IT Sector Jobs are Recovering
18 January 2011
Read by 1686 persons
After a catastrophic year in 2009 and stagnation in 2010, recruitment is picking up. However, the crisis has not affected salaries, which remain high due to shortages.
After a year of calm, the information and communications technology sector seems to be regaining momentum. "2010 was more or less gloomy, but it's far from 2009, which was catastrophic for many companies," emphasizes Hicham Lakhmiri, CEO of the recruitment portal Amaljob. The sector, which suffered during the last two years, seems to be recovering quickly. The CEO of Amaljob points out, however, that "recruitment announcements by publishers and IT services companies do not necessarily mean net job creation. They can cover, especially at this time, the need to respond to a rise in turnover."
For Abdelali Fahim, CEO of the firm Intelligia, another trend is also noticeable. "During the last two years, we have seen real competition from foreign offshore groups, where many candidates flocked. What's new is that these same candidates are returning to work in Moroccan IT services companies. The main reason is that SMEs are opening up new horizons for them that they couldn't find elsewhere," he says. The trend has had its effect, in a way.
For 2011, the search is still focused on skilled and experienced profiles. While the demand mainly concerns IT engineers and telecom engineers, other more specialized profiles are of interest to companies. These include experts in IT security, information system architects, IT urban planners, as well as Dot Net and Java developers. "Sales engineers and pre-sales engineers are profiles currently in high demand by companies. Getting a business engineer from a competing company allows them to obtain a turnkey client portfolio and gain both time and business," also points out Mr. Lakhmiri.
Generally speaking, candidates with a 5-year degree in computer science and at least 3 years of experience have no reason to worry about recruitment opportunities.
A senior project manager can cost up to 30,000 DH
While the situation is much more favorable for some, the job market remains tense, especially for young graduates. According to Abdelali Fahim, "we still receive a large number of applications from recent graduates who are unfortunately not very operational. Many candidates lack behavioral qualities." Companies are also faced with a phenomenon of "biased" resumes. Young candidates try to highlight in their resumes references related to trendy and highly sought-after technologies such as Java/J2EE and Oracle 10g. However, during interviews, it turns out that their knowledge is basic, at a beginner level. Regarding salaries, the bidding war is still current, especially for skilled profiles. According to the CEO of Amaljob, there is no decrease. "Despite the slowdown in 2009 and 2010, salaries remain high. We see candidates being recruited at the same salaries they earned before," he notes. Thus, an experienced engineer (minimum three years) should expect a net salary of 15,000 DH. A senior project manager can cost up to 30,000 DH. This problem of overbidding is particularly relevant for SMEs, according to Abdelali Fahim, who cannot match these salaries. According to him, they mainly employ holders of a diploma equivalent to a Bac+2.
Published January 18, 2011
Posted online January 18, 2011
lavieeco.com
After a year of calm, the information and communications technology sector seems to be regaining momentum. "2010 was more or less gloomy, but it's far from 2009, which was catastrophic for many companies," emphasizes Hicham Lakhmiri, CEO of the recruitment portal Amaljob. The sector, which suffered during the last two years, seems to be recovering quickly. The CEO of Amaljob points out, however, that "recruitment announcements by publishers and IT services companies do not necessarily mean net job creation. They can cover, especially at this time, the need to respond to a rise in turnover."
For Abdelali Fahim, CEO of the firm Intelligia, another trend is also noticeable. "During the last two years, we have seen real competition from foreign offshore groups, where many candidates flocked. What's new is that these same candidates are returning to work in Moroccan IT services companies. The main reason is that SMEs are opening up new horizons for them that they couldn't find elsewhere," he says. The trend has had its effect, in a way.
For 2011, the search is still focused on skilled and experienced profiles. While the demand mainly concerns IT engineers and telecom engineers, other more specialized profiles are of interest to companies. These include experts in IT security, information system architects, IT urban planners, as well as Dot Net and Java developers. "Sales engineers and pre-sales engineers are profiles currently in high demand by companies. Getting a business engineer from a competing company allows them to obtain a turnkey client portfolio and gain both time and business," also points out Mr. Lakhmiri.
Generally speaking, candidates with a 5-year degree in computer science and at least 3 years of experience have no reason to worry about recruitment opportunities.
A senior project manager can cost up to 30,000 DH
While the situation is much more favorable for some, the job market remains tense, especially for young graduates. According to Abdelali Fahim, "we still receive a large number of applications from recent graduates who are unfortunately not very operational. Many candidates lack behavioral qualities." Companies are also faced with a phenomenon of "biased" resumes. Young candidates try to highlight in their resumes references related to trendy and highly sought-after technologies such as Java/J2EE and Oracle 10g. However, during interviews, it turns out that their knowledge is basic, at a beginner level. Regarding salaries, the bidding war is still current, especially for skilled profiles. According to the CEO of Amaljob, there is no decrease. "Despite the slowdown in 2009 and 2010, salaries remain high. We see candidates being recruited at the same salaries they earned before," he notes. Thus, an experienced engineer (minimum three years) should expect a net salary of 15,000 DH. A senior project manager can cost up to 30,000 DH. This problem of overbidding is particularly relevant for SMEs, according to Abdelali Fahim, who cannot match these salaries. According to him, they mainly employ holders of a diploma equivalent to a Bac+2.
Published January 18, 2011
Posted online January 18, 2011
lavieeco.com
