Internet development tops the list of skills Canada’s chief information officers (CIOs) need most, according to the RHI Consulting Hot Jobs Report.
Twenty per cent of IT executives said Web development is the fastest-growing job specialty within their departments, the report found. Networking, particularly the role of network administrator, was identified as the second most sought-after talent, mentioned by 15 per cent of respondents. Help desk and end-user support ranked third at 14 per cent.
Other technology skills in demand include database management at 12 per cent, applications development at 10 per cent, project management at five per cent and systems analysts at three per cent. Only five per cent of respondents said a lack of growth prevented them from considering hiring any workers at all.
Stephen Mill, regional manager of RHI Consulting in Toronto, says the demand for Web developers reflects a growing desire among companies to find more and better ways to service their customers through online initiatives. RHI attributes the growth in networking to the extra focus now being placed on securing internal systems.
The professionals services sector currently offers the greatest job opportunities for Internet professionals, according to 33 per cent of CIOs surveyed in this industry. Transportation companies continue to offer decent job prospects to professionals with advanced Internet development skills – 27 per cent of IT executives indicated a growing need for these individuals. Web developers are also in demand in the wholesale sector where 17 per cent of CIOs cited this specialty as a growing job category.
Networking professionals are in strong demand in the business services and finance, insurance and real estate sectors, according to 24 per cent of technology executives surveyed from each industry.
The Hot Jobs Report – which is conducted semi-annually – tracks job growth in information technology through a survey of more than 270 CIOs across the country. The study is backed by Menlo Park, Calif.-based IT staffing firm RHI Consulting and conducted by an independent research firm, which polled CIOs from a random sample of Canadian companies with 100 or more employees.
RHI Consulting is at http://www.rhic.com.
