Tech is a challenging and exciting market, and skilled technology, project and change professionals are critical to the success of almost any organisation.
We’ve all seen the data: IT skills are in deficit and it's a tough market for finding good people. So, what should you be thinking about when it comes time to recruit your next project and tech team member?
Here’s a quick snapshot of the market, and some strategies to help you find great tech talent.
State of the Australian tech market
Australia’s technology scene is growing, but it’s remains tricky from a hiring perspective.
The reality is, despite things looking healthier now than a few years ago, there just isn’t enough talent to go around – Australia has a ton of great people, but they’re already in good jobs. If you want to find the best tech talent, you need to be proactively searching, rather than relying on applications.
Australian tech quick facts
From Jobs & Skills Australia:
ICT professionals are expected to have some of the highest employment growth across all sectors in the next five to 10 years.
AI Engineer is an emerging role, with job ads advertising for this specific title rising 300% in the four years leading to 2022 (where the data ends). Looking at the jobs market as it stands in 2025, this has grown even further.
Despite the growth, most IT roles remain on the Occupation Shortage List, including developers, cybersecurity specialists, ICT support engineers, programmers, QA engineers and beyond.
From our own Talentpath Talent Guide 24/25:
60% of projects and tech talent intend to change jobs in the next year.
But, only 35% are actively hunting – a good indication that finding top people will be difficult. While the majority are open to new opportunities, you won’t catch them browsing job boards.
Hiring managers must be prepared to get highly strategic in their growth plans, looking for ways to access not just the active job seeker market but building expansive networks of passive talent too (i.e. individuals open to new roles but who aren’t searching).
How much to pay for tech talent in Australia
For a full list of projects and technology salaries, check out our Talent Guide 24/25.
What do tech professionals want in a new employer?
In our Talent Guide, we also asked projects and technology professionals what they were looking for in a new role – and the factors which increased their desire to leave their existing employer.
Use these insights to get a feel for how you should be rewarding your tech team, and what perks to advertise which might lure someone out of their current position.
Top three factors which contributed to leaving their last role:
Men | Women |
Salary | Lack of career progression |
Lack of career progression | Feeling unfulfilled |
Work/life balance | Senior management/executive team |
Top three factors which would attract them to a new position
To a new role | To a new organisation |
Salary | Culture |
Flexible working | Values alignment |
Clear career pathways | Senior leadership/executive team |
Top three desirable job rewards
Salary raise
Promotion or career progression
Bonus or financial reward
Putting these insights together...
Look at how many of the points above focus on career progression – it’s clear that most organisations are not currently doing as much as they can to offer clear career pathways for their people, given that our data shows tech professionals (women especially) changing jobs when they want to advance.
When advertising new positions, consider really emphasising any career development pathways, upskilling programs and mentoring opportunities.
Hiring tech talent in-house vs. using a specialist recruiter
All of our data points to the same problem: In the current tech market, it takes a lot of work to find the best people.
With barely a third of professionals actively job hunting, popular recruitment channels like LinkedIn and online job boards just don’t find very many suitable applicants. Through advertising alone, you will only spot people who are searching in the right place, at the right time.
To maximise your search and get really strategic in your recruitment it pays to turn to a specialist who knows how to find hidden talent. That’s where we come in.
At Talentpath, we understand the unique needs of the tech, projects and change landscape. We’ll connect you with the people who can push your business to the next level, scouring our expansive national talent network to find you a range of highly skilled applicants. Find out more about our projects and tech specialists here, or contact us directly to talk about your unique needs.
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