Hays Accountancy & Finance – commerce & industry

Hays Accountancy & Finance – commerce & industry

Hotspots
Demand is high within New Zealand for solid Payroll candidates. High-quality part-qualified Assistant Accountants are also sought as a key element in succession planning.

Newly qualified Financial and Management Accountants are in high demand. More candidates at this level are now making plans for their OE, and organisations require replacements.

Financial and Business Analysts with specific industry/sector expertise, such as FMCG, financial services or utilities, are in strong demand as companies seek accurate information to support effective decision making. FMCG companies in particular seem to be recovering quickly given their need for candidates with FMCG experience.

The coming quarter
As reported last quarter, there has been a significant increase in newly created roles in response to the financially strong position of many businesses, particularly in Auckland, which is rapidly becoming candidate-driven. This will be augmented this quarter by new financial year budgets, which will allow many more businesses to increase their headcount.

This is most obvious for experienced Senior Financial Accountants with industry experience in IT, Telco, Utilities or FMCG, and for Management Accountants and Financial or Performance Analysts with a NZCA qualification and FMCG experience.

Executive trends
Executive job movement has returned as confidence improves and previous movements at the CEO level have now filtered through to the CFO level, creating some requirements.

Employer trends
Employers maintain their focus on industry experience, and also expect candidates to have the ability to use the relevant software package. As the candidate pool tightens, some employers will need to adjust their salary expectations.

Candidate trends
The candidate market has received a boost from a number of currently employed people exploring their options once more. Such candidates are aware of the improving job market and in response are looking for a new role and career advancement.

The pool of available professional contractors diminished considerably over the preceding three months. Most found work on projects that were put on hold last year but have now been fast-tracked.

The flow of newly qualified candidates has slowed noticeably. Many candidates at this level are now planning an OE, whereas last year such plans were placed on hold.

Accountancy & Finance – professional practice

Hotspots
Demand is high for qualified accountants across Audit, Business Advisory Services and Tax, as a shortage of quality candidates is again evident in New Zealand’s professional practice market.

The strengthening economy has seen CAs seek an overseas opportunity once more, which is leaving gaps in the local candidate pool at the three to six year experience level.

The coming quarter
As firms consider their future workload, new permanent jobs are becoming available at all levels. Further growth to permanent job numbers is expected in response to the rising number of qualified candidates heading overseas.

We expect to see a continued increase in temporary assignments in response to the busy season.

Executive trends
Giving the aging Partner population, many firms are looking at their succession planning and are creating opportunities at the executive level as a result.

The demand for Senior Accountants and Business Advisory Services Managers remains extremely high. Qualified and experienced candidates with corporate finance and management consulting experience as well as Directors and Senior Managers within external audit are also sought.

Employer trends
Employers have been slow to react to the shift back to a candidate-short market. Many still expect a candidate that fits every requirement. Consequently, many will only consider candidates with a practice background and are unwilling to look at those with corporate backgrounds. They are also very particular about the quality and calibre of candidates they will consider. Cultural fit is also a priority.

Employers are however increasing salaries, adding benefits and promoting the career development opportunities on offer in order to attract the right skills. They are also becoming more receptive to overseas candidates who want to work in New Zealand.

Candidate trends
Candidate levels have decreased. Those already employed are working hard throughout the busy season. However following the busy season we do expect an increase in candidates looking for new challenges and opportunities.

Construction

Hotspots
Quantity Surveyors with over three years experience are sought in response to increased tender activity over the past six to 12 months. Current Quantity Surveyors have generally worked longer hours over this period and companies are now more confident to employ additional staff to ease their workload. Candidates with large commercial project experience ($50mill+) and those with large project civil construction experience are in particular demand. The long-term skills shortage in this area and the reduction in the number of candidates changing roles is also a factor in this demand.

Given the demand for Quantity Surveyors, employers will consider temporary candidates for a particular tender and/or project. Contract-based project delivery and financial/commercial staff are also needed for regional (and often remotely located) major projects.

