Talent New Zealand is celebrating two wins following the SEEK SARA awards.

Awarded Large Recruitment Agency of the Year, Talent demonstrated to the judge’s dedication and pursuit of excellence across culture, innovation, growth, candidate engagement and contribution to the success of the recruitment industry.

Talent also took out the win for Outstanding Progress in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The award submission was centred on the success of Talent RISE (Talent’s charitable foundation which helps young rangatahi with barriers to employment find meaningful work), within the New Zealand market. The category is marked on businesses demonstrating their commitment through meaningful initiatives and strategies that benefit diverse talent pools and the business.

On top of the two award wins, Country Manager New Zealand, Kara Smith, was runner-up for the Recruitment Leader of the Year award. Finalists were judged on their inspiration and motivation for their team, how they perform to business objectives, how they make a positive impact within their agency and the overall recruitment industry.

“It is such an honour to receive these two awards and wonderful recognition for Kara. It’s no secret it’s been a very challenging market for New Zealand. In challenging periods, Talent prides itself on investing in our people and where we want our business to go moving forward. People talk a lot about culture and it’s easy for that word to become quite meaningless but for us, people genuinely care about their jobs and each other, making work fun.

The DEI award represents our commitment to empowering people to build a better world of work. With the backing of Talent, RISE has assisted 111 rangatahi into meaningful employment, with 93% transitioning into sustainable roles. I’m so proud of everything that our team has achieved.” – Mark Nielsen, Global CEO, Talent

Talent is celebrating two award wins following the APSCo Awards for Excellence and the Australian Marketing Institute Marketing Excellence awards that happened in Melbourne mid-October.

Taking home the win for Specialist Firm of the Year at the APSCo Awards for Excellence, Talent demonstrated to the judges why the business stands out for its specialisation against competitors. This year’s winners were selected by an independent and expert panel of judges.

Talent also won the Excellence in Customer Experience at the Marketing Excellence awards by Australian Marketing Institute awards. Talent was the only recruitment company who took home a win. This category recognises the role marketing plays in supporting and delivering exceptional customer experiences with the judges looking for submissions that demonstrate a superior understanding of the elements that contribute to delivering outstanding customer experiences and how marketing contributed to the overall organisational approach to managing customer experiences.

“These awards symbolise our grit and determination to strive for excellence, regardless of market conditions. The AMI judges sought businesses that demonstrate a deep understanding of what creates outstanding customer experiences. For us, this recognition stems from our contractor experience program, a significant investment in both technology and people to provide our contractors with a high-touch, red-carpet experience. I’m incredibly proud of our team and all that they’ve accomplished.” – Mark Nielsen, Global CEO, Talent

Talent’s Global CEO, Mark Nielsen, was invited to speak at the 2024 LGBTIQ+ Leadership Summit in Sydney on September 19^th. Hosted by The Leadership Institute, the two-day event aimed to foster leadership that embraces authenticity, inclusivity, and resilience.

A proud LGBTIQ+ leader himself, Nielsen’s keynote discussed how addressing the unpleasant truths about privilege drives personal and organisational growth.

A snippet from the event included:

“Our community (and allies), experience a world where privilege and systemic bias still shape our opportunities. The silver lining is we have the lived learnings and understandings to address these privileges in our organisations and shape a better world of work for all. Allowing people to bring their whole selves to work creates confidence and diverse perspectives that will ensure better decision making.” – Mark Nielsen, Global CEO, Talent

Throughout the event, attendees had access to thought leaders, advocates, and trailblazers sharing their experiences and strategies for creating inclusive and equitable workplaces. Notable speakers included 5x Olympic Gold medalist and world record holder, Ian Thorpe; musician and performer, Hugh Sheridan; and Whadjuk Noongar Australian journalist, newsreader, Narelda Jacobs OAM.

Connect with Mark Nielsen on LinkedIn here.

Talent has today announced the launch of Solve which specialises in outsourced and embedded recruitment and workforce management solutions.

