Labour and skills shortages are top of the agenda for businesses of all sizes, with the ever-evolving landscape of IT being a clear pain point.
According to the Australian Information Industry Association, half of Australian organisations are now outsourcing IT roles globally, driven by a lack of local talent. The skills most frequently outsourced are AI (56%) and cybersecurity (40%).
The severe skills shortage has put Australian IT professionals in a strong negotiating position when it comes to salaries and their choice of employers.
This strong negotiating position for higher salaries particularly affects small businesses, who on average, have lower occupation vacancy fill rates than medium-sized and large businesses.
In the latest Skills Shortage Quarterly Report, it was reported that lower fill rates of small businesses were driven by their lower number of total applicants, qualified and suitable applicants per vacancy compared to medium and large businesses.
With small businesses feeling the IT crunch, Gradability is providing a cost-effective and structured solution with short-term access to young, enthusiastic IT graduates who are looking for experience.
Businesses can direct these qualified individuals to IT related duties where they wouldn’t normally have the time or resources to commit to. This comes at no cost, apart from the time invested in mentoring and hosting a graduate.
Through Gradability’s intern program, graduate students are available with a host of different skillsets including IT business analysts, data analysts, cybersecurity, network administrators, testers, developers and IT support desk specialists.
De Stefano and Co, an Adelaide based company offering defence-focused management and security consultancy, recently hosted a Gradability graduate to assist with a designated project.
“Hosting a graduate intern can provide a lot of value to businesses, regardless of industry. Due to the fact that they have already completed, or are soon to complete their studies, the interns come equipped with knowledge of the latest technologies and systems, along with an eagerness to learn more.
“This knowledge and eagerness are great resources for businesses, particularly where your current team could use some additional support, or the benefits of a graduate who has a skillset suited to the task you are trying to accomplish.
“Additionally, there’s the potential that businesses will want to employ the graduate at the end of the internship, and recruitment can be a costly and time-consuming exercise, whether you do it yourself or outsource to an agency”.
As businesses look to invest in upskilling and emerging technologies, the need for skilled employees in those areas is more important than ever.
Whether you are looking to employ, or work with a graduate as a short-term internship; Gradability’s IT graduate program may be able to provide the support your business requires.
Find out more about Gradability’s internship program here.
