Recruitment Predictions Across the World

EMPLOYMENT WATCH AUSTRALIA AND ABROAD  

It seems that although there is much talk of a predicted of a boom, not quite dissimilar to the one experienced before the Global Financial Crisis, the WA premier Colin Barnett is trying to down-play talks of an economic boom. But according to some strong statistics as depicted in the below article in The Australian he may have a hard time convincing the public.

To follow you will also find some up-to-date stats and predictions of the industries and jobs set to lead the path in the recovering economy so if you want to position yourself favourably read on…

 

Excerpt from The Australian;

“I’m really down on anyone who uses that boom word,” Barnett told Perth radio 6PR this week. “It creates a false expectation and it creates greed: people demand too much for land or housing, people demand too much for their pay . . . and it gets out of whack.”

However, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals that WA has chalked up four consecutive months of growth in full-time employment, with last month’s numbers the highest since April 2009.

Only Victoria, which hardly skipped a beat during the global financial crisis, has had a better run, while coal and gas-rich Queensland remains in the doldrums, logging its lowest full-time employment since April 2008.

The data would be great news for WA, if it were not for the resource industry leaders, mining companies and recruitment agencies warning that — within the next six months — the state will experience a widespread skills shortage, similar to the one that drove up wages in the 2007 and 2008 boom.

The approval in September of WA’s $43 billion Gorgon liquefied natural gas project — often described as a one-project stimulus package — was yesterday added to by BHP Billiton’s green light for $US1.93bn of just preliminary work on its next iron ore expansion in the state’s Pilbara region.

Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford, who is also a director of US contractor Bechtel (which is heavily involved in the Australian LNG and mining industries), told The Weekend Australian that shortages of skilled tradespeople, not only in WA but across the nation, were looming.

“We (Australia) have relatively low unemployment and tremendous demand for trade skills,” Clifford said.

“We probably do not have enough of these skills in training.

“It was pretty tight in the boom time a couple of years ago, so we are going to have to bring in skills (through migrant worker programs), and I think we will have to look at doing some fabrication offshore.”

Clifford, who was Rio Tinto chief executive from 2000 to 2007, joins BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers and Woodside Petroleum and National Australia Bank chairman Michael Chaney in warning of a return to the skills shortage. Chaney has said it could hit this year.

A September report by the WA Technology & Industry Advisory Council estimated the state would need 464,000 new workers by 2016, more than half of whom would need trade qualifications.

According to the report, WA would fall short by 190,000 people.

Barnett is wary of what happened in the state during the last surge in resources activity, when he says benefits did not spread evenly through the state as resource sector wages surged and property prices skyrocketed.

And so he has called on people to stop using the word “boom”.

In the previous boom, Rio and BHP poached workers from each other and from smaller miners.

The competition helped create a rapid improvement in wages and conditions as mining companies and contractors struggled to keep workers.

According to industry sources, this is starting to happen in the LNG industry, with US oil major Chevron, which is building Gorgon, poaching talent from Woodside.

While welders are said to already be in short supply, the rest of the WA resources job market appears in balance, with salaries not yet on the rise after an excess of skilled workers.

Steve Heather, Perth-based managing director of recruitment agency Mining People International, said there had been a big increase in job flow in the previous quarter and that January employer inquiries were the highest for the start of the year in a very long time.

“Normally people don’t come back to work until after the Australia Day long weekend, but this year the phone started ringing on the 4th of January. Last year, the mining industry went on holiday until about March.”

Heather said supply and demand were now “about right” across the board in the WA mining industry.

“But if things continue the way they are, in three to six months it will be completely out of balance, with lots of opportunity for inexperienced people again.”

Hays recruitment agency’s Perth-based national director of resources and mining, Simon Winfield, reported a similar scenario, with job flow growing by a third in past quarter.

“Where we are starting to see job numbers ramp up, and one of the concerns for us, are in areas like mining engineering and geology,” Winfield said.

