Salaries in technology set to outpace other professions in the North in 2018

Salaries in Technology set to outpace other professions in the North in 2018

Demand for highly-skilled IT professionals means those in the technology sector are set to experience the most significant starting salary increases in the North-West, compared to other professional occupations.

According to the Robert Half 2018 Salary Guide, specialised IT and technology staff, such as junior developers (4.5%) and senior business analysts (4.4%) will be awarded the greatest pay rises in 2018, well above the national average of 1.4%.

This is followed by newly qualified accountants with up to three years post-qualification experience (4.2%) and experienced financial controllers (4.0%) as the competitive market for high-performing talent within technology as well as accounting and finance drives salaries higher.

Ed O’Connell, Director, North of Robert Half UK said: “In the year ahead, businesses will be navigating a number of local, regional and international factors, such as Brexit, automation, digital transformation and meeting data regulations.

“Big cities in the North-West are enjoying strong growth in economic output and benefitting from a commitment to create a northern powerhouse.

"However, one of the biggest challenges plaguing all businesses is the shortage of specialist skills.

"Alongside training young people in high-growth areas like digital and technology, organisations are willing to pay a price for those with the right skills to support their business goals.”

A high value is being placed on IT professionals with the skills to support digital disruption. Analysts who can support the business by improving businesses processes and performance have a specialised skill set that is in short supply, while front-end developers and full stack developers with knowledge of programming languages like .NET, SQL and Java are also in high-demand.

IT professionals with a specialised skill set tend to start on a higher salary when starting new roles and employers are using a combination of pay, bonuses, strong pension offerings and flexible working arrangements to attract technology candidates.

In line with growth plans, businesses are recruiting mid-level administrative and office professionals with the industry experience and systems knowledge in areas such as Microsoft, SAP and CRM to provide specialist support. Permanent, professional-level employees can expect to see a salary increase and often a bonus structure linked to the success drivers of the position.

Financial controllers and risk associates who can combine technical skills with commercial awareness and business acumen are sought after as firms focus on improving the overall productivity of the finance function.

There is also growing demand for CFOs who can transform finance and introduce greater automation. On the whole, starting salaries within finance and accounting will increase over the next 12 months and those professionals with specialist skills or industry-specific experience are likely to benefit from the greatest increase.