Hays Construction & Property - January 2008
Public Sector
Hotspots
Construction & Property
The public sector's construction and property market requires project managers to carry out accommodation related projects, such as relocations and office fit-outs, while support staff such as property and facility officers and contract advisers are also in demand.
There has been an increase in the need for development assessment planners at a mid level with three to four years experience and for DA planners to process the growing level of submissions. Meanwhile, mid level planners are needed to step straight into a role, meaning opportunities for graduates who require training are limited.
Local councils in particular are requesting further staff to accommodate increased building requirements. Ongoing restructures at local and state level are offering opportunities for temporary staff to fill short term 'acting' roles.
Finally, there is a requirement for multi-skilled candidates with abilities that can potentially crossover into other areas, such as senior architects who can oversee projects from start to finish, be involved in drafting work and have planning knowledge and experience.
Labour Hire:
Asphalt workers, road sweepers with side tipper experience and general labourers with HR licences are in demand for the maintenance of existing and creation of new civil infrastructure.
In a seasonal trend, candidates with parks and gardens experience, with specific reference to turf management, horticulture qualifications and ride on mowing, are also in demand.
Finally, maintenance electricians are required for work in hospitals and universities. The private sector has increased its salaries/hourly rates for these candidates in order to attract them, so the public sector is now competing with the private sector for the limited pool of candidates.
Engineering:
Population growth in NSW, WA, ACT and Queensland is creating hotspots within the water and traffic infrastructure sectors; civil engineers are in most demand within traffic and project managers are required for both sectors. Both local and federal government need experienced civil water engineers and environmental engineers at an intermediate level with contaminated land and pipeline/dam expertise.
Graduates:
Public sector organisations are attracting graduates relatively easily. However once the candidate has completed their training and are well versed in their area of expertise they are tempted by higher salaries offered by the private sector, thus creating a skills shortage within the public sector.
The coming quarter
Due to the change in Government, agencies are being merged and current employees are being moved into different divisions, creating an increased need for both temporary and permanent staff.
Once amalgamations have settled and the structure of departments has become clearer (including staff transfers and relocations) short falls will be filled by temporary staff. In the meantime, departments are still recruiting staff on a permanent basis.
In addition, the construction and property market is still very much booming, with demand high for permanent and contract staff, which is not slowing down. Budgets which were previously on hold are now available, which will increase permanent vacancy activity.
Over the quarter graduate engineering needs will slow as recruitment drives conclude, however the need for candidates at the senior level will remain due to the critical nature of the shortage at this level.
Executive recruitment
There is a high demand for senior level project managers and architects due to massive infrastructure growth in most states. Overall executive vacancy activity is increasing as restructures leave gaps in organisations, while environmental departments require senior project managers with either civil engineering or environmental project management expertise to enter the senior executive levels.
Salaries
Unfortunately the public sector lags behind the private sector in terms of salaries, which is a major disability in candidate attraction. While public sector salaries are increasing, the gap remains. The government sells the benefits of work/life balance over increasing salaries, however some organisations are providing a loading on top of salaries for a period of time in order to retain and attract staff.
Engineers have received the strongest salary increase over the last two years, as candidate shortages and continued development requirements mean these skills are in demand. Salaries for these candidates need to remain particularly competitive in order to tempt candidates away from roles in the resources and mining sector.
Over the next quarter we expect a gradual increase in attraction and retention strategies, such as bonuses for long-term staff in both technical and labour hire roles, but little increase for newly created positions. If any salaries are to increase it will occur in Local Government due to the greater amount of flexibility afforded, rather than in the State Government.
Given the change of Federal Government, we await with interest to see what may replace AWA's and Performance Pay, as remaining competitive in the market is essential for the government in attracting and retaining their talent.
Candidate trends
In some regions the public sector has been able to attract candidates from the private sector due to the exciting projects occurring, such as the Brisbane Master plan, in addition to the work/life balance available. However this is primarily only through offering contract rates, which then become comparable to private sector permanent salaries.
In general, all sectors are suffering from shortages of candidates with local experience. There has been an increase in unskilled and transient workers, however the demand is for long-term skilled candidates.
Perth has enjoyed an increase in technical candidates relocating to the region from overseas and Eastern states.
