Hiring in a skills shortage: How to attract great tech talent

Australia is in a tricky position when it comes to tech talent. We have all the skills we need, but no surplus – organisations which know how, and where, to look for great people can usually find them, but the options are limited. 

Not many organisations are hiring, either, so candidates have all bedded down to wait out the market and see what’s coming in the new year. Given these tough conditions, when it does come time to hiring new tech talent, how do you find and lure the best people to your organisation? 

Here’s what you need to know. 

 

Understanding the Australian tech market 

Shortages in tech talent 

Australia is fourth in the world for digital skills shortages, with 70% of ICT roles in the country in deficit. Nearly 300,000 more workers are needed to meet the industry’s goals, with some of the biggest need in high-demand roles such as: 

1. Project/programme managers 
2. Software engineer 
3. System engineers 
4. DevOps engineers 
5. Data analysts/scientists 

Developers and other critical software roles are expected to remain in short supply through the next 12-24 months, and a lack of internal capability is the nation’s top tech challenge moving into 2025. 

Source: Australian Tech Sector Market Insights Report 2024-25 

 

Candidates remaining static 

Australia is in shortage, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t great talent here. Tech is one of the country’s largest sectors, there’s just no surplus – nor many candidates moving from one job to another. 

After years of tricky economic conditions, organisations haven’t been hiring as energetically as in previous years (and we all read about mass layoffs in the news). From a candidate’s point of view, it’s not a great market for change – not many available opportunities, and a feeling of increased job risk. Tech workers are sharing on social media about elongated job search durations and difficult interview processes, leading to a feeling that it’s better to ‘stick with what you’ve got’ and wait out the market. 

Unfortunately, this means that for those organisations who do decide to bring on board new tech workers, it’s doubly hard to find great talent. 

 

How to attract top tech talent in a skills shortage 

So, let’s move onto something practical – the things you can actually do to fill your team with right-fit talent despite the national shortages, and the lack of mobility among great candidates. 

These are some of the quick wins you need to be thinking about:

1. Ready to hire? Don’t rely on job ads alone 

Advertising job vacancies is the go-to for most hiring managers, but this only allows you to access a very limited talent pool – those who are actively searching for a new role, in the right place at the right time.   

What you need are passive job candidates 

Passive candidates are those professionals who could be lured away from their current employer by a great offer, but who aren’t browsing job boards. In fact, from our own experience recruiting top tech people across the country, we’ve found that about 90% come from our network of passive candidates – not job advertising. 

Start dedicating time to networking: hunting for right-fit people online, attending industry events, asking for referrals from current employees, collaborating on community forums, that sort of thing. Or, utilise the services of a specialist tech recruiter who has already built this network. 

This is how you’ll find those ideal professionals who aren’t looking, but could be tempted by your offer.

2. Look beyond your own region 

The best tech people might not be in your part of the country. And even if you do live in an IT hotspot, your competitors there are also trying to pull from the same market … so what about looking elsewhere? 

Relocation and remote working aren’t alien concepts to the modern tech professional. There’s a whole world of high-quality people out there in other cities, states and even overseas. Don’t artificially restrict your talent search – broaden those horizons and see who else you can find.

3. Consider internal promotions and skills pathways 

Mentoring, upskilling and career progression are highly desirable perks of the job for people in tech. This is a fast-moving industry, and its best people want to keep up. 

When you need new talent, especially high-level talent, you might find it easier to source from within your company. This won’t always be the case, but promoting someone up the career ladder can help win their loyalty, and it ensures you get someone who’s an excellent cultural fit – after all, they’re already a part of the culture.

4. Get a specialist tech recruiter on your side 

We know it’s one thing to make all of these suggestions, and another thing to live them. Budgets are always a little tight, and there aren’t enough hours in the day. Plus, with the risk (and cost) of getting it wrong, hiring tech talent in a shortage can be a frustrating, elongated process. 

That’s where we come in. 

We’re specialists in tech recruitment across the range of IT, software and project skills, and we’ve already built one of the most expansive candidate networks in the country. You don’t have to go it alone – we’re a complete recruitment partner, offering an end-to-end service that ensures we do all the heavy lifting, and you get the best candidate available. 

Interested? Here’s more about our tech team. 

 

Extra tips for retaining top tech talent 

The other half of the recruitment battle, especially during a period of shortages, is retaining your best people. Just like you’re trying to win talent from your competitors, they’re trying to win your people from you. 

So, what can you do to help ensure their loyalty and keep their employment for longer?

1. Ensure you’re paying a competitive rate 

You don’t always have to pay the highest rate, but you do need to pay a competitive one. 

If we look again at our market insights report from earlier, we see that nearly half of tech workers in Australia are unhappy with their pay rate.  

People generally expect to be paid roughly what everyone else is paid (if not more), and for their pay to grow in line with either inflation, or their peers. Anyone who can’t match that risks losing their people to someone who can.

2. See what non-cash benefits you can offer too 

Money is a big part of someone’s job satisfaction, but it isn’t everything. In fact, in our same report we also saw that higher salaries and higher job satisfaction weren’t always correlated – factors like wage growth and job benefits contributed to happiness at work as well, and enabled some organisations to offer lower pay while maintaining happy people. 

The top most common benefits we found in our research were: 

1. Remote working 
2. Flexible work hours 
3. Informal mentoring 
4. Paternal leave 
5. Policies for dealing with discrimination 

Which of these can you offer too, and can you go beyond? Have a think, look at the budget and see what you can provide your people. 

• Pro tip: This is how SMEs compete with larger peers or well-funded start-ups, who can typically offer much higher pay rates. Benefits are often easier to wiggle into the budget

3. Focus on the full employee experience 

A person’s job is more than just pay or benefits, though these are of course big factors. Their day-to-day experience also contributes to their job satisfaction. If it’s a positive experience, and they enjoy coming to work, you can expect their loyalty to increase. If the opposite becomes true, they have less reason to stay on with you. 

As you take time to consider your hiring strategies, pay packages and benefits offerings, think as well about what the whole employee experience looks like at your company. Factors to consider include: 

• Communication policies and internal transparency 
• Your company culture 
• Your company’s equity and diversity 
• Employee recognition 
• Progression pathways 
• The more you invest in each of these aspects of the job, the higher the chance you’ll retain great tech talent.

 

Need help? Contact the specialists 

Here at TalentWeb, we know how to win top tech talent despite the shortages. We’ve spent years building our network and our name, earning trust among candidates and a reputation for excellence among organisations. 

When you need hiring help, give us a call and let’s talk about your business.