January 11, 2023

New Year, New You, New CV! 10 Ways to Upskill for 2023

8 min read

It’s that time of year again…as the fireworks fade and the end of the holiday season looms closer, most of us start thinking about the year ahead, making resolutions we’ll never keep (hello dusty old running shoes), and setting new personal goals.

For a lot of people, this means finding a new job. In fact, here in the tech recruitment world, we typically see a surge in job applications at the start of every year. So with so much competition, how do you make your application stand out from the crowd?

Our advice is to learn some valuable new skills to add to your resume!

Self-directed learning is now easier than ever, with loads of free online resources and tutorials. It also shows that you’re driven, motivated, and passionate about your own professional development – all valuable qualities that employers look for! Plus, finding unique ways to upskill can give you good examples to talk about in an interview.

In this blog, we’ll outline 10 ways to upskill that will stand out on your LinkedIn profile and CV, and broaden your job search to better-paying (and often more interesting) roles!

1. Learn a new programming language

As a tech professional, learning a new programming language is a super valuable investment of your time, and it actually may not take as long as you’d think! Chances are you’ve probably already got one or two core programming languages under your belt (e.g. HTML/CSS and Javascript), which will make learning new ones quicker and easier.

Plus, since programming languages vary depending on the environment you’re developing in, once you’ve learnt a new language, you’ll start to uncover all the places where it’s used. For example, Python can be used to develop a website, create desktop applications, and analyse large complex data sets – to name just a few examples. Imagine the variety of projects and job opportunities that learning Python could open up!

When you stack multiple languages into your arsenal, there’s also a significant boost to your value in the IT job market, because the more large-scale projects and senior roles often require a combination of programming languages.

Whether you’re learning in your own time at home or manage to find a project in your workplace to help develop your skills, there are lots of handy tips and articles out there to make your learning as quick and efficient as possible, so why not give it a go?

2. Start a hobby or project that requires new skills

With so many public holidays and long weekends at the beginning of the year, it’s the perfect time to start a new hobby or embark on a pet project that challenges you. The best way to do this is to find something you’re interested in or passionate about, so that you stay engaged as you work through the challenges of learning something new.

Love gaming? Create your own game using Javascript. Into maths and logic? Try coding your own HTML calculator. Enjoy playing chess? Turn it into your next programming project. Got a creative side? Build your own Mad Libs with Python.

There are loads of different tutorials online, so find one that interests and challenges you, learn some new skills, and add them to your CV. You could even start thinking about how to use them as examples in an interview situation!

3. Complete certifications within your workplace tech stack

If you’re already working in an IT role, chances are the organisation’s tech stack has platforms that offer their own certifications. For example, Amazon Web Services offer formal training and qualifications for IT professionals, and website content management systems often provide digital certifications, all of which look great on your CV.

One benefit of choosing something in your workplace tech stack is that the new skills you learn will be highly transferable to other organisations, and you’ll get an understanding of concepts which aren’t just specific to that particular platform, but are relevant across other brands and platforms too (e.g. cloud computing).

The other advantage of looking for certifications related to your organisation’s tech stack is that your employer might consider paying for it, or they might even get the training free as a part of an enterprise contract from the provider.

4. Take a short course online

If you’re reading this, you likely know the field of information technology is vast. You can find training and qualifications online in everything from front-end development to project management, and from both New Zealand based educational institutions and global e-learning platforms. It’s best to decide what you want to learn and then do some comparison shopping. There’s nothing wrong with a mixture of local, tertiary-style short courses and other forms of e-learning. An employer in tech should, and likely will, consider all this together.

5. Watch YouTube tutorials

YouTube isn’t just a great place to waste an evening, it’s a huge repository of valuable information. The quality of YouTube content has skyrocketed over the past decade, with high view counts translating into significant revenue for content creators, and attracting a higher calibre of quality content. However, you should still use some discretion when choosing which channels to follow; some good indicators of quality are the view counts, ratings, number of positive comments, and feedback in online communities (more on that later).

YouTube learning is a brilliant tool that is reshaping the way we upskill. Being able to pause, replay and come back to how-to guides means you can learn at your own pace. Many development or design channels also incorporate screen capture so you can see live examples of the skill you’re trying to learn in practice (e.g. writing a piece of code for a mobile app).

6. Join online tech communities

Online communities in tech are so important. The industry moves at a blistering pace, and the sheer range of platforms, languages, systems and practices means that no one’s an expert in everything. By tapping into online communities like subreddits and the highly popular and valuable Stack Overflow, you can link up with other developers, designers, and IT professionals, and get answers to your questions.

Always make sure you clarify and confirm the source of information, and if you’re applying new knowledge learnt from an online community, it’s probably best done in a ‘low stakes’ situation first. Then, once you learn more about the skill or technology, you can apply it in more complex scenarios.

