Virtualization job seeker numbers on the rise

We’ve all heard it a million times before: Virtualization use is on the rise. And what with the economy heading south for the winter, virtualization seems like a great cost-saving technology to implement in the datacenter.

So where do companies find these virtualization pros to implement the technology correctly? And how do virtualization users find companies looking for their valuable skills? Those were questions that a company called VM People decided to try its hand at answering. You might think of them as the Match.com for virtualization — trying to make connections between virtualization experts and prospective employers.

Mike Hilton, COO and co-founder of VM People, said, “Virtualization is an exciting technology and one that is clearly a priority to both businesses and professionals even in the current economic climate.”

[ Now is the time to learn more about what cloud computing really means ]

The company said that more employers are now recognizing the need for a new class of IT professional skilled in the art of virtualization. And they clearly want to be the job board to bring these parties together.

I asked Hilton if his company noticed an increase in the number of VMware Certified Professionals (VCPs), to which he responded, yes, and said his job board has begun to see an increase in VCP registrations as of late. As to why, Hilton said, “Virtualization is more popular than ever and IT consultants are seeing the high value of being VCP certified.” And he added, “With the current economic climate, companies are cutting back and long term contractors are being cut short. It would be hard for us to quantify exactly why there is an increase, but there certainly is and we are monitoring it.”

The majority of the job seekers registering on VMPeople.net are well-skilled virtualization professionals with many years of experience. However, the company is also noticing a growing, graduating crop of new talent registering on the site.

Even as the virtualization war ensues between VMware, Citrix, Microsoft, and others, Hilton said that the majority of expertise being sought after by recruitment agencies and employers is for consultants skilled in VMware’s technology. He commented that Citrix requirements are growing slowly, but that the number of Hyper-V skilled consultants is still negligible. “However we do tend to see various jobs posted asking for VMware as the primary skill set but listing Xen and Hyper-V as ‘desired’ or ‘nice to haves,'” he said.

“It would appear that most recruiters and employers are looking for well-rounded individuals skilled in all areas of virtualization and cloud computing. The professionals out there are very savvy. Most are skilled or becoming skilled in all the major technologies currently in play or coming into play, positioning themselves to pick up some excellent work at excellent rates,” Hilton added.

Cloud computing doesn’t seem to be a huge draw at the moment, but after VMware’s push into the cloud during VMworld 2008 and VMworld Europe 2009, you can bet cloud computing will become one of those sought-after resume skills in the very near future.