Hays Engineering - April 2008
Hotspots
Commercial/Residential building has become a major hotspot in states such as Western Australia and Queensland, where increasing populations, a booming property market, and a shortage of inner city office space are fuelling demand for structural engineers and drafters with five to 10 years experience.
Within land development, civil engineers and drafters with between two and 10 years experience are required, with 12D civil design drafters in particular demand.
The ongoing Australian drought and long-term global concerns for our environment have created a demand for water infrastructure engineers and drafters with between five and 15 years experience. Environmental engineers and scientists are also in demand due to stricter regulations on green and brown site development, however there is a shortage of experienced environmental staff in the market.
Civil and structural engineers for infrastructure projects with five or more years experience are a hotspot of demand and, as tenders are allocated and large project teams assembled, the need for these skills will only increase.
In South Australia, electrical engineers with five or more years building services experience are in high demand . The shortage of solid career opportunities five to ten years ago meant fewer electrical engineers entered the market, and now that the industry is growing rapidly, it lacks the expertise of experienced candidates to perform these roles.
The coming quarter
Engineers seeking permanent roles will be the winners this quarter, with most consultancies preferring to recruit on a permanent rather than temporary basis for engineering roles. For drafting roles, employers are much more willing to recruit temporary staff.
While the market is certainly still strong, there has been a reduction in employer urgency for candidates. However, the industry as a whole is thriving and there are plenty of opportunities for those with skills and experience.
Executive recruitment
Executive level candidates are in demand and this is nowhere more obvious than in Western Australia, where major infrastructure projects require executive level skills. Executives with a strong technical background, commercial awareness, project management, and the softer people skills are highly sought after.
Across the country, recruitment at this level is likely to increase as project managers and high-level senior engineers are required to run projects.
Salaries
Salaries have remained relatively stable, purely because engineering firms tend to take a firm line when candidates try to dictate salaries. Having said this, the mining industry continues to make its presence felt, offering strong salaries to engineering professionals, and firms need to ensure they remain competitive in order to retain their key staff.
Consequently, we expect to see marginal increases this quarter as firms compete for the limited pool of candidates. Performance bonuses, employee incentives, and flexible arrangements are also entering packages and this is allowing employers to attract and retain candidates based on more than just salary alone.
Candidate trends
The lack of suitable candidates remains constant. If anything, candidate numbers continue to decrease as the market becomes tighter.
The arrival of candidates from overseas continues, though many employers are reluctant to employ these candidates unless they have outstanding skills. Others, however, are open to sponsorship, and candidates from the UK, South Africa and Singapore are proving to have relevant project experience and transferable skills.