7. Shadow someone more experienced

While this approach isn’t technically self-directed learning, it can be initiated by you, not your employer. If you have strong internal relationships and there’s someone willing to give up some time, then learning alongside a senior in your business can be really valuable. Shadowing doesn’t have to be an imposition – it could just be 10-15 minutes in the day where you sit alongside that team member and watch how they apply a certain skill to a piece of work you both understand.

The great thing about this type of learning is that you can see the benefit of the skill in real-life scenarios that are relevant to your day-to-day work, and you’ll get ongoing support and guidance from that same person as you start to use and hone the skill yourself.

8. Upskill in areas outside of tech

Upskilling as a tech professional is about more than just learning technical skills. The more well-rounded you are, the more doors that may open (and more interesting your work may be). Business skills come in many categories, including business analysis, finance, HR, operations, procurement, management, communications, marketing and all the industry-specific skills relevant to your business.

Take some time to learn more about the organisation or industry you’re working in. There could be opportunities to learn through your employer, or you can find learning opportunities (formal or otherwise) in your own time. There are many people in IT that we work with who have a background in both business and technology – the mixture of both make for excellent senior roles where the demands and KPIs are essential to business success.

9. Develop soft skills through theory and practice

Soft skills are essential for a highly successful IT career. Even the most technical roles can be hamstrung by someone unable to communicate ideas, empathise or adapt. Soft skills are sometimes tricky to develop because they require more than just reading and theory; to hone these skills, one must be self-aware and apply them deliberately in live situations. However, your employer should be able to support you by incorporating these into your professional development plan. This puts some structure around the upskilling and challenges you to make improvements over a set period.

Front footing your soft skill development is music to an employer’s ears. Combined with a roadmap of technical skill development, these abilities will make for a far more effective team member with excellent internal promotion potential.

10. Volunteer for challenging (but manageable) tasks

Applying a new skill to solve real challenges is part of truly learning a new skill. The workplace is the best arena for such endeavours, with problems arising daily that need solutions. You should find these opportunities readily available if you work in a large business with plenty of IT challenges. You can also put your name forward for contributing to a project or task within an IT team, with the caveat that you’re working on developing this skill. An employer will likely put you with a more experienced team member but should ultimately allow you to apply a newly developing ability that will benefit the business and you.

Explore available IT roles today

Are you looking for that next tech role where you can apply your growing knowledge and skills? You may want to find an organisation that values what you bring to the table today and can foster your development for the future. If that sounds like you, head to our IT jobs for the latest roles across New Zealand.

Absolute IT

December 21, 2022

2022 IT Industry Reflections and 2023 Predictions

8 min read

2022 was a big year for our industry – where the talent crunch, the number of New Zealand organisations delivering digital transformations and the growth in the tech sector collided with remote and hybrid working and the loss of homegrown talent to overseas experiences. All these combined had a significant impact on the industry. So, as we look ahead to 2023, it feels like a good time to reflect on what happened in the past year and predict what lies ahead in an era in which talent is leaving and entering the country and the technology needs of businesses are necessitating more staff in permanent and contractor roles.

What happened in 2022 within New Zealand’s tech sector?

2022 was the year that many of the restrictions around living with the COVID pandemic were eased or removed. The easing and removal of the restrictions extended to the borders where since 2020, we’ve had to manage without skilled immigrants looking to work and live in Aotearoa. Migration onto the cloud and other technological and digital transformations haven’t slowed – quite the opposite – which has meant demand for the volume and quality of skills has increased, and the supply decreased.

Kiwi tech professionals left to explore the world

To some, ‘The Great Resignation’ feels more like a catchphrase that peaked a year ago, but there’s no arguing with the number of qualified tech professionals leaving to explore the world. Kiwis leaving has been enabled by restrictions on travel finally loosening (and the knowledge that they’ll now be able to get back home!). Exploring the world to hone skills is valuable to professionals but costly to the local industry in the short term without the incoming talent to compensate for it. Factors outside of work opportunities and the desire to travel have supercharged this exodus somewhat, with the most popular factor being a more affordable cost of living. Despite large numbers of Kiwis heading offshore, we expect that a healthy portion of this group will return at various stages – bringing their newly acquired experience into New Zealand organisations.

The loss of talent due to travel restrictions loosening isn’t unique to the tech sector. Still, we’ve certainly felt it more than most, given the already-existing shortage in the industry predating the pandemic.

Borders reopening – enabling more overseas talent to work in NZ

While the easing of restrictions has seen those in the country depart for new adventures, it’s also seen the potential for overseas talent to come back into New Zealand. In 2020 we didn’t just see the taps turned off for new talent coming into the country but also much of the existing overseas talent left in considerable numbers to return to family before lockdowns ensued.

Work still needs to be done to estimate the full impact of the skills deficit that the reopening of the border will have. We’ve navigated an imbalance between demand and supply in this industry for many years, so we expect this development to answer only some employers’ problems. It’s not simply a matter of opening borders either; industry immigration and tourism efforts are required to position the country as a viable and attractive destination to live and work. For now, we are seeing an increase in applications from overseas talent – from those planning to move to New Zealand in the near future.

