The Canberra Business Podcast
A podcast about all things Canberra Business.
The Canberra Business Podcast
Navigating Australia's ICT Talent Demand
Uncover the secrets to thriving in Australia's ICT landscape with insights from industry experts Rattesh Gumber, Managing Director and Raija Ojansuu, Director Client Services from IT Alliance Australia. Rattesh sheds light on the ever-evolving ICT trends, while Raija candidly shares the recruitment challenges of meeting Australian government requirements. Together, they reveal how IT Alliance Australia successfully connects skilled professionals with opportunities that align with stringent security clearances and citizenship mandates.
Navigate the future of ICT recruitment with a focus on diversity, inclusion, and cutting-edge technology. We discuss how blind screening and engagement with diverse forums are pioneering equal opportunities in the sector. Discover how AI is poised to transform recruitment by minimizing bias, though human interaction remains irreplaceable. Additionally, we touch on why specialized skills in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and agile project management are crucial as the Commonwealth government insources services. Learn the importance of flexible work arrangements and maintaining competitive market rates to attract top talent in this rapidly evolving field. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and strategies from leading experts.
Hello and welcome to the Canberra Business Podcast brought to you by the Canberra Business Chamber in association with the University of Canberra. I'm Greg Harford from the Canberra Business Chamber, and I'm delighted to be joined today by Ritesh Kumba, the Managing Director of IT Alliance Australia, as well as Raya O Ojansu, who's the Director of Client Engagement there. It Alliance Australia is a trusted information and communication technology resourcing and recruitment partner, so welcome, ritesh and Raya.
Speaker 3:Thank you for having us. Thanks so much, Greg, for having us.
Speaker 1:So tell us a little bit before we kick off, a little bit about IT Alliance Australia and what you're doing in IT recruitment, Ritesh.
Speaker 3:Sure, greg. So Greg IT Alliance Australia is a specialised IT recruitment business which is based in Barton. We are a woman co-owned business, iso 27001 certified small to medium-sized business. Primary focus of our business is on connecting top talent with the needs of Australian federal governments, state governments and private sectors across the country. We established in 2016, and our mission is to bridge the gap between businesses seeking skilled ICT professionals and candidates looking for exciting career opportunities.
Speaker 1:So what's your background? How did you get into this business?
Speaker 3:So, greg, my background is I started my career as an ICT consultant, worked for companies like Deloitte Consulting, oracle, macquarie Bank, department of Education Service, australia. So I've been in the industry for over around 20 plus years now. So that's the background. That's how I got into this business as well.
Speaker 1:So Raya, you've had quite an interesting background. As I understand it, you've led recruitment verticals for companies like Google and Amazon. How did you end up here in Canberra, and what are the differences? You're finding working in a relatively small business.
Speaker 2:Interesting question. So I didn't end up here in Canberra. I'm one of the born and bred Canberrans. I took the opportunity to work remotely for quite a few years supporting big corporates. So it's a bit of a change in industry, absolutely, but it's still the same philosophy of matching candidates in a company, whether they're contracting ICT, people think a contractor is just there for their skill set, but you still have to be passionate about the culture of where you're working and sort of have that same sort of match of culture as well.
Speaker 1:So what brought you Raya to IT Alliance Australia?
Speaker 2:To give an opportunity to really understand the federal government and the way the contracting world works. It's a niche industry. You've got people with really solid legacy skills in ICT that are really still in demand in quite a few departments. So it's a different curve. It's something different that I can challenge myself with and sort of learn as well as sort of impart some of the corporate experience that I've had into the process as well.
Speaker 1:Ritesh, what are the trends you're observing in the ICT recruitment space? What are government and private sectors looking for now? That's different, perhaps, to what they were a few years ago, and how do you see that evolving into the future?