Originally a division of Talent that has operated since 2018 and now launching as its own individual brand, Solve partners with startups, scale-ups, and enterprise brands across the APAC region to transform their talent functions, solve workforce challenges and drive business outcomes through progressive people solutions.

Tom Mackintosh, Managing Director, Solve, said on the launch, “It’s an exciting time as we relaunch our brand into market as Solve. Our division has grown over the years, and we are incredibly proud that we are the go-to partner within the media and tech industries. With the backing of Talent, we are able to stand on our own and bring a whole new level of customer experience to our clients. This marks an important milestone, and I am incredibly proud of the whole Solve team. We are looking forward to sharing our new look and feel with our customers and the market.” 

Solve’s four key service lines include:

• Embedded recruitment
• MSP
• RPO
• Advisory

Talent Global CEO, Mark Nielsen, commented, “Here at Talent, we embrace change as the new norm and continually raise the bar for growth within our industry. Today is an exciting new chapter as we introduce Solve to the market. Our relationships with clients that Tom and the wider Solve team have built and nurtured is a testament to their hard work and commitment to deliver quality people solutions.”  

To celebrate the launch, Solve invited key clients to an intimate lunch at Shell House restaurant in Sydney with special guest speaker, Alexandra Williamson, Managing Director of ESE The Agency. Williamson played a pivotal role in propelling the Matildas to their historic 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup performance and helped reshape the landscape of women’s sports.

Find out more about Solve here.

For over 25 years we’ve been revolutionising the contractor experience, and in 2014 we took it one step further with a brand-new tool for our contractors and clients – ENGAGE.

ENGAGE offers a new and different way for contractors to (and excuse our pun) engage with their contracting career. It combines all the practical requirements of being a contractor with access to a unique and exclusive wellbeing and benefits program. For employers, it’s an easier and more convenient tool for management of your contractors including paperless contract management, as well as seamless timesheet approval. Plus, it’s a place for contractors to feel supported. As our research points to in our Contractor wellbeing report, 1 in 4 contractors don’t feel their wellbeing is supported in the workplace. ENGAGE helps ease that pain point.

As we fast-forward to 2024, the needs of contractors are changing and after much research and planning, we’re excited to share with you an upgrade to ENGAGE that we know you’re going to enjoy.

Introducing Jobs.

Contractors told us they wanted help securing their next opportunities. Shaped by this feedback, as an ENGAGE member, your next job is now just a few clicks away. Taking away the end-of-contract uncertainty, you’ll be able to secure your next opportunity with live roles aligned with your contract timeline. You’ll be able to apply in seconds, simplifying the job-hunting process and saving you time and hassle.

As an ENGAGE member, your application will be immediately flagged with our team, ensuring it receives priority attention. Benefit from our deep understanding of your skills and preferences, making ENGAGE more than just a platform—it’s your advocate in the job market.

How does jobs benefit me as an employer?

ENGAGE isn’t just a game-changer for contractors—it’s also a powerful tool for employers. By working with Talent, you gain direct access to a highly skilled, exclusive community of over 20,000 top-tier contracting professionals who have already proven their expertise through previous engagements with us.

Your roles are featured prominently to available contractors within the platform, ensuring they receive maximum visibility and attract the best candidates (who can apply in just seconds). The streamlined hiring process, with live roles aligned to contract timelines, allows you to find and secure the right talent exactly when you need them, reducing downtime and maintaining project momentum.

This efficiency is complemented by our deep insights and matching capabilities, which leverage a detailed understanding of each contractor’s skills and preferences to ensure the best-fit candidates are effortlessly identified for your roles.

When can I start using this?

Straight away! This feature is live and already in use by Talent clients and available contractors in the ENGAGE platform.

From physical wellbeing through to their mental wellbeing, ENGAGE provides all the tools contractors need to ensure they are happy and supported. After all, a happy workforce means an engaged workforce.

Reach out to us if you’d like to find out more.

