Companies Expected To Scramble For R&D, App Dev TalentCompanies Expected To Scramble For R&D, App Dev Talent

Companies this year are expected to have to pay more to attract hard-to-find technology talent in the areas of research and development and software development, an IT employment and outsourcing firm says.

A job market analysis released Wednesday by Philadelphia-based Yoh found a nationwide demand for candidates with specialized technical skills and specific domain and industry experience, especially in technology services and device manufacturing in the hardware space. In addition, workers were needed in the clinical research and R&D departments in the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotech spaces.

"The technology market continues to grow, which keeps pushing wages up," Jim Lanzalotto, vice president of strategy and marketing for Yoh, said in a statement. "Hiring managers are continuing to look for specialized talent to help them keep up with maturing technology."

Indeed, a recent survey of U.S. hiring managers and human resource professionals found the majority planning to increase salaries to attract new employees and hold on to existing ones. The poll by Harris Interactive and online job site CareerBuilder also found 40 percent of the respondents ready to add full-time, permanent employees.

Specifically, high-demand jobs included clinical research associates, bio-statisticians, and firmware and hardware engineers. On the software side, Yoh found a need for system architects and for developers trained in Java, and in SAS, Business Objects and Microsoft software. In addition, a steady stream of upgrades by enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors has created a "significant need" for Oracle and SAP consultants and database administrators.

The greatest demand for workers were found in a dozen major U.S. tech hubs: Atlanta, Austin/Dallas/Houston, Boston, Charlotte and Research Triangle Park, N.C.; Cincinnati/Cleveland; Indianapolis; northern New Jersey; Philadelphia; Phoenix; Seattle; Silicon Valley and Southern California.

Yoh's analysis found that a strong rate of employment was drying up the nation's pool of talent, and that hiring managers were willing to employ technology consultants able to work remotely from other geographic locations.