Flexibility and remote working have cemented themselves in the IT sector

Our industry has been ahead of the curve when it comes to remote working, although before 2020, this was still the exception as opposed to the rule. Contractors have long been used to hotdesking and working on the go, and busy tech professionals have been bringing their laptops home to complete work for some time. Where is our time spent during the workday? The pandemic forced all businesses to accommodate working from home as a norm. Many organisations have invested heavily in decentralising their infrastructure, pumping up security and rolling out systems that allow their team to work from anywhere in the country. In 2022 we saw this reality evolve from a necessity into a preference, with most tech professionals expecting hybrid or flexible working as the new standard offering. The benefits of remote working and hours flexibility include:

Tech Professionals

More control and time management on personal and work commitments
Removing lengthy commutes to work every day
Ability to focus on solo work without distractions of the workplace
More work opportunities outside of where you live
Time your work hours with when you feel the most productive

Tech Employers

Access to talent outside of the region the organisation is based in
Attractive benefit for potential hires
Can free up or reduce office space with fewer employees in the office at one time
Use more of the workplace for meetings and collaboration vs. individual work

What’s in store for 2023?

2023 promises to be a busy year for our industry. The first full year of open borders and immigration ramping up should see more employers finding the right talent. On the other hand, we could see a continuation of homegrown talent leaving amid growing costs of living and an election year that could spell change in 2024. But regardless of the access to talent, we aren’t anticipating a slowdown in demand – with innovation, digital transformation, and general IT maturity remaining a priority.

More talent arriving to help the skills shortage

In 2022 New Zealand opened back up to overseas talent, but we were slow compared to other countries, and this lag shouldn’t be ignored. As a result, we may look at a few years before we reach the same level of emigration to New Zealand as in pre-COVID times. With that said, 2023 should see thousands of new IT professionals reach our shores and be considered for permanent and contract, depending on their skillsets, visas, and where in the country they decide to base themselves.

Employers and recruiters will leverage the borders reopening in earnest throughout 2023 utilising offshore job listings and various digital advertising methods. We expect more debate and policy discussion about how the government can streamline the immigration process for skilled workers as businesses continue to struggle to acquire talent in the short term.

A focus on upskilling and developing talent into roles

In our research of IT employers and professionals this year, it’s clear that internships and junior development programmes are vastly underutilised. With such a talent shortage in the local market, we encourage the industry to consider creating more opportunities for inexperienced but enthusiastic talent with well-supported training and development plans. We see this as a win-win for both parties. The candidate gets on-the-job experience, training and connections with an internship or graduate program, and the business enjoys a new channel or relatively low-cost resource that, if managed properly, can develop into long-term IT employees.

Employers should consider incorporating an internship or development process to reduce the long-term skills shortage issues. 2023 may see many organisations piloting such programmes or refining them to make for a better experience.

Further development of IT sectors outside the main cities

We’re excited about the growth of the IT industry outside of Auckland and Wellington. Areas like the Waikato are seeing big growth in the population of IT professionals and tech start-ups. Christchurch is another fast-growing sector that offers unique opportunities for tech businesses via the industries that make up that region. In addition, 2023 will likely see more tech professionals choose lifestyle over proximity to the workplace, growing the presence of tech activity in smaller cities and towns across the country.

There’s no doubt that more tech professionals will move out of the city with less expectation to physically be in a CBD office to secure a role. Even in the leadership space, we have seen plenty of organisations open their minds to senior staff working in hybrid arrangements – the past few years have been a successful pilot for a permanent shift in workplace dynamics and employer attitudes. As more of our tech talent is present in more parts of the country, we expect to see more businesses opting for a regional office location. This might be the start of a 5-to-10-year shift where IT’s economic activity isn’t so concentrated in the urban areas of New Zealand.

Priorities on the basics

In the past, the industry’s predictions have been tied closely to innovation and the ‘new’. Whilst innovation will be part of the 2023 IT industry, talent shortages and borders reopening give us reason to believe that for many organisations, 2023 will be about securing the right talent, building structure to retain and develop that talent and creating successful teams in the process. The IT sector has experienced much turbulence in the past few years, and significant innovation must fit in around the foundational aspects of IT unless events outside the business’ control force it.

With that said, digital transformation is unlikely to slow down as part of a multi-year initiative to improve business systems and protect against security or disaster risks. Artificial intelligence is still in its infancy within most organisations, and we’d expect to see the introduction of it to solve more operational challenges for the more technologically nimble businesses. Topics such as the metaverse, which has attracted much commentary without the execution or widespread interest to match, is a space that, whilst likely where the online world will end up, will require evolution and the right mix of hardware and software for businesses to adopt a strategy around it for 2023.

Learn more about New Zealand’s IT industry

If you’re interested in reading more about our tech sector, head to the Absolute IT blog, where you can find insights about various topics, including skills in demand, pay and evolving technologies.

Explore our available IT roles today

Are you looking for a new IT role in which you can enjoy a flexible working arrangement? Check out our latest jobs to find your next big career move.

Absolute IT