The coming quarter
We expect the number of temporary assignment to continue to rise, particularly for Quantity Surveyors and Site Managers. Towards the end of the quarter, and throughout the last quarter of the 2010 calendar year, we expect permanent needs to rise as the sector gains more momentum. Today however, while the market may be slowly bouncing back, and certain areas of demand are evident, hiring intentions overall do remain conservative.

During the past six months, some of Auckland's emerging medium-sized companies have increased their market share. A growing trend from these companies has been a greater acceptance of academically-qualified candidates for Site/Project Management vacancies, rather than the traditional trade-qualified staff.

Executive trends
There has been some movement within project management consultancies, and a premium is paid to good people managers and business developers.

Employer trends
Employers are more selective in their recruitment process, demanding a highly qualified candidate with project-specific experience and demonstrated loyalty to previous employers. There is also more emphasis on referencing and background-checking candidates.
Employers are reverting to conditional offers to satisfactory candidates while they await bid wins.

Local experience is no longer such a crucial factor in most recruitment decisions, with employers now willing to hire overseas applicants, predominantly temporary staff on working holidays.

Salaries remain stagnant, with the exception of the hotspot areas listed above. Despite this, employers demand more capable candidates, with more focus on cultural fit. Recruitment timeframes have also generally increased.

Candidate trends
Candidate levels remain high, particularly for mid-level talent. Yet high calibre candidates with local experience are still in short supply

There has been a decrease in highly skilled Quantity Surveyors, but an increase in the number of Site Managers and Project Managers. This is the result of increased tendering activity, yet a shortage of new projects/sites commencing.

Contact Centres
Hotspots
Demand for Customer Service and Telesales staff is rising as many organisations increase headcount in these areas. Demand for Collections specialists and Account Managers for customer retention purposes also remains strong.

The coming quarter
Job numbers will rise, particularly for Collections and Telesales specialists following the last quarter, which generated a lot of movement in the market.

Candidate trends
The candidate market is still rich, although employers find that the same pool of candidates apply for each new role. High quality candidates, with a solid level of experience, do not remain in the job market for long.

Energy

Hotspots
Investment into the existing network and Government funding for the roll-out of the new broadband has created demand for Line Mechanics, Cable Jointers, Glove and Barrier Mechanics, HV Electrical Fitters, Supervisors and Distribution Managers. PILON cable layers for fibre optic broadband are also in demand.

The coming quarter
Cautious optimism best describes New Zealand’s energy recruiting market. Many companies are backfilling vacancies, in part due to the loss of key personnel to other industries and as a result of the global demand for their skills.

Employer trends
Retention is a focus for many employers at present in response to the market’s improvement. Counter offers and salary increases are also emerging once more as retention tools, although employers are reluctant to go outside national set salaries.

Some companies are looking not just at local candidates, but also national and overseas candidates in order to secure the top talent. They are offering more training and investment via apprenticeships, but is this too little too late?

They are also utilising temporary assignments for short-term needs and in recognition of the greater flexibility they offer to offset the shortage of key skills.

Candidate trends
Candidates are increasingly interested in national roles, and we attract interest from candidates looking to relocate. Overall, candidate levels are constant, although there has been an increase in candidates coming into the local market from India, the Philippines, South Africa and the UK.

Engineering

Hotspots
General market improvements and the desire to rebuild teams has created demand for Structural Engineers, with client facing and business development skills a high requirement.

Transportation Planners and Traffic Engineers are also key requirements for a number of engineering consultancies in response to the number of major projects planned across New Zealand and a number of NZTA projects.

Local infrastructure work and an increase in demand for irrigation and hydro power projects have created a need for Civil Engineers and Water Resource Engineers.

The coming quarter
The third quarter should be a positive one for engineering job numbers, with employers making key business appointments across civil and structural and recruiting for roles lost during the last 12 to 18 months.

Executive trends
Some companies have identified senior and executive needs and are now recruiting candidates capable of leading business development.

