Gold Coast tech businesses say Westpac is raiding staff for new software department, with backing from Queensland Government

Gold Coast tech businesses, battling a shortage of skilled workers, are under siege from a big-four bank - and it has the full support of the Queensland Government.

A big-four bank has been accused of aggressively raiding small businesses for staff as locals grapple with a critical skills shortage.

Westpac’s “technology engineering hub” was launched with a flourish by Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick, who said it would create up to 200 jobs in coming years.

But Russell Codlin, managing director of Varsity Lakes software development company Rinami, said his small team had been bombarded by job offers from Westpac.

“All of my staff have been getting contacted repeatedly by Westpac for months – the offers keep going up and up until they are too good to refuse,” he said.

“These jobs are very hard to fill and they’re cannibalising smaller businesses to staff their hub.”

The bank’s new software department is located within its existing Surfers Paradise office building and has so far hired 12 staff. While two were recruited from Sydney, the rest were hired locally.

Westpac's new software engineering “hub” in Surfers Paradise.

Mr Dick declared the “new multimillion-dollar IT hub” a “big win”, saying the Gold Coast was chosen for its lifestyle and “wealth of talent readily available”.

“If there’s any company that knows about investment decisions, it’s Westpac,” he said.

Mr Dick, also the Minister for Trade and Investment, declined to provide more detail on his claims regarding the hub’s “multimillion-dollar” cost and the region’s pool of “readily-available” talent.

“Westpac was not offered any financial incentives. They chose the Gold Coast because of its lifestyle opportunities, skilled workforce, and training and skills pathways,” he said.

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick (centre), Westpac Chief Executive Consumer & Business Banking Chris de Bruin (left) and Westpac CIO Paul Bari (right) with some of the Westpac team who will be working at the new hub.

Mr Codlin said he understood the field was competitive, but that it was not a fair playing field for small businesses to compete against a big bank with Government support.

“It’s impossible for us to get into an arms race for staff with Westpac – we’re raising families and trying to run a business.”

Mr Codlin said he’d had to source staff from Nigeria and India as there were not enough qualified staff in Australia for the roles, let alone on the Gold Coast.

Rinami lost one staff member, hired from Melbourne at some expense, after Westpac recruiters spent three months making increasingly attractive offers.

Vincent Fletcher, CEO of rapidly-growing logistics software business CartonCloud, said his staff were also among those tapped for jobs with Westpac.

He questioned the reasoning for calling a new section in a bank office a “tech hub”.

“Tech Hub makes it sound like it’s something for lots of businesses to share,” he said.

“From my understanding it’s a satellite office for Westpac to get some of their development work done.”

CartonCloud CEO Vincent Fletcher.

Mr Fletcher said deep pockets would only get an employer so far when it came to keeping staff happy.

“A question I would always be asking someone who’s looking to go work in banking software is: Are they going to be satisfied releasing one feature every six months, versus releasing one feature every couple of weeks for a business like ours?” he said.

“Westpac isn’t a company with a strong technology focus. It’s a financial services business. Is that exciting enough?”

Mr Fletcher, whose staff work remotely most of the time, said the whole idea of putting tech workers in an office together was outdated anyway.

Westpac’s Consumer and Business Banking CEO Chris de Bruin said the expansion would give residents the opportunity to join a large organisation and build a career in banking.

“(It) will enable us to expand our technology agenda and attract world-class talent, while also creating employment, training, and development opportunities in Queensland,” he said.

Westpac Chief Executive Consumer & Business Banking Chris de Bruin and CIO Paul Bari.

The bank said it had developed a graduate program to attract new and emerging talent, and would work on it with local universities.

Westpac chief information officer for Consumer and Business Banking Paul Bari added: “Not only do we want to hire as many great engineers as we can, but we also want to foster the next generation of technologists and encourage more students to consider a career in the sector.

“This includes creating a bespoke graduate program where students can experience a variety of skills and roles offered through the hub, including technology roles beyond software engineering like business analytics or project management.”

Current vacancies can be viewed on the CartonCloud and Westpac websites.