There will be strong demand for cyber security and construction skills in the ACT jobs market in 2017, according to recruiters.
Paul Mattiuzzo began a new job with the ACT government as a cloud security architect in November and likened activity in cyber security to the dotcom boom.
"The high level of activity in the cloud security space is similar to what was happening in the web space in 2000," he said. "Everyone who holds people's private data are now being more held to account about how they control and protect that data."
The south side Canberran said the appetite for the skills in a growing number of workplaces meant demand would soon outstrip employee supply and lift earnings of those in the profession.
Contrary to perceptions of Canberra as a public sector city, more than half of us, 59.7 per cent, work private sector jobs.
In fact, of the 215,100 working people in the ACT, 128,500 are private sector employees compared with 86,600 working in the public sector.
Hays ACT regional director Jim Roy said while unemployment was at a steady 3.9 per cent in trend terms, lower than it had been in three years, job trends were shifting.
Construction had experienced growth and employment opportunity was tipped to continue for the ACT sector boosted by ongoing residential building and a series of large-scale infrastructure projects such as light rail.
"There has been real growth in earnings offered in construction roles," Mr Roy said. "And there is going to be continuing demand for these skills in the ACT."
Employees were being paid more as firms competed to secure top talent to satisfy a long pipeline of projects.
Master Builders ACT executive director Kirk Coningham said the growth in the construction industry was good news and provided "a buffer for the ACT from the vague political fortunes of the commonwealth public service".
He said the contest for talent was acute as there was plenty of construction activity in other major cities, so training high quality local apprentices was crucial.
While tangible construction was booming, Mr Roy said Canberra was busily building digital infrastructure too.
"We are seeing more demand for IT security, from both private and public sectors," he said.
"Everyone is really trying to maximise their own footprint in the e-commerce world and that applies just as much to businesses that aren't in retail. Coupled with that, if you are continuing to talk with people on these platforms you need security to back that up."
Clicks IT recruitment general manager Ben Wood said demand for cyber security skills was at a five-year high, but in a climate of flat wages growth the anticipated rise in earnings had not yet happened.
"Over the next two years you will see a significant growth in the number of people employed in these kinds of roles," he said.
"We haven't seen any significant spike but it is inevitable, I think, that when demand continues to grow in a very specialised area such as this prices will follow up."
Mr Wood said Canberra had an advantage over other markets as it was "the centre of Australia's intelligence sector" and several government departments and substantial enterprises were eager to expand their cyber security capabilities.
Both recruiters had noticed a shift toward contract work and away from permanent employment by public service departments.
"In the last couple years the state of the public service has seen the rise of temporary staff," Mr Roy said. "But they are taking advantage of that flexibility temporary staff offer where you can hire skills in for 6-12 months."
Housing affordability was another lever at work making the ACT appealing to job seekers, Mr Roy said.
"In other cities you can be looking at an hour commute to get the size of block you want from an affordability point of view," he said. "People see in the ACT offers a continuation of work to rival Sydney and Melbourne, good wages and housing affordability."