There are few industries where the job prospects and possibilities for growth worldwide are as great as in IT – and Australia is no exception. As long as you’ve got some experience, the right qualifications and have perfected saying “Have you tried restarting your machine” in your finest Aussie accent, then you should be laughing. One man convinced that decent candidates will have no worries landing themselves a job, whatever their speciality, is Peter Noblet, regional director of Hays Information Technology. “The IT sector is very buoyant at present with a large number of roles available,” says Noblet. “We have plenty of roles in all our offices across Australia, from help desk support to CIOs and everything in between,” he says. Unsurprisingly in such a skilled industry, employers have a clear idea of what they want. Peter continues, “In IT there are ubiquitous qualifications. Having an MCSE or a CCIE certification is understood almost everywhere. “While experience is more important than qualifications, degrees in computer science, computing and business system are all impressive.” Making it absolutely clear on your CV what you can and have done is also vital in securing that all-important interview. “Employers and recruiters in Australia like to see what technical skills a person has, so a skills matrix is very useful,” he says. “It would also help to briefly explain the business of each of your previous employers because employers here may not be aware of the company.” If all goes to plan and you get the job, you could soon find yourself taking home considerably more cash than the average traveller. Programming jobs can start at $60,000, while more skilled roles can easily rise up into six figure sums. “Actually, there is a huge range of pay rates for roles,” says Noblet. “Variables include experience, job title, size of company and location. Traditionally, pay rates were highest in Sydney, then Melbourne and Brisbane. Now, however, IT pay rates are more similar across the country.” Plus, once you’ve got a foot in the door with a firm and become a valued part of the team, getting sponsored for up to four years could very easily become a reality. “Recent changes to the business visa sponsorship process have meant that it is now difficult for recruiters to sponsor people. We do, however, work with many companies who will sponsor people directly so, yes, there are opportunities.”