Almost 20 per cent of CIOs surveyed plan to hire new IT staff in the first quarter of next year, while just six per cent plan to make job cuts, according to Robert Half Technology, a Toronto-based IT staffing firm.
In its Hiring Index and Skills Report, Robert Half Technology said the net 13 per cent hiring increase is an improvement upon last quarter’s eight per cent increase projection. The report is based on interviews with more than 270 CIOs from random Canadian companies with 100 employees or more. Eighty-nine per cent of respondents also indicated they plan to increase staff size from their current head count. Half of the CIOs polled said business growth is the leading reason for expanding their IT departments.
The skill in highest demand, according to respondents, was Windows administration, cited by 83 per cent of CIOs polled. Firewall administration skills were sought by 66 per cent of respondents, while 60 per cent of IT bosses said database management was a sought-after skill.