Headhunting season officially open

A rise in hiring is good news for industry. Photo / Derek Flynn

More job vacancies are being listed with recruitment firms but it looks like employers prefer to hire people who are already in jobs.

Jason Walker, managing director of recruitment firm Hays, has watched the number of job vacancies increase month on month and says January was a turning point for the job market.

"In February we registered 30 per cent more vacancies than we did in January," he says. "So that is quite significant. The vacancy trend is upward and apart from December we have listed more vacancies every month since August."

While the underlying trend is looking positive in job areas such as IT, accounting and finance, construction and property, Walker says the jobs his firm is recruiting for are mainly in the SME market "because corporate firms tended to keep their best staff despite lower work volumes and government departments are not hiring".

"What employers are telling us is that when they list a job they want a qualified person who is up to speed and already in a job," says Walker. "This is because employers feel the best people are those who were retained by their employer and they can add value to an organisation without any training from day one.

"It means new graduates and the unemployed won't see any real opportunities until after Easter due to the lag as people in work shuffle around."

The good thing, says Walker, is that job candidates are starting to enjoy multiple offers - something he hasn't seen much of for 18 months.

"But this only seems to be happening to people who are currently employed," he says. "There is a belief by many employers that if you have been able to work through the recession, and you are still employed, then you are going to be a fairly decent candidate.

So where does this leave the unemployed, migrants and those new to the job market?

"It is unfortunate that this means there are limited opportunities for graduates, those wanting to transfer their skills into a different industry, the unemployed and new migrants coming in to the country - unless they have strong relevant experience," says Walker.

He says job hunters are going to have to work hard at promoting themselves to get a foot in the door.

Walkers' information is reflected in figures released by the Recruitment & Consulting Services Association, the industry body for the recruitment industry based in Australia.

It says job vacancies across its network of members, which includes companies in New Zealand, are up from 4 per cent to 7 per cent when comparing the last quarter of last year with the third quarter. Of the firms that took part in the survey, 177 were based in New Zealand and emailed their survey responses in December and January.

Julie Mills, CEO of the association says: "When there's a rise in permanent hiring, it's a sign that employers are confident they have the work and the revenue to keep people on long term. And in past downturns, it has been a sign for the recruitment sector that the worst is over and the recovery has begun in earnest.

"This bright outlook is reflected in RCSA members' business confidence, where 72.5 per cent of members expect business to grow in the next quarter - an increase of 6 per cent from the previous round."

Mills says as the employment market gets back on track, so will issues of skills shortages.

"Engineers are back at the top of the skills shortage list," she says. "After being replaced by health professionals and nurses last year. The New Zealand top 10 is dominated by health, medical, building and trade roles."

Walker agrees saying he has seen a big increase in demand for architects "and that can only mean one thing".

"If there is a demand for architects then that means there is development work going on in the commercial and residential property market. It means confidence is returning because companies are now starting to look at these types of things and the flow on from that is a need for engineers through to construction.

"And this is why the accounting sector has picked up significantly right across Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch," says Walker. "Jobs being advertised in this sector are for the top 30 per cent of people - the most highly qualified people."

But Walkers' warning to employers is that they need to act quickly when they have got a good candidate in front of them.

"Employers can no longer expect a huge influx of quality candidates in response to roles that have rigid and lengthy criteria."

Walker has eight vacancies for recruitment consultants in Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington and says if he can't fill them soon he will look offshore.

However, Mills says the trend for jobs in the recruitment industry as a whole has yet to materialise.

"Our survey shows that the recovery has not yet flowed through to recruitment agency workforces," she says.

"Smart managers will be looking at ways to keep their best people, so that they don't get lured away once the sector heats up. "

TOP 10 SKILLS SHORTAGES IN NEW ZEALAND

* Non-building professional engineers
* Non-building engineering associates and technicians
* Nurses
* Health professionals
* IT and telecommunications professionals
* Non-building electrical/electronic trades
* Building professionals
* IT and telecommunications technicians
* Medical technicians
* Electrical trades (building)

Steve Hart is a freelance journalist; his website is at www.SteveHart.co.nz.