Some of the highest paid digital roles in 2022 will be marketing director, head of e-commerce, head of SEO and creative directors, according to a Dublin recruitment firm.
Salaries in Ireland’s digital sector will see a “general uptick” of 12pc in 2022, however some professionals could see increases of up to 18pc as companies search for in-demand skills.
UX and product designers, platform specialists and marketing managers will be in extremely high demand for the coming year, with employers needing talent and experience in these areas.
That’s according to the most recent salary and employment report by Dublin-based digital recruitment agency Prosperity. The agency’s director, Gary Mullan, said the outlook for Ireland’s digital economy is “very positive”, particularly after the sector faced “plenty of challenges in 2021”.
Prosperity’s annual Salary and Employment Survey for 2022 also predicted that flexible working will continue to be a must-have for employers who want to retain staff in an employee’s market.
Nearshoring is set to become a major trend in 2022 in response to worker shortages, the report added. This practice involves moving a company’s operations to a nearby country instead of a distant one. It can work in tandem with flexible and hybrid work practices for many digital sector workers.
Prosperity surveyed more than 1,000 digital sector workers in Ireland for its latest report. It found that 82pc said they would demand hybrid or remote working models as a pre-condition before accepting a job offer.
Of the last 35 roles that Prosperity advertised, only one-third were fully office based. The recruiter said that these roles attracted 45pc fewer candidates than hybrid or remote ones.
Workers of all experience levels are taking full advantage of the employee-weighted labour market at the moment. According to the survey, younger workers are holding companies to account on their ESG goals, while older, more experienced managers are seeking greater perks and flexibility from potential employers.
Among the highest paid digital roles expected by Prosperity in 2022 are marketing director (with salaries of up to €150,000), followed by head of e-commerce, head of search or SEO and creative directors (all up to €120,000).
It added that salaries will also continue to grow for workers who specialise in specific platforms such as Amazon, HubSpot, Magento, Shopify, WordPress and Salesforce as businesses move to micro-services environments.
In 2020, Prosperity saw an explosion of digital talent enter the jobs market as Covid-19 began to destabilise everything.
But according to Mullan, the industry has become more “battle-hardened” in the face of the adversity of the past two years. As e-commerce and SaaS tools surge in popularity, more and more employers will be looking to create dedicated in-house digital teams to cope with demand for services.
He also said that companies were “cautious” due to the “big shortfall in talent” and the knock-on effects of this would continue to have for employers under pressure to cater to worker demands.
“Where employers aren’t in a position to offer pay rises, we expect to see case-by-case negotiations happening. I think having an open conversation around salary, benefits and flexibility is something that could ultimately benefit everyone involved,” Mullan concluded.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