In many workplaces, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) are often just treated as buzzwords. But we think it’s time for a little less conversation and a little more action. Here at Talent, our values guide everything we do including ensuring that we are walking the talk when it comes to diversity. We have a responsibility to educate our clients on best practices when it comes to hiring, because let’s face it, diversity and inclusion must begin at the hiring stage. We’ve even created a DEI Hiring Toolkit to help hiring managers in this process.

DEI can’t just be words on a poster, and we know we need to walk the talk. Here at Talent New Zealand 20% of our Talent New Zealand staff whakapapa Māori and to the Iwi’s of Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Hako, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Porou.  Our Country Manager, Kara Smith and Managing Director of our consultancy arm, Avec, Sam Collins whakapapa Māori, actively champion conversations and strategies about increasing Māori representation with clients across both the recruitment and technology industries. There’s no denying, representation ensures a safe and welcoming environment for Māori and Pasifika candidates here in Aotearoa.

“Talent is unique in that we are a local Aotearoa business made up with a diverse team on the ground in Auckland and Wellington, but with the resources and network of a strong global-market leader. We believe that this combination allows us to provide our clients and candidates with the best of both worlds – a deep understanding of the local talent market coupled with the reach and expertise of an international company. Our values come to life through our commitment to young rangatahi, supporting aspiring female leaders, fostering a diverse team and encouraging Māori and Pasifika talent in both the recruitment and technology industries.” Kara Smith, Country Manager, Talent New Zealand.

Diversity with Māori and Pasifika

Experience is everything and we are proud to work closely with different organisations across New Zealand to support them in their commitment to Te Tiriti to achieve better recruitment outcomes for Māori and Pasifika. We tailor end-to-end recruitment processes to ensure cultural considerations. All of these we know will ensure better overall outcomes in achieving diverse hiring.

Our Senior Recruiters / Account Directors all have/continue to upskill to ensure DEI practices are maintained. This training includes:

• Inclusive job advertising ensuring job ads are tailored to attract more Māori and Pasifika applications.
• Defining more inclusive interview processes ensuring a commitment to Te Tiriti
• Educating and challenging Hiring Managers on their own recruitment practices to drive change.

Looking to one of our consultants as an example, Adeline Le Bris, Account Director, Talent Wellington, is committed to drive change to make a tangible difference to better outcomes for all Māori and Pasifika. Some of the courses she has taken part in include:

• Unconscious Bias and mitigation
• Understanding Te Tiriti O Waitangi (Groundwork)
• Rainbow community Training
• Neurodivergence workshops
• Te Reo Course – Level 2

“We understand the importance of improving diversity outcomes especially in a New Zealand context to honor Te Tiriti O Waitangi. We are working closely with many organisations facing diversity and inclusion challenges and advise and provide tangible solutions to change the status quo. Mitigating unconscious bias is something that all of us here at Talent are trained on. We also know the importance of building trust and tailor our communication when we engage with Māori and Pasifika Candidates.” Adeline Le Bris said.

Providing pathways for rangatahi

In 2018, we launched our charitable foundation, Talent RISE in Aotearoa. RISE focuses on decreasing youth unemployment in the community, in particular Māori and Pasifika young people.  We also educate our clients on the importance of hiring young people into roles with regular insights, reports and in our regular catch ups with them. In the past six years we have assisted 105 rangatahi/ young people into meaningful employment. Our kaupapa (purpose) is empowering rangatahi and one way we achieve this, is by delivering our employability skills strength-based readiness to work program – Rangatahi Mahere Whakapakari Mahi utilising Te Kotahitanga (Effective Teaching Profile). We create opportunities for our rangatahi to actively participate and engage in their learning to encourage positive youth development outcomes.

Anthony Logologo, a rangatahi that Talent RISE placed at NZ Post said, “I was really proud, I still am, of how I have gone through this journey and set myself to achieve more in my future. I got so much support from the first day, even before the course started. The trainers and other classmates supported me and gave me confidence to join the workforce, improved my people skills and helped me to apply those skills to get into the workforce.”

