Hays Construction & Property - October 2007

New Zealand

Hotspots

With major upgrades occurring within New Zealand's water industry, a hotspot has emerged for senior water engineers, while traffic engineers are also required in Auckland following the major financial injection and subsequent upgrade and development projects within the transportation industry. The SH1 extension and the new SH20 motorway are also impacting this demand.

In property, residential development managers and entry-level to intermediate property managers have become hotspots. This market seems particularly impacted by the level of New Zealanders undertaking overseas working holidays - a significant number of whom do not re-enter the local market or who have inflated salary expectations upon return.

Senior architectural technicians have emerged as a hotspot and these candidates are expected to remain an area of demand for the foreseeable future due to the overall shortage of candidates capable of this function.

The facilities management market is experiencing a shortage of ground-level HVAC technicians and senior technicians, which will only increase as summer arrives.

The coming quarter

With vacancy activity high, the recruitment market is expected to remain buoyant due to the simple case of demand exceeding supply in the areas noted above. This is despite an expectant reduction in property vacancies due to the fall in activity from property developers, and the seasonal slowdown within architecture.

Looking further forward, several architectural companies have expressed concern about activity levels, which could result in a potential drop in recruitment activity over the coming six months.

Executive

Executive recruitment remains incredibly buoyant within the engineering discipline, with a very high volume of engineering roles above $100,000.

Salaries

Salaries should remain stable over the quarter, with the main exception occurring within engineering due to the severity of demand for good applicants.

In general, many employers continue to resist salary pressures and have become adept at flattening their salary cost base. Benefits rather than base salaries have increased, with salary continuance insurance, completion bonuses and commissions popular offerings.

The Hays Salary Survey is a comprehensive guide to salary movements and trends. It can be viewed at www.hays-hps.co.nz/salary

Candidate trends

A notable increase in candidates with a trade background moving into facilities management is helping to ease the shortage of FM specialists. Given shortages, employers are more open to recruiting these candidates than ever before.