Picture of the Information Technology (IT) field

[mpoitras]

Hi,
I am a java software developer. I expect that I will be job hunting in New Zealand at some point in the next 6 months. Everything depending on the immigration process.

I would like to know if any of you are in the field (developer, network, hardware ... anything computer really).

If so, what is the IT job market like? Where are the jobs located? What type of companies? Which company do you know which is great to work for? How did you find your current/previous jobs? Any information along those lines would be welcome.

Some people here hinted that the market was slowing down? Is it really so? I saw somewhere on the employment government agency (or something similar) that the employment rate slowed down generally in NZ. However, it seemed that the employment rate in IT did not slow down as much as the rest...

So! Anything you can tell me about the IT field will be very welcome.

[JandM]

There is a quite long old thread on this subject, which I can't immediately find (Search confuses 'IT' with 'it'!), but somebody may be able to give a link for you.

[mpoitras]

Thanks! I already searched for a few terms ... Information Technology, it, ict, computer ... and so on.
No real luck. However, it would still be nice to have a current picture of the market. I will try to continue looking for the information on my own as well though.

[Silverwing86]

Would this be the thread you meant JandM ?

Cheers,
Silver

[JandM]

Yes - THANK YOU.

[Silverwing86]

You're welcome ! It helped that I knew I had it somewhere in my 'Subscribed Threads' list !

Cheers,
Silver

[taotao]

Hi mpoitras, I'm a software engineer in java/jee domain as well. My immigration application is still undergoing slow slow and slow processing, I've been waiting for it for almost two yrs. I've also tried to contact some NZ agencies, and the standard answer I got is that due to the current economy climate, oversea recruitment is almost impossible. So I'm guessing that the current market is not that optimistic.

[mpoitras]

Thanks a lot for the information taotao. I do hope that it will not be too hard. If I find anything interesting, I will try to drop you a message.

One of my big advantage is that I got the silver fern visa. (well I still need to provide some papers ...)

With this visa, there is time to find a job while you are in the country AND there is no restrictions. I know that many other immigration programs force the employer to make sure that employing somebody local is impossible before sponsoring somebody. From my understanding, there is nothing like that with the silver fern.

So anybody else in the field?

[mpoitras]

And by the way, thanks for the link, I have been reading the thread for a while now. Lots of great information. I have 15 pages read ... but time to bed now! I'll finish it tomorrow!

[zemien]

I know that many other immigration programs force the employer to make sure that employing somebody local is impossible before sponsoring somebody. From my understanding, there is nothing like that with the silver fern.

So anybody else in the field?

Hi! I'm in IT too. With the existing economic climate (and having to compete with all of you!) I'm crossing my fingers.

In regards to the first statement above, I read a bit further and found this isn't absolutely true. The Silver Fern Job Search visa is an open work permit (valid 9mths), but if we wanted to apply for the Silver Fern Practical Experience visa (valid 24mths), the job must be a skilled job and there's a chance it needs to be on the skills shortage list.

Conclusion: The open work permit is meant for us to take up temporary work while searching for a permanent position.