Supporting the neurodiverse community

Diversity isn’t just ethnicity. When it comes to working with neurodiverse candidates, Georgia Hynes, Senior Recruitment Consultant, Talent Wellington, operates from her own experience. “I’ve changed my LinkedIn title to highlight that I’m neurodiverse myself which caused an influx of candidates reaching out to share their experiences.”

Georgia shares that education and awareness is the best way to get an understanding of how to be inclusive. “A lot of people are aware of our rainbow communities and using the right pronouns etc., but not many people understand the needs of people with ADHD or autism for example. If I know someone is neurodiverse, I’ll educate my client on using clear and concise language in JD’s or adverts.  Having flexible interview formats.  Maybe making it video based instead of face to face.  Sending the candidate the interview structure up front can also help.”

Final thoughts

We understand that the DEI landscape is constantly evolving, and we’re passionate about improving our own policies and development here at Talent. DEI is a journey we’re all on together, and we pledge to continue evolving our development within this space – and deliver utmost support to our teams. You can find out more about our team at Talent here.

On Tuesday evening, Treasurer Jim Chalmers handed down the 24/25 Federal budget as the Labor Government are well into their term of leadership. Chalmers warned weeks earlier that the national economy is slowing, which also points to a weaker jobs market. Last week, the Reserve Bank forecast the national unemployment rate, now 3.8%, would climb to 4.3% by the middle of next year. Rising cost of living, interest rates, and inflation are at the top of mind for Aussies and businesses both big and small.

In good news, the government outlined $2.8 billion in planned investments in tech and policy development over the next four years.

Let’s get into exactly what the budget means for the tech and digital hiring market as well as what our experts, here at Talent, had to say about it.

Green Business

There’s no denying the pressure businesses are facing on the climate crisis. One of the major winners from the budget reveal are businesses involved in the green transition, with major loans, investments and incentives going to the sector. With the government’s ‘Future Made in Australia’ policy, there’s $19.7 billion in funding available, to chase the goal of turning Australia into a renewable energy superpower. With that comes job opportunities.

Robert Ning, Managing Director, Talent Canberra noted, “Organisations will need to strategically allocate resources to maximise the impact of these investments. IT professionals should stay informed about project priorities and hiring trends.”

There’s $7 billion in forecast new tax incentives for critical minerals, $8 billion for green hydrogen (mostly via production tax incentives) and $1.5 billion for the Australian Renewable Energy Agency. That money aims help develop new green industries alongside a $1.7 billion innovation fund that will support other renewables projects.

Defence and foreign affairs

More than $100 million will go to creating a skilled workforce for Australia’s AUKUS submarine plans. A six-year, $34.7 million pilot apprenticeship program is one of the biggest items. Businesses in the submarine supply chain will benefit from $17.2 million in spending, with the cash coming from existing departmental resources.

Anthony Whyte, Managing Director, Talent Adelaide said, “Protecting Australia is very high on the government’s agenda as seen by the billions pumped into the Defence Sector.”

The Department of Defence will also pilot its own in-house consulting network, called Australian Defence Consulting.

Simon Yeung, Managing Director, Talent Melbourne said, “The Australian defence sector continues to expand, with $330billion in the budget representing the largest spend on defence as a percentage of GDP since WW2. The national defence strategy has pivoted towards a regional force projection posture, which means a larger share of funding now goes to the Navy and Airforce. The high demand for tech workers with NV1 clearance continues, with higher salaries and rates for these roles.”

Contingent workforce  

Federal spending on consultancies, labour hire and contractors will decrease by $1 billion over the next four years, which takes total reductions to $4 billion since 2022-23. With this news, upskilling will be key for contingent workers to stay ahead.