Speaker 3:Sure. So we are observing, greg. As I mentioned, we have been into the industry ICT recruitment industry from over eight years now, and predominantly working in federal government, state governments and private sector as well. So, based on our experience, we have been observing several key trends that are shaping both the government as well as private enterprise needs as well. One of the major trends is that there's an increasing demand in security professionals across the industries, whether it's you know if it is government or even private sector as well.
Speaker 3:Again, we daily hear that there's a rise in cyber threats. That's where the government's focus is on bolstering the national security, so this is a high demand for skilled talent in this field and, similarly, data analytics, artificial intelligence. These skills are also gaining a bit of a momentum across various sectors as organizations seek to harness data-driven insights for decision-making as well as operational efficiency. For government projects, there's also a growing need of agile software development teams and specialists who can help drive digital transformation initiatives. In the private sector, businesses are investing heavily in cloud migration and digital integration to stay competitive, and this has resulted in a demand of professionals with expertise in cloud architect, devops, network security and so on and so forth.
Speaker 1:So how many contractors would you have out in the market at any given time?
Speaker 3:So at the moment we are having around 100, approximately 100 contractors on our books which are serving approximately 40 different federal government clients, including a bit of state governments and private sector as well. Excellent.
Speaker 1:Raya, what are some of the key challenges you're facing in recruiting for roles and you know the landscape is really competitive. The technology landscape's evolving rapidly. What are the biggest issues you're finding?
Speaker 2:I'll answer that question lightly and then pass it on to Ritesh because he's got a lot more experience in that world. But predominantly it's the Australian citizenship and positive vetting requirements that is needed by most of the government departments. That's where we see there's some great skills out there, but if they're not the Australian citizen we can't engage with them.
Speaker 1:So, ritesh, how much of a barrier is that for your business?
Speaker 3:So definitely that reduces our capability to get the candidates from the market, because security clearance is something a bit of a niche capability that is required to work in Australian federal government, again, depending on the sensitivity of the data of the department.
Speaker 3:If it is just an example, department of Education, usually they look for baseline security cleared candidates. If it's a DFAT, they usually look for NV1 security clearance candidates. And when it comes to Department of Defense depending again the sensitivity and nature of the data that consultant is going to address, so there's a need of NV2 security clearance and even beyond that as well. So there's a handful of candidates in the market which carry the security clearances and if they have the security clearances and if they have the security clearances they usually are already engaged with the departments. But how we cover that gap is that we have built our own database of almost more than 15,000 candidates who are who are already pre-vetted and they carry the clearances. So so that is what gives a bit of an upper hand to us being committed in the market that we have access to those candidates.
Speaker 1:So that's a lot of candidates on your books at any one time. How often do you find that you're sort of securing contract work for them and people coming onto your books and being regularly in work?
Speaker 3:for them and people coming onto your books and being regularly in work. So that is what one of our specialised area of our recruitment process as well. We regularly stay in touch with our consultants as well as with our clients, building an understanding. If we have placed a consultant at one assignment, then we stay in touch with the clients, checking them, how long the project is going to be and, in case we see that there's there's a need that the project might be coming to an end soon, let me start working with other clients who are in need of a similar skills and then we start transitioning our consultants to other workers assignments at other clients as well hmm, british ones.
Speaker 1:What strategies are you employing to attract and retain top talent in the market?
Speaker 3:So, as Greg, I mentioned that these consultants are very highly skilled consultants in the market and who are always in high demand.
Speaker 3:The main strategy that we put in place is building a strong relationship with the consultants, remaining always in touch with them and understanding what are their goals from a career growth perspective or what are their aspirations from financial remuneration perspective. And we regularly stay in touch with them and we try to understand and then try to bring the right sort of a work assignment for them, which usually are fulfilling their needs. So that is predominantly the strategy Other strategies that we remain very cost effective for our consultants as well as for our clients. That brings that it's always a win-win situation for all the associated parties. And we also provide the learning opportunities for our consultants because you know now that you see that technology gets outdated very soon and we stay in touch with industry. We see what skills our consultants are having and in future, what trends in technology and what advancements are going, and we always keep offering them the learning opportunities as well. So that usually helps retaining the consultant. Plus, we always align work for them.
