Hays Resources & Mining and Hays Oil & Gas - April 2007
New Zealand
Hotspots
- Technical specialists
- Project managers
- Specialist trades staff
- Intermediate level geologists and engineers. New Zealand faces tough competition in a global energy and resources market to secure the services of these professionals.
The coming quarter
The energy sector in New Zealand is particularly buoyant at present. The exploration and production oil and gas industry is experiencing unparalleled growth from established contributors and major operators not yet established in New Zealand. The New Zealand Government, through the Ministry of Economic Development and Crown Minerals, is actively encouraging further exploration with the release of exploration permits throughout the Canterbury, Southland and Northland basins. In terms of production the Kupe and Maari fields are moving towards the production phases, whilst the offshore Pohokura Gas field started production in September 2006.
Power Generation faces issues through the supply from fossil fuels with the Maui gas field set to run dry. Increased potential renewable power generation, in addition to closer cooperation and partnerships between the generators and the oil and gas operators will attempt to overcome this loss. Auckland continues to face supply problems and decisions will be made in April 2007 on the potential Transpower 400kV Transmission Line from Huntly.
Candidates have 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. Regional variations present candidates with increasing choices that are not necessarily fuelled by salary package. Both the employer and the potential employees should be flexible with regards to non-traditional benefits that are available, as well as promoting the interesting projects that are available in New Zealand.
Salaries
Salaries across the industries have increased over the last 12 months. Geologists and reservoir engineers, asset managers and reliability engineers, design engineers and project managers have shown the largest salary increases. Trades and technician roles have been slower to increase and have faced tough competition from highly paid fly in/fly out positions available in Australia.
In a market with increasing demand, New Zealand companies have to promote the potential lifestyle benefits that are available. Increased holiday entitlements as well as packages offering additional non-salary remuneration benefits have become increasingly more common and popular.