Steve Jobson, Account Director, Talent Canberra, reflected on the announcement, “Technology projects don’t get delivered by themselves. Key ingredients are time, money and people. The APS will continue their push to increase staffing levels where they can, however they will continue to struggle to compete in a highly competitive market for tech/cyber/data specialists, especially in the numbers they require based on these projects. Not only are each department competing against themselves for talent, but there are also state and territory governments requiring the same expertise, the banking/financial sector experiencing an increase in demand, Utilities having targets to meet due to SOCI, and just about every other industry in Australia is needing the same type of people. With security clearance/citizenship requirements as well in government, you can’t simply just go overseas and bring all the talent into country.”

Artificial intelligence

As businesses continue to navigate the AI landscape, the government has announced $40 million in new funding for the development of policies and capabilities to support the economy-wide adoption of AI. More than half of this funding will go towards a “reshaped National AI Centre”, which will be moved from within national science agency CSIRO to the Department of Industry. They also announced $2.6 million “to respond to and mitigate against national security risks related to AI.”

On top of this, there will be $2.2 million from the APS Capability Reinvestment Fund, which will also be used for capability uplift projects, including AI integration and enhancing the equality of data to inform policy analysis.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is still top of mind for every Australian business. The government has announced $206.4 million over four years, and $7.2 million a year after, to “improve the data capability and cyber security” of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and “to continue the stabilisation of business registers and modernisation of legacy systems”.

“Fiscal policy relevant to the Tech Sector includes the Digital ID scheme, which will get a $288mil boost to cyberattacks targeting identity theft, and the Future Made in Australia agenda with $1billion in grants and loans to a quantum computing company PsiQuantumn and another $1billion to subsidise solar panel manufacturing. Critical Minerals and Rare Earths, which are used in advanced technology manufacturing and batteries, will also receive over $1.5billion.” Simon Yeung, Managing Director, Talent Melbourne observed.

$109.9 million has been announced additionally for the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission for the continued integration of state and territory law enforcement agencies into the National Criminal Intelligence System.

Robert Ning, Managing Director, Talent Canberra, said, “IT projects related to data science, cybersecurity, and renewable energy technologies will receive funding. This presents exciting opportunities for skilled professionals in these fields.”

On top of this, $187.8 million has been allocated for the Australian Bureau of Statistics to be used for the safe collection and storage of Census data and other activities to increase participation and access to the Census through myGov.

The economy & cost of living

On everyone’s minds was ‘how is the government going to help ease the cost of living and battle inflation?’ Well, Chalmers announced a few different things to help with this. Every Australian household will receive $300 in rebates to help with energy bill relief. This will be paid in quarterly instalments from July.

Chalmers is forecasting that inflation could fall to the target band by the end of this year and be down to 2.75% by the middle of 2025. However, the Reserve Bank forecasts inflation to still be at 3.2% in June next year. A slowdown in economic growth would push up the jobless rate.

Simon Yeung, Managing Director, Talent Melbourne observed, “Overall the budget contains short term measures to ease the cost-of-living burden, including tax cuts and $300 electricity rebates, but the jury is out about whether it will curb inflation and thus bring down interest rates before the federal election due before May 2025.”

Final thoughts

Simon Yeung, Managing Director, Talent Melbourne said, “Immigration will be cut to below 300,000 people per year, from an annual peak of 548,000 last year. This will impact the supply of experience Tech workers in capital cities and may cause upwards pressure on IT salaries and contractor rates.”

There were some great wins for the tech industry in the budget and a few announcements that put upskilling top of mind for some.

Robert Ning, Managing Director, Talent Canberra, said, “The recent Australian federal budget announcement has significant implications for the IT industry. As the government aims to reduce its reliance on contractors and boost permanent public servant positions, there are key takeaways that professionals in the technology sector should consider: Cost Savings and Workforce Transition:

The government’s push to replace contractors with permanent public servants is driven by a desire to save $1 billion in external labor costs. An additional 2,500 public servants are expected to step into these roles. For IT professionals, this transition could mean more job stability in the public sector. Permanent positions offer benefits like job security, leave entitlements, and career progression.”

