IT Professional Moving to SA

Hi

I am looking to emigrate to Adelaide early next year on a 190 visa from the UK. They have said they are looking for IT Professionals however looking on the jobsites there doesn't appear to be many available.

Can anyone living in Adelaide shed some light on this?

Is the job market buoyant at the moment? are there may big companies looking for IT Professionals at present?

What is the average wage for an IT Professional (Systems administrator) as the adverts for job available do not specify the wage for the roles?

For anyone that has emigrated to SA, would you recommend it? or would you suggest sponsorship in a bigger city?

Thanks in advance for any advice that you can provide

South Australia is a small state so there isn't a huge job market there in general. The big Australian companies have their head offices in Melbourne or Sydney so that's where their main jobs are too. There aren't many big companies in Adelaide that I can think of. Of course there's fewer people in South Australia too, but it still means that job hunting is not easy.

I like Adelaide as a city - small enough to be easy to get around, big enough to have all the amenities, lovely beach, wineries on your doorstep, nice climate (very hot in summer but it's a dry heat), reasonably-priced housing. Not sure if I would move there due to the job prospects. With the Australian economy in a downturn, the job market everywhere isn't particularly buoyant.

Adelaide is seen as a lower cost onshore delivery location, than Sydney or Melbourne (bit like the north east of the UK). Although the deals may get signed on the east coast, the big players have massive delivery centres in SA. But salaries are lower there (so is housing etc, so it balance

There are less jobs in Adelaide but there are also less people looking for jobs there. My OH's experience of recruiting was that there are very few good candidates that can write good applications. This was for a BA rather than systems administrator but I suspect it is similar in other IT fields. A lot of the IT jobs here are with the state government or the three Universities, but there are also some private organisations that have largish IT departments as well. The RAA is one that springs immediately to mind.

The job market in Adelaide is very tough at the moment and there is definitely a bit of a culture of who you know rather than what you know here but if you have good skills and can really sell yourself you are in with a good chance here. Have a look over on the Poms in Adelaide site - that is full of people actually in Adelaide who will be better placed to tell you what it is like trying to get work.

Google the unemployment rate for the state and it will tell you what you need to know

Google the unemployment rate for the state and it will tell you what you need to know

Not really. A lot of the new unemployed in the state are from the manufacturing sector, most of whom are not going to be competing for experienced systems analyst jobs any time soon.

The IT market is a nightmare in Adelaide, imho. My other half has been looking for nearly 6 months. Lots of interviews and plenty of coffee chats. He has networked his heart out, making as many contacts as possible but the message is, alot of companies are sitting tight for now, no budget or wont take the risk. Do lots of research, make lots of contacts. IT jobs are about who you know and being specialised in your field. IT is very different from the UK, no matter what anyone says. If you are lucky to walk into a job, you are lucky. Even some of our seasoned Aussie friends are on the bench, looking for work. OH half has had offers of work back in the UK and Dubai but we love Australia, my kids love it here, so we're staying put

In saying all that, SA can't sit still. I believe it is on the cusp of something good. It has to change to survive. It may take a few years, more even. If local government would wake up and see what a brilliant state they have, bunged to the gills with enthusiastic Aussies and migrants wanting to work. Politics suck here even more so than the UK and that is saying something.

Good luck, follow your dream, but definitely come with a contingency plan, some financial back up and an open mind. If my OH is in the position to help by then, he will.

I live in Adelaide and we are relocating to NSW be coz of poor job prospects. It is not what you know but who you know in my experience. There is a small town mentality here and a lot if poms I have met say they have committed career suicide here . Go to melbourne if I were you cosmopolitan and a proper City that is more open to people of all nationalities.

We were in the same position a few years ago, my OH could get state sponsorship for SA but the actual job opportunities looked woeful, we were actually advised by a SA state representative at a government expo to apply for SA sponsorship and move elsewhere!

That at was a few years back but I would imagine the situation is worse not better. It really depends on how quickly you need work and how flexible you are eg would you take service desk work at $20 an hour? I've know a couple of people get a foothold that way.

Thanks for your quick replies guys.

I find it very strange that SA actually require the profession via their Skills List https://www.anzscosearch.com/262113 but there are no jobs available.

The ideal scenario would be to move and get settled for a couple of months and then to look for work but taking a step back in my career wouldn't be welcome.

Are there no big corporate companies who have theur head quarters in Adelaide then? or are they mainly regional offices?

Probably going to have to look down the sponsorship route in NSW or VIC then.

Thanks

We were in the same position a few years ago, my OH could get state sponsorship for SA but the actual job opportunities looked woeful, we were actually advised by a SA state representative at a government expo to apply for SA sponsorship and move elsewhere!

 

That at was a few years back but I would imagine the situation is worse not better. It really depends on how quickly you need work and how flexible you are eg would you take service desk work at $20 an hour? I've know a couple of people get a foothold that way.

Thanks for your quick replies guys.

 

I find it very strange that SA actually require the profession via their Skills List https://www.anzscosearch.com/262113 but there are no jobs available.

 

The ideal scenario would be to move and get settled for a couple of months and then to look for work but taking a step back in my career wouldn't be welcome.

 

Are there no big corporate companies who have theur head quarters in Adelaide then? or are they mainly regional offices?

 

Probably going to have to look down the sponsorship route in NSW or VIC then.

 

Thanks

What is available on the skills list is no relevance in reality to job prospects and employers. We and several of our friends have found that out, to our dismay. There is no way my OH could further his career in SA as the job he did in the UK doesn't exist here. They haven't even reached that level, yet. We came in under IT Project Manager and were under no illusions and didn't come here for big money jobs. We could have stayed in London for that. It was a change in life style, we want a different one.

Don't be put off SA completely, keep an eye on the situation, but in the meantime, look at Sydney,as apparently that is where the big company IT work is the mo.

I firmly believe SA encourages migration, as we bring money to the state, we buy cars, furniture, rent or buy property etc. Reckon they secretly wish we'd all clear off back to the UK and leave out spent money here.

Thanks for your quick replies guys.

 

I find it very strange that SA actually require the profession via their Skills List https://www.anzscosearch.com/262113 but there are no jobs available.

 

The ideal scenario would be to move and get settled for a couple of months and then to look for work but taking a step back in my career wouldn't be welcome.

 

Are there no big corporate companies who have theur head quarters in Adelaide then? or are they mainly regional offices?

 

Probably going to have to look down the sponsorship route in NSW or VIC then.

 

Thanks

I think that you really need to do some ground work research and trawl through companys and see whats there. - even if there are not advertising, approach HR or contact their recruiters through linkedin and offer a targeted speculative CV.

However, you are going to need to make a bit of an effort to see what is avaliable

In the last 4 minutes on google, i've done a quick search and found in Adelaide adverts for systems administrators at:

HP

Boeing

University of South Australia

Raytheon

Thales

and thats without really trying!

 

I find it very strange that SA actually require the profession via their Skills List https://www.anzscosearch.com/262113 but there are no jobs available.

 

 

That has been the case for all Australian states as long as I can remember - it certainly was when I migrated to Australia 30 years ago! It makes you wonder what the bureaucrats are doing - they never seem to have any handle on the actual needs of their state.