Speaker 1:And the consultants that you're working with? Are they all here in Canberra or are they spread around Australia?
Speaker 3:So we work. You know, again thanks to COVID, that all the departments they started realising the need of opening the doors across Canberra as well. So we have our consultant working in all six states and two territories across Australia. So that's how our consultants are spread.
Speaker 1:So that's really positive for consultants because it gives them the opportunity to work for the federal government here in Canberra. Are they able to work pretty much remotely, or is there an expectation that people are coming into Canberra to meet the clients in person from time to time?
Speaker 3:No Governments have set up. They have again learnt the change or need in the market. So government has started setting up their offices in other states as well. And on top of that, all departments, majority of the departments they are offering a hybrid working setups as well to the consultants. So they usually offer that okay, you work three days from office and two days from home. So these are flexible arrangements that our clients are offering to the consultants.
Speaker 1:Okay, oh, that's good to hear, because it makes it so much better for everyone if you can get the work done and operate in that kind of flexible environment. Let's talk a little bit about diversity and inclusion. Recruitment in the ICT space is impacted by the same issues that everyone else in the employment market has. How are you approaching diversity and inclusion, and how important is it to your firm?
Speaker 3:So over the period, greg, we have learned that absolutely, diversity and inclusion is highly important, again in the changing work culture nowadays, considering that diversity brings a different perspective on the table as well For the clients as well, as you know, for the agencies, like us as well, we learned a lot from diversity. We are very strong believer of that and we implement different ways of diversity and inclusion at our workplace as well, and so do is in our work practice as well. We definitely have the standard processes that gives an equal opportunity to all our candidates. We just focus on what clients needs are other than you know, considering what cultural background a candidate is coming from. So we have that absolutely.
Speaker 3:You know blind screening techniques. On top of that, we have a relationship built over the period in the market which gives us the opportunity to, you know, reach out to the diverse candidate pool. Either it's, you know, forums like Women in Tech or they are. You know forums like Women in Tech or they are. You know forums like Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disabilities and culturally, linguistically diverse candidates as well. So we have built a relationship with the associations who deal or have access to these data pool and we do reach out to those diverse groups as well.
Speaker 1:So disabilities is a subject, obviously, that the Canberra Business Chamber has been very focused on over the last couple of years through our Skills and Inclusion Programme, and neurodiverse people often have skills and experience that they can usefully bring into an ICT environment. Do you find that's the case, and how many clients have you got who are keen to explore people with neurodiversity?
Speaker 3:First of all, I would like to thank you know, canberra Business Chamber, even you know for starting that program as well, and I have been part of that program and participating with the team that is leading that program, and I had gone through a couple of meetings as well with them last year. So there are departments who are interested and who are always willing to take an extra step to get the candidates who come from a diverse background, especially when it comes to disability, and we have experienced that Services Australia is one of the clients who are always willing to take that step and then give the opportunities to the candidates. And similarly, there are many other departments as well who are willing to take the candidates from diverse backgrounds, including disability.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, look, let's talk about technology, which I guess sits at the heart of everything you do. Raya, we'll come to you. How is technology changing the way you approach recruitment and resourcing?
Speaker 2:Look over 20 years in the industry. I started out with NILS filing cabinets and fax machines, and then we had the impact of SEEK, moving away from newspaper advertising, and then LinkedIn was going to change the world. That was going to solve everything. We had outsourcing and insourcing in recruitment as well. So send recruiters offshore and get them to support organizations that way.