Employer trends
While last quarter employers wanted candidates with local experience, today they are considering candidates from overseas once more, although New Zealand experience is the preference, followed by returning Kiwi’s. Employers also maintain rigid recruiting methods, and remain methodical and thorough, with senior managers involved in the process.

Business development and client facing skills are high on employers’ priority list as they look to rebound and drive their business forward.


Candidate trends
Candidate levels have eased following a small boost from permanently employed candidates last quarter. Passive candidates are however still inquisitive about current market opportunities and are more confident to move positions when the right role for them becomes available.

Information Technology

Hotspots
Development skills, primarily in the .Net space, Project Managers, Business Analysts and Architecture candidates are areas of demand given increased project spend and new project commencement.

The coming quarter
Permanent job numbers in New Zealand’s information technology market are picking up. Employers are also creating temporary assignments based on project needs, rather than creating roles to secure people with niche skills.

We have also noticed a rise in IT Technical Sales vacancies, which is a strong indicator of an improving market and aggressive market expansion.

Primarily the majority of roles are in-house and/or vendor related positions, though the consultancies/managed services entities are targeting niche skills within the market where they see a strong return on investment.

Employer trends
There has been a discernable increase in business confidence and recruitment activity since the beginning of 2010, both contract and permanent. Employers continue to demand more senior and managerial level staff, which indicates expanding teams and strategic growth plans. The shortage of senior and managerial level staff noticed last quarter has seen employers aggressively attempt to attract suitable candidates from competitors and offering inducements to get them on board. A premium is being offered for relevant experience.

Candidate trends
Buoyed by a sense of confidence in the market, candidates are now seeking new employment opportunities. Those that bunkered down to weather the economic storm last year are now actively looking for new opportunities. Interestingly, there has been a slight but noticeable shift back to contracting from candidates that previously took a permanent role for security during the downturn.

Legal

Hotspots
In private practice, solicitors with between three and four years PQE in general commercial law or with specialist energy sector experience are increasingly sought after. General strong commercial skills never go out of fashion in the private sector and firms looking to capitalise on increased business confidence in the national economy seek experienced commercial solicitors who offer a broad range of skills and an acumen that can deliver real value to clients.

Meanwhile, following the recent Government decision to award a permit for exploratory deep sea oil drilling off the East Coast, the energy sector is showing increasing signs of heating up. Solicitors with energy experience will be able to make a noteworthy contribution to the industry as it begins to expand and consolidate.

For in-house roles, litigators with experience representing clients in court will have opportunities to develop their skills. With the recession tightening legal budgets, a litigator’s ability to simultaneously undertake preparatory work while also directly representing clients in court has given lawyers great opportunities to develop their skill sets – something that corporations are seeing can add real value to their in-house legal teams.

In addition, moving on from hiring freezes and budgetary constraints, roles in the public sector for lawyers are beginning to open up. In particular, solicitors looking to use their private practice experience and transfer into government to deliver results for clients responsible to multiple stakeholders will be sought.

The coming quarter
New jobs may be created within legal firms however it is more likely that we will see hiring managers being given permission to fill roles that have previously sat vacant. These roles will be permanent in nature and employers will continue to put applicants under close scrutiny despite the candidate-short nature of these specialist areas.

Executive trends
In-house legal counsel and high-level legal roles within government continue to be recruited for. For these roles, team management, strong communication skills and the ability to present advice to the highest levels are all skills that employers expect to see complementing particular legal expertise.

Employer trends
Employers are increasingly looking outside their local region for candidates. Our international network of offices can identify candidates with in-demand skills who are looking for a new challenge and location.

Candidate trends
There has been an increase in available candidates at the entry-level following a number of years of reduced graduate recruitment intakes. Intermediate-level lawyers have tended to stay in their position given the difficulty of finding work overseas at a stage in their career when many would have traditionally relocated on their OE. This has reduced the amount of movement in the market overall, further diminishing interest in graduate recruitment.

It is a similar story for senior-level lawyers who have consolidated their experience within their current role.

