Technical & Engineering Recruitment – Market Commentary January 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1gM4B8C6Hg

It has been quite a number of years since we have experienced such a strong end to a year and strong start to a new one. Although this renewed hiring confidence is not universal across all the sectors we operate in, we consider it to be a broad recovery in our markets. If employer demand continues, we expect candidates will in turn become more confident to start looking at fresh opportunities instead of staying in their current roles.

Consulting Engineering

In NSW we have returned from the break and the strong demand for contract engineers in specialist areas we experienced late last year has continued into the new year. Our area of highest current demand is for engineers and project managers with moderate experience in the retail and commercial sectors. Most infrastructure projects are still waiting to start but we should begin to see demand rise for civil and structural engineers with rail and road design and project management experience over the next 3 months. It is looking like a healthy start to 2015 with good candidates on the market and some exciting projects starting to develop.

Drafting

We currently have a huge demand for drafters in Sydney on a number of projects across all disciplines including MEP, civil / structural and architectural. We are looking for a number of drafters for commercial and retail developments with solid backgrounds in Revit MEP, Revit Structure and Revit Architectural, AutoCAD the latest release in both 2D and 3D as well as AutoCAD Plant 3D. Most of the roles we have been working on this year have been on a contract basis for candidates with solid experience. It looks like a promising and exciting start to the year for contract drafters across all disciplines.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the drafting market in Melbourne – it remains very stagnant with no indication of improvement.

International

We have noticed a marked upswing in overseas companies seeking to employ Australian engineers and professionals.

In two instances, North American organisations have engaged us to find local managers to represent them in Australia. So far we have succeeded in finding a Product Manager and a Country Manager for a well-known mining equipment supplier. In a second example we are currently looking for a Country Manager to be based in Sydney for a software security business.

The other scenario sees several European automotive component manufacturers seeking to employ Australian Engineers to work in Europe and China – we currently have over 30 of these opportunities. These clients have very specific requirements for engineers experienced in engine and transmission calibration, powertrain integration, engine design (especially combustion), hybrid vehicles, CAE and testing. The roles do require relocation and are on long term renewable contract basis. With the downturn in the local automotive sector these opportunities are worth serious consideration if you are an engineer committed to continuing a career in the industry.

Manufacturing

From where we are sitting, manufacturing is experiencing a strong resurgence. We had a very busy pre-Christmas period and the completion of permanent and temporary assignments allowed our clients to start their new recruits in early January 2015. Even better news is that the New Year has kicked off with the same high level of activity.

In Melbourne the demand is strong both in the professional engineering and labour hire space. The strongest manufacturing sectors at the moment are food, electronics and HVAC with requirements coming from both large and SME clients. Our observation is that this exciting trend reflects a general higher level of confidence in manufacturing and we can see it continuing through to at least March.

Likewise, in Sydney our pipeline of work is particularly strong in food and construction MEP trades and we expect it to be so for at least the first two quarters of 2015. We have experienced significant growth in the labour hire business and expect our workforce in Sydney to at least double over the next 3-6 months.

Technology

The fallout from the impending demise of the automotive sector continues as a result of suppliers shedding personnel, and this, coupled with a number of unexpected redundancies (when are they ever expected?) late last year has meant that the job market has become somewhat candidate heavy. This is especially the case for Embedded Developers and Hardware Designers. There was a late flurry of hiring activity, as is often the case as the year drew to its close, but the augurs for the new year are, at best, unclear. Every product sector seems to be feeling the pinch, and nervous about whether or when to start engaging personnel. The end result of this is that employers see it as a buyer’s market, which is in most cases correct. Their expectations remain high, they see no need to compromise on who they decide to take on, and pressure on salaries is still southbound in trajectory in many instances. A general and consistent upturn in hiring demand must surely happen but it has been sluggish for many months now. Traditional areas of demand for electronic, firmware and mechanical product design are certainly in retreat, so the question frequently asked is, “should I re-train in a newer field, eg .Net, Java, web design, or some other area?” This is always a vexed question, as demand for personnel in any emerging technology can just as easily change, and, without experience, the process of getting the elusive first role in a new field is frustratingly hard.