The six best industries to be job hunting in right now

If you’re looking for work or thinking about re-skilling, six industries are eagerly awaiting job applications. Here’s what they are.

It’s a good time to be looking for work in the technology, mining, consulting, engineering, human resources and accounting industries.

These six industries all recorded less competition for jobseekersbetween 2017 and 2018, with SEEK data revealing more than a 5 per cent decrease in the average number of applicants per role.

Information and communication technology topped the list at a 14 per cent decrease in applicants, followed by mining, resources and energy (13 per cent), consulting and strategy (9 per cent), engineering (8 per cent), human resources and recruitment (8 per cent) and accounting (7 per cent).

The mining, resources and energy sector recorded a 13 per cent drop in applicant-to-job ratio between 2017 and 2018. Picture: iStock

Recruitment firm Affix founder Jarrad Skeen says in the niche technology areas he deals with, there are more jobs than qualified people, so jobseekers have lots of choice when it comes to picking an employer.

A study by recruiters Robert Half reveals 88 per cent of chief information officers find it more challenging to find qualified IT professionals now than five years ago, and they predict it will become even more challenging for them in the next five years.

One employer in the ICT industry, Aaron Beverley, says it is difficult to find the right software engineers as he looks for more than just technical skills.

The engineering lead at advertising tech company The Trade Desk says soft skills also are important.

“They need to be able to communicate well because they converse with people in China,

London and the US on a daily basis,” he says.

There are more jobs than qualified candidates in some niche IT sectors. Picture: iStock

“We need people who can work well together rather than just being able to write code.”

Beverley says passion is more valuable than a university degree.

“One of our most senior engineers does not have a degree,” he says.

“If you are passionate about software engineering and working with people that will be more important.”

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To attract and retain top talent, The Trade Desk actively encourages its team to travel and work in different countries, and mentors young women into the typically male-dominated profession.

They also run competitions to encourage young people to share their ideas and innovations.

“That’s the kind of thing that helps us keep talent and attract new talent into the industry,” Beverley says.

Sunny Zhan who participated in EY and UNSW’s sandbox program. Picture: Supplied

Bachelor of Information Systems student Sunny Zhan was offered a cybersecurity job at EY even before finishing her studies.

Although she did not initially picture herself working in cybersecurity, she completed a unit developed by EY and the University of New South Wales in the final year of her degree and impressed the right people.

“By the end I had learnt so much and I totally love (cybersecurity) now,” she says.

“EY offered me a job for next year before I had even graduated.

“I never would have dreamt that could happen. It has happened so fast.”

Although six industries reveal a job market moving towards being in the jobseeker’s favour, the SEEK data also shows nine industries at the other end of the spectrum.

In these, the number of applicants per role increased by more than 5 per cent between 2017 and 2018.

This list is topped by farming, animals and conservation (13 per cent increase), community services and development (12 per cent), design and architecture (10 per cent) and advertising, arts and media (9 per cent).

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