“At the moment we are holding our own, but I can see those being the first to experience a bit of pain in the middle of this year.”

Clifford said a different attitude to training was needed with more focus on getting people into trades.

“We’ve got to get schools and vocational advisers and the mindset of parents to appreciate that in trade skills there are rewarding, well-paid careers,” he said.

 

The Telegraph paper in the UK is very optimistic about the near future of recruitment in England, claiming “Businesses are hiring again as job opportunities grow, recruitment industry survey confirms that businesses are starting to hire again”.

Excerpt from the Telegraph;

Positive news at last from the recruitment industry. The recent survey of agencies by the Recruitment Employers Federation and KPMG suggests that companies are hiring again in good numbers. Demand for staff is at its highest since July 2007, apparently, but I’m not sure that all sectors of the economy are roaring back to health at the same time. Some canny business owners who prepared themselves during the recession may now be finding their feet, but as industry sectors felt the pain of the recession at different times so they will return to hiring mode again at their own pace.

I am seeing a pattern of increased job openings and activity in a number of businesses within my investment portfolio. From recruitment agencies to web design consultancies – they are showing signs of recovery and are enthusiastic about the year ahead.

Well known UK online agency tells me that demand for sales and marketing professionals is increasing, news I’m not too surprised about. These two skills sets are instrumental in a recovery plan. He’s also seen a rapid increase in digital media jobs. The REC report suggests it’s the IT/computing sector that’s in most demand at the moment, and whilst closely related, the digital field is also one to watch.

The internet has been a terrific instrument of change. Virtually overnight it changed the dynamics of business. It’s rapid, cheap and effective, so it’s inevitable a new army of jobs would be created around this new domain.

 

The US Wall Street Journal concurs with both The Australian and Telegraph suggesting that the curtain is lifting off the GFC and that hiring is set to be on the increase.

Excerpt of Wall Street Journal;

Many private equity firms at this time last year were cutting back or shutting down recruitment efforts. But at the Wharton Private Equity Conference Friday, the forecast for hiring was less gloomy – particularly for students with a skill set relevant to emerging markets.

Apax Partners U.S. Chief Executive John Megrue started the conference off by telling students that his firm is always hiring. “We hire every year,” Megrue said, noting the firm recruited nine people last year and is looking for a similar number of new hires this year. “We constantly have to plant seeds for people coming in at the entry level.”

One of Apax’s latest hires is Aditya Joshi, a co-chair of this year’s conference. He’ll be the fifth person in Apax’s Mumbai office, focusing on financial and business services, after he graduates with his MBA in May.

Joshi, who worked as an analyst for Blackstone Group LP before he headed to Wharton, said it’s common for his classmates to head back home, whether that be to Brazil, India, Shanghai or Eastern Europe. Nearly half of Wharton’s student population are international students, he said.

“The trend has been to go back to your home market,” Joshi said. “A lot of people are going back to their roots and not staying in the U.S.”

Jonathan Goldstein, a partner with Korn/Ferry International, echoed that sentiment.

“We’re seeing more interest from emerging markets private equity firms to bring people who have strong private equity and financial experience from those regions,” Goldstein said. “As it’s become more institutionalized, it’s become easier, not easy, to find locals who have been trained well in private equity.”

Recruiters encouraged students to fine-tune their approach even if they don’t have expertise in a particular region of the world.

“Generalist is a good pitch for a private equity firm, not for a job candidate,” Amity Search Partners Founding Partner Pamela Esterson said. Her clients are looking for particular industry expertise and she is getting “super specific” requests on searches.

Glocap Search co-founder Brian Korb said some strong recruiting areas are alternative energy, particularly for those with a background in Washington, and growth equity deal origination skills.

Still, search firms cautioned students that it remains tough to break into the business.

“Each one of you could do a private equity or venture capital job, but only a small proportion of you are going to get a job,” Private Equity Recruitment Ltd. Managing Director Gail McManus said.

Global Recruitment No Comments February 13th, 2010