Anthony Whyte, Managing Director, Talent Adelaide, shared his thoughts on what this budget means for South Australia, “The budget papers predict SA will lose a net 2000 people to the rest of Australia this financial year, followed by 2900 in 2024-25, 3500 in 2025-26, 3400 in 2026-27 and 3300 in 2027-28. Premier Peter Malinauskas has consistently talked up the reasons for interstate residents to move to SA, pointing to job opportunities in areas such as defence and energy, plus trying to generate a feel-good PR factor through events such as the AFL Gather Round and LIV golf, yet the drain continues”

The project services hiring market is fluctuating within different industries and across all states in Australia. A recent whitepaper Talent has released, details the latest trends in project management as well as the skills and experience needed to keep businesses’ projects on track. Please find the whitepaper here.

The whitepaper features in-demand project skills, salary trends, challenges currently being faced in the project services hiring market, and trends and predictions for key project positions in 2024. It also features insights from Talent’s recruitment experts’ team.

Key findings include:

• Reduction of Project Practitioners, especially in local government, as part of an overarching strategy of reducing contract labour spend.
• The banking industry has reduced Project Mangers by 8%.
• Competition for senior roles in Project & Change has increased across all industries with applicants getting a response to less than 10% of roles applied for.
• The hiring market is correcting salaries post-the boom experienced over the last few years, however in states such as WA there has been a 5% uplift in contract rates which is set to continue throughout 2024.
• It’s estimated that by 2025, AI will power 95% of customer interactions.

Skills in highest demand are:

• Data
• Cybersecurity
• AI
• Automation
• Emotional intelligence
• Communication
• Change management skills

Predictions for 2024 and beyond:

• AI will grow in uptake
• Hybrid project methodologies are gaining traction
• Greater focus on cybersecurity projects
• Greater use of data & data analysis to improve project performance & drive efficiencies

Insights from the Talent and Avec team include:

Matthew Munson, Talent Sydney Managing Director noted, “We anticipate that the market will start to pick up again. The financial services sector, for example, had 12 months of consolidation, cost cutting and projects being put on hold. The initial signs are that hiring growth will return later in 2024 and 2025, with a number of large projects kicking off in Q4 this year.”

Steve Tompkins, Talent Head of Government Sales said, “The traditional project manager role is evolving. Enter the ‘Project Influencer’. The influencer uses EI to build human connections and understand the motivations of their team. They also use data-led logic, critical thinking, and strong communication skills to propose solutions to problems. They don’t just answer to stakeholders, they answer to their team, filling the role of sword and shield for them and fuelling a productive project team where every member feels valued and performs to the best of their ability.”

Talent Perth Managing Director, Paul Mackin Brown observes that, “As a state that plays a pivotal role, contributing around 50% of Australia’s exports, WA continues to rely on minerals, petroleum, specialised manufactured goods, and agriculture. This positive scenario presents a particularly promising landscape for ICT professionals, whose skills are, and will continue to be, in high demand across most industries in WA, especially in areas like cybersecurity, business/data analysis, architecture, and software engineering.”

Talent has been announced as one of nine leading private Australian companies recognised for their outstanding business performance in Deloitte Australia’s 2023 Best Managed Companies awards. It is the only Australian tech services and recruitment business to be recognised in the winners.

Now in its fourth year – and run in association with Google Cloud and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia – the Best Managed Companies program identifies and celebrates privately-owned and managed companies across Australia that set high standards of business performance and shines a light on the power of private businesses as innovators and major contributors to Australia’s economy.

The program uses a tried and tested framework for determining success, and winners are recognised based on achieving high scores across four key categories: strategy; culture and commitment; capabilities and innovation; and governance and financials.

Global CEO, Mark Nielsen, said the recognition was a testament to the business’ transformation over the past five years.

