I know this won’t be surprising to most of you (after all, you placed your bet on us for a reason), but it’s nice to see this article over at Business Insider confirming that jobs for people with skills on Microsoft technology are on the upswing. What are you seeing in your local market?
Interesting article, thanks for sharing. I am seeing a steady interest.
However, I am seeing a large shortage for app developers and very little in the pipeline to fill the gaps. This is pushing up the prices for websites and apps....
Starting this November I am co-organising several App "boot camps" and then competitions in my local region (Yorkshire, UK) to try to ferret out the lurking devs/programmers and bring them out into the daylight and meet people who need apps. Competitions, prizes and fame awaits the winners (which is a little at odds with the stereotypical dev...) but hey, the rest of us like a party!
I will write up an article once we have some winners!
Echoing Andrew's comments above, I am UK based (North West) and am currently attempting to replace team members (WinForms developers) that have moved on and it is a nightmare.
The applications received are generally not from strong candidates and very few are bringing certification to the table.
What is also astounding is the huge large number of applications received from the Middle East/Asian market in comparision to UK or even European based candidates market.
This is quite ironic given the current employment arena where unemployment is on the up - I cant fill 3 positions!
Compared to 2 years ago, when we last recruited, the number of applicants is down and the quality of applicant down further.
Having had a number of "sponsored" students come through the system over the past few years, it is clear to me that UK Universities are in general (although there are some exceptions I hear) not pushing Microsoft technologies in Computer Science courses, instead focussing on the more "generic" Java langauge.
I believe that this may explain some of the gaps that are now appearing in the market - graduates are not coming through with the skills required to fill the roles and in hard times, fewer companies are prepared to take on a "programmer" and train them up to specific technologies required.
@Simon. Just a thought, have you tried to fill some of your vacancies with Britain Works apprenticeship candidates? They are inexpensive, motivated and sponsored. Have a look and let me know some feedback.