Hays Manufacturing & Ops - January 2008

Hotspots

The current hotspot of demand in the manufacturing and operations arena is for a certain experience level rather than candidates with a particular technical skill. Candidates for middle management roles at the $70,000 - $90,000 level are in extreme demand since they are waiting for more senior roles and in general, their salary expectations have risen considerably. Employers have been slow to react to these expectations, and need to provide some form of incentive for candidates to move from their existing company to another organisation for a similar role.

The coming quarter

The first quarter of 2008 will be busy across all manufacturing and operations roles because of the usual New Year increase in activity. The market is currently dominated by permanent vacancies and there are no indications this will change.

Executive recruitment

Executive roles are few and far between - candidate shortages do not exist at this level, with vacancies instead in short supply, although the executive market is expected to become active again later in 2008. Conversely, at management level vacancy activity is high.

Salaries

The salary expectations of candidates are beginning to exceed the level some companies are prepared to offer. Candidates are well aware of the demand for their skills, and consequently their salary expectations have been steadily rising. We have recently seen a division emerge in the market, between employers who have changed their salaries to reflect new candidate expectations and who are attracting high quality candidates as a result, and those businesses that have not reviewed their salaries.

Candidate trends

Consistent movement is occurring within production planning, scheduling and supervision, as candidates explore options available. Movement is not as fluid in design, drafting and R&D.