Wakefield Council struggling to recruit IT test managers because of 'substantially' better pay offers elsewhere

Wakefield Council is struggling to attract some IT specialists because more competitive salaries are being offered elsewhere.
IT staff are in high demand.IT staff are in high demand.
IT staff are in high demand.

The local authority has recruited more people to work within its IT department, but is short of test managers who work on software, the council's audit committee was told on Monday.

"Substantially" greater pay packets are being offered by other employers, service director for technology Darren Gill said.

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Extra cash has been invested into the department as the council switches to a more efficient IT system.

Mr Gill said the council had had difficulty recruiting testing managers.Mr Gill said the council had had difficulty recruiting testing managers.
Mr Gill said the council had had difficulty recruiting testing managers.

It follows what Mr Gill described as "historic underinvestment over many years".

He told the committee: "New staff will start coming on board in the next few weeks, albeit a risk is beginning to emerge in relation to attracting a suitable field for some key roles, where the market is offering substantially more in salaries than we can currently offer."

Asked for further details about the issue, Mr Gill said the council may increase the salaries being offered.

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He added that other resources from within the IT department would be "diverted" to cover the tasks required in the meantime.

The council's IT infrastructure is being improved after "historic underinvestment", Mr Gill said.The council's IT infrastructure is being improved after "historic underinvestment", Mr Gill said.
The council's IT infrastructure is being improved after "historic underinvestment", Mr Gill said.

Mr Gill said: "We are continuing to try to recruit to these key positions.

"The ones we're having difficulty recruiting relate to test management - testing IT developments before they're released.

"We have other tools available to us, which we haven't yet looked at, to maybe slightly boost the salaries.

"We'll explore that, so I'm hopeful there's still ways to mitigate that risk."

Local Democracy Reporting Service

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