Competition for staff heats up

Wednesday 9th May 2007

Competition for staff heats up; are your skills in demand?

Estimators, qualified accountants and experienced secretaries/administrators are three hotspots of demand emerging across New Zealand as competition for certain specialists heats up, according to the Hays Quarterly Forecast for the April to June 2007 quarter.

“The next three to six months will see a steady increase in recruitment activity, particularly in the temporary market as we approach June financial year end,” said Jason Walker, regional director of specialist recruiter Hays in New Zealand. “This means the candidate shortage in specialist markets is set to continue for the foreseeable future and competition for these skills is fierce.

“Everyone is fighting for the same skills in demand. Competition now exists not only between companies locally; it also exists between international markets and New Zealand and between the north and south due to the continued buoyancy and fast-growing critical shortage of skilled professionals.

“Internationally, it’s not just the UK that is attracting our talent. We are now experiencing a significant amount of candidate movement towards the booming Asian markets. This situation is particularly prevalent in the architecture, engineering, legal and accounting markets. For example, overseas projects are attracting senior interior designers who often view them as more exciting and financially rewarding.

“As a result the focus for the remainder of 2007 and heading into 2008 will be on candidate attraction and retention,” said Jason.

The Hays Quarterly Forecast reveals the following hotspots across New Zealand for the quarter to June:

Accountancy & Finance:
 In Auckland vacancy activity and demand will remain high for newly qualified accountants, since these candidates typically change roles once they qualify. There has also been a recent surge in demand for management accounting and financial or performance analysts with a NZCA qualification. Tax specialists with two to three years New Zealand tax experience are also required for CA firms and the commercial sector.
 In Christchurch demand is high for qualified accountants and experienced SAP accounts as a number of companies are implementing SAP and requiring extra resources.
 The flow of newly qualified candidates has slowed noticeably as most candidates wait for their annual salary review before considering other opportunities.

Construction & Property:
 South Island demand is strongest for architecture, construction and qualified tradespersons.
• Auckland hotspots exist for quantity surveyors and estimators at all levels as well as development and asset managers, architects and property developers due to the growth in the industry.
• The labour hire sector will experience a decrease in candidate levels as seasonal summer workers depart and others seek work indoors. This will prompt an increased focus by employers on retention, most likely through increasing direct salaries.

Contact Centres
• Candidates with 18 or more months experience and experienced telesales and entry-level collections staff are required. To combat the skills shortage more companies are becoming open to hiring candidates with non-traditional skills sets.
• There is now a pool of very experienced team leaders and managers seeking the next step in their careers but finding it difficult to gain that opportunity. Consequently many are looking at alternative options. Similarly senior CCR’s, especially within organisations who lack the infrastructure to provide ongoing training or true career development and progression, are looking outside the industry at other options.

Legal
• A boom in the domestic oil and gas industry has resulted in a spike in demand for lawyers with energy experience. Private practice law firms require mid level finance, corporate and specialist area commercial lawyers, while to a lesser extent commercial litigators and property lawyers are also in demand.
• Most New Zealand mid level lawyers in commercial disciplines have a good understanding of their value in the market and know they have a large number of options if they are looking for a change. The recruitment process will move swiftly for such candidates. In other areas the odds are stacked in the employer's favour, including graduate level roles and in-house positions at the mid to senior level.

Office Support
• Experienced secretaries/administrators, receptionists, data entry operators and customer service staff are hotspots due to internal promotions, special projects and the creation of new positions in response to business growth.

Resources & Mining and Oil & Gas
• Technical specialists, project managers, specialist trades staff and intermediate level geologists and engineers are hotspots of demand. New Zealand faces tough competition in a global energy and resources market to secure the services of these professionals.
• The energy sector in New Zealand is particularly buoyant at present.
• Candidates need to be aware of their initial motivations for looking for a new role or applying for a job. Counter offers are common in industries with a major shortage of skills. Candidates should be prepared to face a counter offer and the initial motivations for looking for a new job should be considered and addressed before accepting a counter offer.

In addition to the hotspots of demand, the Hays Quarterly Forecast contains information by sector regarding recruitment activity over the coming quarter, executive activity, candidate trends and salary movements. It is available at www.hays-hps.co.nz/forecast

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