Hays Executive - April 2007

Public Sector

Hotspots

• The majority of Australian Government executive recruitment is on a contracting/non ongoing basis, with heaviest demand for project managers, policy writers and procurement specialists due to the increasing shortage of candidates in these areas.
• The government sector across Australia is experiencing significant shortages of strong policy professionals at the $100,000 level. The talent pool within each state is not sustaining new policy development areas and hiring managers are thinking outside the square to recruit senior staff with strong policy backgrounds across diverse areas, combined with project management and leadership skills.
• In the State Governments, universities and utilities, demand exists for project managers, change managers and senior business analysts. Although there is a surplus of candidates in the market, there is a shortage of candidates with specialist experience or skills in a niche market.

The coming quarter

The looming Federal election is expected to maintain demand for candidates with project management, policy development and contract management/procurement skills.

Specific projects are also increasing vacancy activity. These projects address the impact of environmental and social issues around innovative service delivery to deal with community expectations, demand across the regions and the ageing workforce. Demand is also affected by the movement of professionals overseas, attracted to higher remuneration and better resourced projects.

Salaries

Due to the need for more specialist skills in senior roles, including strong leadership and people management ability, salaries are increasing with more flexibility offered through AWA's and in the benefits obtainable.

Candidate trends

Solid candidates, for both permanent and contract roles, are able to pick and choose jobs and frequently receive several offers before they accept a role. They are generally very aware of their market worth and expect salary or working hours flexibility. However many candidates are attracted to government organisations by the nature of the work on offer and are prepared to drop their salary expectations if the job content and role will add value to their CV and their future career prospects.