Speaker 2:So I've seen a lot of evolution in my career and there's a lot of databases, and now AI is the new one that's going to solve all our problems again. And what I keep coming back to is technology is absolutely part of it and it really helps with the diversity and ensuring that recruiters aren't using their own personal bias, because at the top of the funnel, they can actually use technology to help filter, but we still need humans. I think it's absolutely critical to have the human element in it, because people crave people and recruiting is a people business. So mixing the two is essential, um, but again, tracking and keeping in contact with people you need the technology behind that, and having a good, strong, robust database is part of that so what predictions would you have for the future of AI in the recruitment space?
Speaker 2:I've had lots of conversations globally about this with a lot of industry leaders. My personal opinion on it is I think there's a space for it. It is needed. It really does help with the high workflow. But again, I've seen some mistakes happen and selection criteria or candidate selection has been incorrect because they're using data from the past and that has always been biased by the input of humans. So I think it's got a way to go, but it certainly will help.
Speaker 1:Excellent. Well, we'll see how we go, I guess, over the coming years. Perhaps, given the speed of evolution, we can come back in 12 months or so and see what has happened in that space.
Speaker 2:I'm intrigued.
Speaker 1:I guess I'm not sure which of you wants to answer this, but I mean, what skills are in most demand in the ICT space? We'll start that question again. Sure, Sorry, let me just ask the question again. Not sure which of you wants to respond to this question, but what skills are you finding are most in demand across the ICT sector, and how are you sort of going to identify those skill gaps and then work with your people to upskill?
Speaker 3:Again, as we discussed, you know, considering how the clients across you know industries either it's a government industry or a private industry there's always been a risk of, you know, cyber threats in the industry, so there's a huge demand around the cybersecurity space. That is absolutely always, you know, clients are looking for to hire their skills. Cloud computing is another one of them. Data analytics definitely is on the rise because every department, or even private sector as well, they want to strategize, make a informed decision based on the data analysis and and in the software development space.
Speaker 3:Microsoft Dynamics CRM is one of the key ERP skills which is absolutely on the rise and it's highly in demand. And additionally, as Raya mentioned, artificial intelligence is definitely one of the skills that clients are looking to implement. It's still not very mature, but definitely a pilot projects are undergoing at many of the client places to solve their specific needs. Agile project management is another space which every client is looking to implement. And then it comes to private sector. It more comes to around the network security specialists, devops consultants, and automation again is one of the demands which is very, very highly requested in both industry verticals, either it's government or the private sector.
Speaker 1:There's a certain irony, I guess, in that you need skilled humans to implement artificial intelligence technology as we go, so hopefully that remains in place for a long time. But in terms of those skill sets, you're looking really for people with specific training and specific expertise and depth in those areas, because it seems to me, as a non-technical person, that those are the sort of skills you'd expect any IT person to know, but actually it's a lot more specialised than that, right.
Speaker 3:That's correct. It's very specialised areas. It's not that if you have an IT education that you'll be able to cater to the needs to the clients. You still have to take a step ahead. Go and get the proper training under that specialised areas and then a bit of an experience in the industry as well. Then only you'll be able to serve your clients.
Speaker 1:So what do you think is the future of ICT recruitment here in Australia and how are you preparing for that future?
Speaker 3:So, as we discussed, you know, in both the spaces either it's in government or private sector the demand is very high across, especially the cybersecurity space, across especially the cybersecurity space. So the demand is always going to remain there. But the only thing is that, because of the technology and advancement, the changes are happening so often that clients will have to keep themselves up to date on those technologies as well, you know, to cater the best services to their clients. Either, again, it's the government sector or the private sector. So we see that you know demand will always be on high. So that's where we keep training our people as well, to remain very competitive on any emerging technologies as well.
Speaker 1:Have you been impacted much by the Commonwealth government's decision to try and insource services rather than using consultants?
Speaker 3:Federal government over the period has definitely been more educated on using the private consultants or contractors into their stream. But again, there's always a very niche skills which are not inbuilt. The basic, the general skills, are there. Like you know, project support officers are there, or business analysis skills are there which could be trained internally. But when it comes to specialized skills, more like an automation or artificial intelligence or its ERP implementations, like Microsoft technologies are there, or SAP skills are there which are not readily available internally and we consider that it's not easily.
