The recovering local economy has prompted recruitment firm Hays to urge employers to review their recruitment processes as Western Australia's list of skills in demand grows.
The recovering local economy has prompted recruitment firm Hays to urge employers to review their recruitment processes as Western Australia's list of skills in demand grows.
In the April to June quarterly report, Hays said the number of permanent jobs in the state is increasing, but employers are yet to adjust their recruitment timelines and criteria to reflect the change in the market.
"Job numbers are continuing their steady ascent," Hays senior regional director Perth Jane McNeill said.
"Companies have been managing with reduced staff numbers and now need to recruit to take advantage of the improving market. We're not only seeing replacement positions coming onto the market for roles put on hold during the GFC - each week we are seeing more and more newly created jobs appearing.
"The financial services sector, and in particular banking, is leading this charge. Large corporations have also begun recruiting, with the SME market taking longer to recover or perhaps being more cautious.
"Despite a desire to recruit, some employers remain fairly prescriptive in their permanent staff requirements. They typically seek very niche, specific skill sets and local experience that are either hard to find or are in high demand by other employers.
"Obviously there is the option for employers to turn to short-term contractors to assist with deadlines and workloads while they wait for their ideal candidate to become available.
"While this is an excellent tactic in most circumstances, many of those contractors may also be actively seeking permanent roles and some employers could be left in the lurch completely. In addition, as the financial year end approaches demand is only going to hot up even further.
"Once a suitable permanent candidate is identified, employers will need to move quickly through their recruitment process. This means accommodating interview times that suit candidates for example.
"We would definitely recommend that employers review their recruitment processes to ensure they can successfully compete for the candidates they want in this faster moving market.
"The rising demand for staff means that the overall supply and demand ratio is falling away from favouring employers and a growing list of skills in demand is emerging."
This list includes:
- Accountancy & Finance: Project Accountants and Analysts; Tax Accountants; Financial Accountants; Management Accountants; Assistant Accountants; Payroll Officers and Payroll Managers. Financial Accountants, Auditors, Business and Finance Analysts, Bookkeepers and Accounts Payables and Receivable Clerks in the public sector. Intermediate and Senior Accountants within tax and business services and Insolvency Seniors in professional practice.
- Architecture: Architects with Revit skills, healthcare facility design experience or medium to large-scale residential experience; Infrastructure Designers.
- Banking: Operations/Management candidates; Credit/Loan Analysts; Relationship Managers and Commercial Bankers; Fund Administration/Customer Service Officers; Sales professionals.
- Construction: Site Supervisors, Estimators and Project Managers. Town Planners, EHO's, Civil Engineers and Drafters in the public sector.
- Contact Centres: Entry level candidates; phone-based Customer Service Consultants with strong collections experience; Sales candidates.
- Energy: Mechanical and Electrical Engineers.
- Engineering: Civil Engineers; Project Managers; Structural Engineers; Building Services Drafters and Designers; 12d Designers.
- Facilities Management: Minor Works Project Managers; Client Side Project Managers; Technical Facilities Managers; Air Conditioning Service Technicians; Building Automation Engineers.
- Human Resources: Internal Recruiters; HR Generalists; Senior HR Advisors; HR Coordinators.
- Information Technology: Oracle 11g, IBM Websphere and WCF skills; Sharepoint candidates; Cisco Voice Engineers; Business Intelligence; Data Warehousing; Architects; Business Analysts; Project Managers with banking experience.
- Legal: Banking and finance Lawyers; specialist property and corporate Lawyers.
- Logistics: Operational Shift Managers; Transport Allocators and Fleet Controllers; Inventory, Supply and Demand Planners.
- Office Support: Executive Assistants with senior corporate experience; Executive Assistants at the APS 4/5 Level with Government experience and clearances; Receptionists; Document Controllers; Contracts Administrators.
- Oil & Gas: Engineering Designers with experience in LNG; Geoscience and Petroleum Engineers.
- Policy & Strategy: Experienced Ministerial Officers; Policy Officers; Program Managers; Senior Policy Analysts; Change Managers; Business Process Improvement Analysts.
- Procurement: Mid-level Procurement Managers and Category Managers; Contract Managers; Supply and Demand Planners.
- Resources & Mining: Mining Engineers at the intermediate to senior level; Geotechnical Engineers/Geologists; Civil Engineers and Project Managers with mining infrastructure experience; Senior Construction Managers.
