider career progression, exposure to new technologies and company culture as vital to their job satisfaction. This highlights the vital need for local IT employers to address talent management internally, as it will drive staff retention and attract new staff. Structured talent mentoring and ensuring that your workforce improves its skills are imperative. Coupled with this, if there is a consistent push to attract top academic talent into this industry, the local IT sector will be empowered to completely transform the landscape of the NI economy
2012
for the better. There appears to be a consensus that local IT companies need to work together to collaborate more effectively with the universities to produce graduates who are more fully equipped to meet the commercial realities of the market. The biggest question that this survey makes me pose is if we are we moving towards the US model where employers offer scholarships to IT students through universities or do IT leaders locally need to force this issue by assisting local universities in terms of funding to expand current degree places within IT?”
About Brightwater NI
B
rightwater NI is part of the Brightwater group, Ireland’s leading specialist recruitment group. We recruit professionals for a wide range of industries across Northern Ireland. Brightwater has been established in Belfast for over ten years and in that time has developed solid working relationships with a wide range of companies from SMEs to large multinationals. All of our consultants offer expertise and in-depth industry knowledge in their particular fields. Brightwater Northern Ireland offers a complete recruitment service for both candidates and clients alike.
The Brightwater Technology Survey
Our specialist teams include: IT Sales & Marketing Engineering Accountancy Legal HR Interim appointments Financial Services Business Support Services During the past few years, Brightwater has been responsible for managing a number of specialist campaigns including the full recruitment process for a number of companies relocating their specialist IT, legal, accountancy and support functions to the province.
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We also work closely with indigenous companies across Northern Ireland with strong relationships across the commercial sector. Brightwater organises the ITE Belfast series of technology networking events. Information can be found on our website at BrightwaterNI.com as and on the Brightwater NI Facebook page. To discuss the survey findings or any other queries you may have, please contact our team: T. 02890 325 325 E. Belfast@BrightwaterNI.com
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51-53 Adelaide St., Belfast T. 00 44 28 90 325 325 E. belfast@brightwaterNI.com www.brightwaterNI.com