Skills in demand within the industry are evolving with technology, with software development and cloud solutions considered in-demand industry-specific skills.
Industry-specific skill demand
The most in-demand skills are software development, business solutions, and business consulting. Communication, initiative and leadership, and personal attributes (e.g. right attitude/mindset) are also important, with over 80 per cent of job advertisements within the industry mentioning one or more of these skills.
Most mentioned industry-specific skills in 2024 as a share of job ads
Industry-specific skill | Share of job ads |
|---|---|
Software development | 10.3% |
Business solutions | 9.1% |
Business consulting | 8.4% |
Agile software development | 6.7% |
Information technology (IT) management | 6.4% |
System design and implementation | 6.3% |
Cloud solutions | 5.8% |
Litigation and civil justice | 5.6% |
Technical support and services | 5.6% |
Scripting languages | 5.3% |
Growing skills mentions within industry
Skills increasingly being mentioned in job advertisements within the professional, scientific and technical services industry are process improvement and optimisation, project management, and regulation and legal compliance.
Note: these exclude industry-specific skills already identified as being in high demand.
Growing skills as a percentage point difference in job advertisement mentions from 2019 to 2024
Industry-specific skill | Percentage of job ad mentions in 2019 | Percentage of job ad mentions in 2024 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
Process improvement and optimisation | 8.9% | 16.4% | 7.5% |
Project management | 19.0% | 26.1% | 7.1% |
Regulation and legal compliance | 3.8% | 9.9% | 6.2% |
General accounting | 6.3% | 11.7% | 5.4% |
Legal support | 1.8% | 7.0% | 5.1% |
General finance | 8.5% | 13.1% | 4.6% |
Computer science | 10.6% | 15.0% | 4.4% |
Business management | 4.9% | 9.3% | 4.4% |
Business strategy | 14.0% | 18.2% | 4.1% |
Contract management | 4.3% | 8.1% | 3.8% |
Updated