More than 40% of tech employers to expand teams in 2024

Wage pressure seen as major hurdle in race for talent

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Ireland’s IT sector is gearing up for the beginning of a rebound with 41% of tech employers planning to expand the size of their teams this year, according to the 2024 Stelfox salary guide survey.

Seven in 10 (70%) tech employers in Ireland say wage pressure is a major hurdle they will need to navigate in 2024, while 83% are grappling with the availability of talent as demand for skilled professionals escalates.

The survey showed that 63% of senior leaders believe it’s difficult to hire while 36% of IT professionals plan to look for a new join in 2024. Fourteen percent of job seekers will apply only for remote working roles, though many employers want to see teams return to the office more. Lastly, there has been a 24% decrease in the number of exclusively remote working-based roles in 2023.

The top five IT skill categories in demand for 2024 are data science/AI, security (cyber and cloud), software engineering, product management, and dev ops. 

Comparing year-on-year data, Stelfox reports that many emerging technology-based IT roles are set to see some salary increases in the year ahead. Additionally, the Stelfox salary guide asked tech employers’ thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI). Fifty-nine percent of businesses believe that AI has the potential to enhance productivity and work conditions. While 30% said that AI has already enhanced productivity in their business and 29% of businesses agreed that their organisation has the skills to adopt AI.

Respondents identified empathy, creativity, self-awareness, self-control, and emotional intelligence as elements currently missing in AI.

Clare McDonald, commercial director, Stelfox, said: “Emerging technologies are changing so quickly that by the time a tech organisation has built out the team they need, the skills in demand can already be shifting. Due to the accelerated pace of technology, at times there is virtually no talent pool at all. Many of our tech clients are thinking differently about where and how to attain the skills needed, rather than thinking only about headcount.

“Most of our clients are actively embracing AI and are willing to invest in retraining to adopt it into their business. However, there is still a cohort of companies that remain cautious, expressing concerns about the potential for privacy issues, biased programming, and legal regulatory issues. Nevertheless, despite the economic and social challenges of 2023, the Irish employment market is expected to maintain its resilience for the year ahead. AI could be a truly amazing technology, however, there is still a way to go before AI becomes human-like.”

TechCentral Reporters

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