Don't be daunted by tales of woe about the state of the
telecoms sector. A changing market is driving demand for project
managers and IT-savvy technologists
Even in the past couple of years, as other technology markets
have recovered since the slump of 2001, telecoms operators are
still feeling the pressure as free broadband services such as Skype
threaten their cash cows.
Not surprisingly, in the past six months in particular, the
number of jobs advertised by telecoms companies has fallen,
according to George Molyneaux, research director at IT employment
research firm Salary Services.
Jobs tracked by the company in the electronics and
communications sector - which is mostly made up of telecoms-related
employers - fell more than 7% in the second quarter, whereas most
sectors saw increases. The third quarter has seen another fall.
Cable & Wireless, for example, announced in February this
year it would halve its headcount within five years as part of a
decision to dispense with smaller customers and concentrate only on
large accounts. Part of that shift will mean moving away from a
reliance on voice to managed Internet Protocol (IP) services.
In May, Orange said it would cut its workforce by up to 2,000
people as part of a shift into the broadband business, thanks to
parent France Telecom's decision to merge Wanadoo with the mobile
operator.
Even so, times are good for recruitment consultants trying to
place IT staff at the telcos. It has not been this good since the
boom of the late-1990s.
"It is quite a mixed picture," said Martin Soulsby, manager at
recruitment firm Michael Page Technology. "There is some buoyancy
and some excitement, but there are also redundancies being
made.
Soulsby explained the shift: "The idea of running telephone
kiosks in the street is going away. They are saying 'we can start
being a content provider or a content facilitator'."
Steve Dargan, director of the technology division at recruitment
agency Imprint Search & Selection, which specialises in what he
called the "marzipan" middle-management layer, said, "The market at
the moment is probably as busy as it was in 1999 and 2000. The
market took a huge nose dive in 2001, but in the last few months we
have really seen the pace pick up."
Bridget Gray, manager of the commercial-IT permanent-positions
group at recruitment agency Robert Walters, agreed. "We have
definitely seen a marked increase there in the last four or five
months," she said.
A focus on business process re-engineering at the telcos means
new projects are coming on-stream, driving demand for experienced
programme and project managers. That all adds up to a lot of middle
and engineering management jobs ready for experienced people.
The technical issues raised by a move to broadband are creating
demand for another group of people - engineers who can understand
both legacy circuit-switched connections and the new world of
packet-switched networks.
"They are looking for people who can create converged networks,"
said Andy Heyes, head of the IT practice at recruitment consultancy
Harvey Nash.
"It is all about delivering the triple-play solution: mobile,
broadband and video networks."
Competition for certain jobs is driving changes in how telcos
pay their recruits. "Some companies have fairly restrictive
policies with structured salary scales," said Gray.
Some of the bigger companies may find themselves having to
rethink their pay policies for the high-end positions to get the
right people.
However, recruitment consultants pointed out that the bigger
telcos have attractive benefits packages that include family health
care and generous pension plans. Dargan claimed sign-on bonuses are
being used in some cases to attract people without having to alter
the pay scales themselves.
There is also a non-financial element to the attraction of
working in the telecoms sector. Julia Porter-Robinson, recruitment
manager for technology, corporate and commercial positions at
operator T-Mobile, emphasised the company's concentration on
technology.
"There is a constant push for cutting-edge technology. We look
for people with a passion for technology," she said, noting that
the company is upgrading to the latest version of SAP and is a big
J2EE user.
Will this demand for new skills from the telcos come to an end?
"Everybody is conscious of where the market will go: it is a kind
of boom and bust situation," said Lisa Jobson, director of
corporate accounts at Harvey Nash. "But it will still be a while to
go before we hit that situation."