New Zealand remains a destination of interest for overseas lawyers from Australia and the UK in particular. Lifestyle and career options following Admission or roles taken up utilising transferrable skills see us receive a steady stream of CVs. Employers have an opportunity to broaden the skills/knowledge that they can deliver to their clients should they be in a position to take up such candidates.

Office Support
Hotspots
Businesses are starting to recommence projects that were put on hold during the downturn. This increased workload cannot be supported by current headcount, which in most cases is below pre-GFC levels. Skills in most demand include project staff, team support, Personal Assistants, Executive Assistants and Administrators.

Sales and HR professionals are also needed to help support growth. HR skills are sought to rebuild a business, and sales teams are being developed.

Demand remains high for Office Managers, as mentioned last quarter. Employers typically want an individual who can take on a range of skills, such as stock take, office administration, personal assistant duties and overseeing junior staff. Businesses are also looking for all-rounders who can support more than one department. They are more willing to utilise temporary assignments to cover positions short-term until a permanent candidate is sourced.

The coming quarter
We expect last quarter’s trend of rising temporary roles to continue this quarter. Employers are moving cautiously back to their previous staffing levels with a temporary resource initially while their permanent need is defined. However we are now also seeing permanent job numbers increase as business confidence continues to rise.

Employer trends
Employers are cautious of candidates who have been out of work for a long period of time or who have moved frequently from business to business. Following the GFC, they are wary of risk in any form. As a result, stability and motivation are the key factors they look for in candidates.

Some employers are quick to jump to conclusions about a candidate’s abilities if they were made redundant during the downturn. But it was not only non-productive employees who were made redundant. Some very skilled and highly qualified candidates also found themselves out of work during the GFC, and such candidates deserve attention.

Candidate trends
Some candidates are more confident about looking for work now that the market is showing signs of recovery. Having remained with their employers throughout the last 12 to 18 months, they are returning to the job market as confidence in the economy increases.

Property

Hotspots
Following increasing activity in the retail sector earlier in the year, which led to a spike in demand for Property Managers, we have now seen an upswing in the confidence of candidates in this area. They are more willing to look at their options and move now, which is further increasing overall vacancy activity for Property Managers.

Client-side Project Managers are sought in response to the announcement of a number of upcoming public sector projects. Valuers are also needed, although there is a shortage of senior candidates in New Zealand.

The coming quarter
Last quarter, sales roles were the one key area of jobs growth, but this quarter hiring intentions will pick up across New Zealand’s property sector. There is more positive sentiment in the market and employers are moving from a focus on temporary recruiting to permanent recruiting.

Employer trends
Employers are starting to create a role for a solid candidate in order to secure their skills, regardless of current vacancies. They realise that if the market continues improving, a skills shortage is inevitable.

Despite this, some employers maintain a lengthy recruitment process, which will see them start to miss out on the top candidates as competition increases.

The public sector is using temporary assignments when a permanent candidate is not available, while employers are also more flexible regarding a candidate’s geographical location. This is most notable for Valuers, and we are attracting returning Kiwi's and Kiwi's currently working overseas.

Salary levels remain stable.

Candidate trends
Candidate levels are increasing. Candidates today are, in general, far more confident about the opportunities in the market and their ability to secure a stable new role. As a result, they are usually already currently employed and are looking for their next career step up. Given the minimal movement of these candidates over the last 12 to 18 months, this is a positive sign of increased confidence in the market.

Hays Resources & Mining

Hotspots
The renewal of established mining contracts in the South Island in addition to the general shortage of expertise has created demand at the senior level for Project Managers, Mining/Electrical/Maintenance Engineers and Heavy Diesel Mechanics.

The coming quarter
We expect the focus to be on permanent senior appointments this quarter, with a rise in temporary requirements closer to the end of next quarter as operational staff shortages take hold.

Employer trends
Given the shortage of local expertise, employers are increasingly looking abroad to find the appropriate skills required for their vacancies. Services such as Hays GlobaLink smooth this process.

In order to secure overseas talent, employers are offering competitive relocation packages and incentives are increasing.

ENDS

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