“Five years ago, we set out with a big hairy audacious goal of increasing our global revenue to $1 billion, which we achieved in 2023. In this time, we have strategically expanded our service offering, made difficult decisions about the right markets for us to be in, invested in innovation, consciously improved the diversity of our leadership team, and increased our ESG focus to ensure we are delivering on our vision to build a better world of work for all. Our team here at Talent is exceptional and this recognition reflects their hard work and commitment.”

Talent Global CFO, Megan Woodbury, said the organisation’s agile approach to strategic growth had been crucial in its success.

“The Talent board and leadership team are entrepreneurial, and willing to invest in forward-thinking initiatives. Continuous investment in emerging opportunities, extending to mergers and acquisitions, people investment, and technology projects has allowed the business to remain agile and respond to changing market conditions and expectations. This level of commitment to investment has been crucial for our growth in both depressed and growth markets and is a key factor in us being named a Deloitte Best Managed Company.”

Read more on Deloitte’s Best Managed Companies list here: www.bestmanagedcompanies.com.au

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the role of AI in shaping the future of business cannot be overstated. At Talent, we firmly believe that success lies in embracing transformative technologies, rather than shying away from them. It is with this vision in mind that we have developed our own generative AI technology through our project delivery brand, Avec.

Named “Hello Sumo” after its developer Anthony Tockar’s (Practice Lead Data/AI) beloved dog, who is a regular guest in our Sydney office, this technology provides our people with a private and secure alternative to other open source AI tools. Built on Talent’s ecosystem, Hello Sumo’s security infrastructure enables us to securely input and store company information, empowering employees to leverage valuable data while safeguarding our cyber assets.

Hello Sumo represents the culmination of our commitment to delivering tangible value in the AI space. It stands as a testament to our dedication not only to embracing AI but also to doing so responsibly, with a keen focus on data security and privacy.

It’s natural to feel apprehensive about new technology – I recall a time when people were concerned about LinkedIn replacing recruiters! However, as we learned from that example, technology has the potential to enhance productivity for those who are forward-thinking enough to embrace it.

Our journey with Hello Sumo is just one of the many exciting AI streams we are working on, each aimed at helping organisations to “get s#!t done, better” – to reference Avec’s mission statement.

We’re thrilled to offer Hello Sumo to our clients who understand the benefits that generative AI can provide to employees but are concerned about privacy and security. Reach out to the team if you’re interested in how it could work for you.

Let’s not just embrace the future; let’s shape it together.

And yes, Hello Sumo helped me proofread this article. He’s a good boy.

The hiring market is experiencing significant change fluctuating between a frenzied candidate-short market and a more cautious employer-driven market according to Talent’s ‘More Than Money Salary Guide 2024’ which was released today. Tech and digital salaries continue to steady out but remain strong for key skillsets such as cybersecurity and AI. The report features key salaries, roles and skills that are in demand for the Australian market. You can find the report here.

The report features salaries and contract rates for key tech positions in 2024, the most in-demand tech skills for 2024, market insights from Talent’s Managing Director team and experienced recruiters, as well as hiring trends and predictions across the regions in which Talent operates across ANZ and the US. Further insights include stats on the local tech talent pool, skills trends, stats on the cost of living across multiple cities, the needs of different generations in the workforce, and the benefits beyond salary that candidates are looking for including observations on the debate around flexible working arrangements.

Key findings include:

• Salaries have increased by up to 35% across Cybersecurity, Sales & Account Services, Data Analytics, and Development roles since 2023.
• Contract rates have grown between 10-30% since 2023 for roles in Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, Cloud Solutions and Infrastructure.
• Looking at Talent’s hiring data from October 2022 to October 2023, federal and state government layoffs and hiring freezes across Australia have resulted in a 16% decline in contract hiring in this sector.
• Large companies have increased their offshoring by an estimated 10-40%.
• Demand for Project Services talent has decreased as many companies have paused their large-scale projects to save on costs.
• A Talent poll revealed that work flexibility beats out a competitive salary when it comes to what matters most to candidates when looking for a job – 35% noted flexibility as the most important, followed by 29% citing salary.
• A Talent poll revealed that 78% of workers value remote work the most when it comes to the flexible work arrangements that best align with their preferences, followed by 16% who value flexible hours, 6% compressed work weeks, and 1% job-sharing arrangements.