Speaker 3:You can't learn overnight and then start using it. It takes time and there are contractors or skilled consultants in the market who have gained that experience over many years. So we personally believe that, yes, those needs will still be there, but government departments are working over the strategies that they will bring these niche skills for specific assignments only, rather than having contractors, you know, over 12 months, 24 months, 36 months or over the period, which has been happening in the past. Now they will be brought to deliver that specific skill and then could be handed over to the APS employees.
Speaker 1:So short-term consulting assignments typically would be earning more or costing more than perhaps a longer-term one that beds in for 12 or 24 months. Are your consultants demanding sort of a premium for that short-term work?
Speaker 3:Again, remaining competitiveness in the market is always one of the sustainable strategies as well. So consultants do understand that the trend is changing at the moment. So they are still remaining themselves competitive, despite if there's a short-term assignment, competitive despite if there's a short term assignment. But that is where the recruitment agencies like us, like ITLance Australia, play a key role, where they need to make sure that, if they have the specific consultants with specific needs, skills, we continue building the relationship with them and then continue getting more assignments for them in regular flow. So that is where we play the role. But again, consultants, they are still okay with the market rates.
Speaker 1:Okay, how do you go about getting feedback, I guess both from your clients and your consultants?
Speaker 3:So there are various strategies that we have been using to get the regular feedback.
Speaker 3:Raya especially brought this strategy in IT Alliance Australia that we started going to all our internal employees asking their feedback with a specific questionnaire that how our internal practices are going, with a specific questionnaire that how our internal practices are going.
Speaker 3:The same strategy we do apply with our consultants and clients as well, where we meet them regularly, take their feedback and then come back and implement those. Any any refinements are required in our processes. So those are a couple of the ways that you know getting regular surveys done by our internal teams, staying regular in touch with our consultants as well as our clients, taking their inputs regularly, having a review meetings internally within our within IT Alliance Australia and consolidating what all feedback we are getting and what all strategies or infrastructure or practices or trainings we need to bring in to continue being improving and being remaining competitive so finally, and I guess a question perhaps for both of you, but I mean, what messages would you like to convey to business and professionals about, um, the importance of ict and achieving their goals and then making sure you've got your recruitment decisions right?
Speaker 3:very important thing I would really like to suggest our clients especially is that the trend is changing a little bit at the market, where consultants are expecting that there's always a flexible work arrangements offered to them which offer them a work-life balance and especially they can work from. You know any location as well, so you know hybrid work. You know setups or it's a remote working. Setups are there, so I would suggest you know our client that they must look into how they can bring that setup for the industry, how they can bring that set up for the industry and consultant again, we would suggest that they always remain on top of the changing trends or technology advancements and then continue upgrading themselves so that they are always remaining competitive. Plus, you know we are there from our experience, so we are more than happy to help the consultants as well as assist our clients as well, based on our experience, to cater to their needs.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, thank you. Thank you very much for that. It's been really great to talk to you, ritesh and Raya, and to learn a little bit more about IT Alliance and the work that you're doing. I'm Greg Halford from the Canberra Business Chamber and I'd like to thank the University of Canberra for its support of this second series of the Canberra Business Podcast. Uc produces some of Australia's most employable graduates in your business and any other could benefit from fresh ideas and perspectives by using student interns, and if anyone wants to know more about that, just email careers at canberraeduau to learn more. Thank you again. I'm Greg Halford from the Business Chamber. I've been talking to Ritesh Kumba and Raya Ojansu from IT Alliance Australia. We'll catch you next time on the Canberra Business Podcast. Don't forget to follow us on your favorite podcast platform to keep up with more episodes of this. Thank you very much, ritesh and Raya.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you very much, ritesh and Ryan, thank you. Thank you so much, greg. I appreciate it.