Re: Accenture has difficulty filling vacant consulting jobs (June 14)
SAP consulting skills are in high demand at Accenture these days. The main reasons for this demand
is to stay ahead of the curve of projects we are getting from clients looking to leverage their SAP investments in the near future and our unprecedented success in the Canadian marketplace. We want to be ready for our clients’ needs.
The article by Neil Sutton notes that “his firm has been trying to fill more than 50 vacancies for SAP consultants for several months with little success.” Accenture currently has more than 50 vacant positions but has hired over 40 SAP consultants this year. We have been and are successful in meeting our client’s needs in SAP consulting. The challenge is ensuring that the supply continues to meet the demand from our clients as they begin planning for the next calendar year.
Accenture is and has used a variety of channels for our recruiting efforts which doesn’t just include university graduates. Accenture has four dedicated SAP recruiters to manage the process of bringing very selective candidates. The quality of the people is our brand. We are looking for consultants with solid business acumen that we can train in SAP certification or experienced SAP consultants. The intersection of solid information technology skills and business expertise is what separates us from the rest of the pack.
The reaction from our new hires over the past year has been tremendous. Accenture offers a work environment unlike any other company in the industry. There is endless flexibility and opportunity for SAP consultants and other professionals at our firm.
Martin Chalifoux
Partner
Accenture
Re: Accenture has difficulty filling vacant consulting jobs (June 14)
Thank you for your article on ITBusiness.ca about Accenture having difficulty in filling SAP Consultant positions.
I find it difficult to agree with Accenture on this point because I am (or rather used to be) an SAP Consultant who is trying to get back into the SAP market. I have applied repeatedly to Accenture and have always been rejected on the grounds that my SAP experience is dated (the last time I worked on SAP was in January 2001).
In addition to having all that SAP experience I also have extensive business experience, or “”field experience”” as you call it in your article. Accenture is willing to recruit fresh university graduates and train them into becoming IT professionals but are not willing to look at people with global experience and SAP experience such as myself.
They claim that because my SAP experience is dated my knowledge of SAP would be a little rusty. I do agree. I may not be able to hit the ground running in terms of current SAP knowledge, however I am sure that I will be productive much quicker than fresh university graduates that Accenture hires and trains.
Accenture is willing to pull in professionals from other countries such as India, they are also willing to offer jobs to people with just support experience rather than implementation experience, but are not willing to consider someone with not just implementation experience, but also the industry experience and consulting experience!
Now you see why I find it difficult to agree with the point Accenture’s trying to make.
Thank you once again and cheers.
Mohan Doss
Re: B.C. tech sector growing far ahead of GDP: report (May 26)
As an IT person in B.C. and subscriber to your newsletter, I know many articles are based on press releases or reports from companies promoting a product or message. That’s normal for an industry magazine of any kind.
Your article accepts a lot of what “”Leading Edge B.C.”” says without any critical analysis. So I quickly reviewed the Web sites of “”Leading Edge B.C.”” and the BCTIA and a lot of it appears to be cheerleading for the B.C. Liberal government. Both Web sites have common themes and “”messages. The industry parts of these Web sites are fine, but “”Leading Edge B.C.”” in particular spends a fair bit of text expressing their love of Premier Gordon Campbell’s policies like they are the sole reason B.C. is doing well.
I would suggest that B.C.’s high-tech industry and techies are doing well for a number of reasons. They also did quite well in the 1990’s before the B.C. Liberals (no connection to the federal Liberals) got in power. Those outside of British Columbia may not be aware of the provincial politics slipping into those associations’ “”messages.”” We just had an election in B.C. and Campbell and the B.C. Liberals went from 77 out of 79 seats to 46. More than a “slightly smaller majority” change. I felt like I was reading more election hype like the type I’ve heard for the past few months!
Jim Jones
Vancouver
Re: Sunday will never be the same again (May 26)
But, isn’t its asynchronous nature supposed to be the great thing about e-mail?
I can send an e-mail to my programmers on Sunday afternoon because I’m the owner and a workaholic but they don’t have to think about it until Monday morning! I won’t have time on Monday to send the e-mail because I’ll be locked into some other task — that’s why I’m doing it on Sunday.
Even if they do check their e-mails, it is not mandatory to respond. We have a policy that, no matter what I do, they are expected to work a good solid week and take time off to recuperate. A fresh mind on Monday is worth far more than some half-hearted coding on the weekend.
I agree that these devices have a dark side, but used with the right attitude they are a huge boon.
Brad Einarsen
Haven Knowledge System
Re: Sunday will never be the same again (May 26)
It does come down to the employee’s own ability to set expectations. If they always respond at 2 a.m. everyone will expect them to do so. If they simply don’t and it is asked of them, they should manage accordingly. Employers and employees alike are responsible since responsiveness is a double-edged sword.
As long as you perform and deliver, responding to an e-mail at 2 a.m. simply could be a thing of the past.
If an employer is not willing to do that, than it will cost him money either in salary or long term productivity. I am confident that in the not too distant future a lot of this so called “productivity” crap is going to back fire.
Great article.
Elco M. Gauw
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