Demand remains high for the following skills:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Cybersecurity
• Data Analysis
• Cloud Computing
• Software Development

Matthew Munson, Talent Managing Director NSW, weighed in on the flex work debate for 2024, “For technology sales roles, we have seen the market revert to pre-COVID levels in terms of hiring for many go-to-market roles i.e., sales, sales leadership, and for some roles we have seen demand drop well below pre-COVID levels, i.e., customer success, channel/partner and pre-sales. From the job seekers perspective, there is higher demand on wanting more flexibility around working from home and general flexibility – but although this is the case, we are seeing the majority of companies are enforcing a return to the office (3-5 days per week). In a tougher market this may work, but Australia still has a skills shortage, so when the market lifts, we suspect employers that offer less flexibility will suffer.”

Simon Yeung, Talent Managing Director VIC, said there were significant changes to the national landscape, “A significant emphasis will be placed on bolstering network security, cyber resilience, and the safeguarding of cloud-based systems and data. The demand for skilled professionals in cloud computing, data science, and software development is poised to rise as businesses prioritise digital transformation. The persistent trend of remote and hybrid work setups is expected to expand opportunities, attracting talent from diverse geographical locations.”

The global technology market is evolving and growing. As a $5 trillion global industry, it has significant power in both providing opportunity to the workforce as well as rapidly disrupting the international work landscape. A sense of caution remains prevalent in the hiring market, with a number of job families experiencing slowed demand as a result of company cost cuts. This has seen an increase in layoffs, hiring freezes, and projects placed on pause across the market. However, despite a slow in hiring, there are several jobs where demand and salaries have remained high.

Cybersecurity professionals remain in high demand for the higher education sector as the Australian market continues to struggle with talent shortages. In a recent whitepaper Talent has released, the salaries, skills and experience needed to keep the sector safe is severely lacking. You can download your copy of the whitepaper here.

Following the whitepaper release, industry leaders shared their thoughts at a recent virtual event on what these cyber threats were and explored strategies on how organisations can best protect themselves. Cybersecurity experts Jeff Whitton and Scott Flower joined Steve Tompkins, Talent, Client Relationship Manager to discuss these strategies. Key highlights included:

• “We can’t leave people behind who can’t afford security. We really need to focus on collaboration.”
• “We need people who are capable of self-reflection. That are good under pressure, not just people who know how to tick boxes. We need people who can think creatively about what they’re seeing and how to address what they’re seeing.”
• “Students need to be made aware: if they’re working on sensitive topics, if they’re working on new technology, if they’re working on different areas of innovation, then they are a target, whether they like it or not. Threat actors want to use them as a link in the chain”
• “AI has enabled more widespread industrialisation of hacking because people can just type in, give me a code to do an SQL injection attack.”
• “Machines are learning about humans better than humans know about humans. Worrying and interesting at the same time, but that’s the sort of problems that AI is going to give us. They’re going to understand human behaviour. Better than most individuals understand human behaviour and their own behaviour.”

The whitepaper features salaries, skills needed, challenges currently being faced and trends and predictions for tech hiring in higher education in 2023. It also features insights from Talent’s Account Management team.

Key findings include:

• “Many universities are assessing their enterprise systems including ERP and cloud platforms, student systems, and cybersecurity.” – Majella Sanders
• “We’ve seen a growing shift in the importance candidates place on a sense of personal value and purpose in their work. The Higher Education industry is one that can provide a real employee community and shared purpose, which will be a big draw card in the coming year.” – Steve Tompkins
• 91% of surveyed students expect a university’s digital services to be as strong as or stronger than face-to-face offerings. (Great State report)