Technical & Engineering Recruitment Market Commentary – July 2015

Hiring seems to have emerged from an extended period of patchiness after the GFC where one strong quarter would be followed by a weak quarter. Over the past year, our company recruited 20% more employees for our clients than the previous year, split almost equally between permanent and on-hired (contract/temporary/casual) roles. Putting aside the resources sector, the pipeline for the remainder of the year looks positive for hiring in the engineering & technical sectors in Australia. Companies are investing more in incoming talent, and existing employees are more prepared to look at external opportunities. Following are more specific observations of some of the key engineering and technical markets in which we operate.

Building & Mechanical Services

On the contractor side we have been extremely busy in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane recruiting mainly permanent roles ranging from service technicians through to senior managers with specific backgrounds in site management, facilities and advisory. Contract drafting roles have mainly been in Sydney. In one instance in Melbourne, we have been tasked to find a project manager to implement an industry changing standard for 3D modelling of mechanical services.

The building services side has been relatively quiet in Melbourne although we have been recruiting mid-level mechanical and electrical engineers. The feeling is that building services in Melbourne will be flat for the next 12 months. Sydney is a somewhat better prospect as there are a number of projects that will see contracts awarded soon.

Engineering

Sky-high levels of building approvals in Sydney suggest the record-breaking activity in in apartment tower design and construction will not slow down any time soon. The news for transport projects in Sydney also just keeps getting better. Windfall gains in stamp duty have allowed the state government to bring forward $590 million to kick start a number of new infrastructure projects, including the Sydney Metro, Parramatta Light Rail, rapid bus transit and healthcare and road projects. Consequently, we’re experiencing healthy demand for Revit drafters and modellers, civil designers, transport engineers and mid to senior level structural engineers.

In Melbourne, engineering opportunities have been emerging in areas such as food and food machinery and process engineering. Interestingly, there’s been a surge in available roles at the senior manager level. For example recent assignments have included two directors of engineering for manufacturing companies, a project manager for a greenfield manufacturing facility that will employ over 100 staff in Melbourne and we will soon to be recruiting a general manager of a medium sized process engineering company specialising in gas systems design, project management, installation and service. There’s also solid demand for maintenance engineers, process engineers and sales support/technical support engineers.

Manufacturing

Aside from the automotive industry, in our world, manufacturing is steadily if slowly and strategically growing. We’re aware of three new manufacturing operations which are being established in Melbourne on the back of great local skills and technology. Most of the growth we’re witnessing is coming from medium sized manufacturers.

In both Melbourne and Sydney, the food and industrial/metal sectors experienced solid increases in demand for both skilled and unskilled employees over the past quarter. Of particular note, was a significant increase in requests for qualified light industrial roles such as fitters, electricians, trades assistants and warehouse personnel for both local and regional businesses. Throughout the quarter, the electronics sector remained steady with ongoing recruitment of skilled positions such as SMT operators, solderers and assemblers.

The forecast for the coming quarter looks solid across manufacturing. Local manufacturing companies realise that if they’re going to be competitive and grow they need to do this through innovation and focusing on better ways to attract, retain, deploy and build their workforce.

Technology

Demand for talented developers on all fronts has improved markedly, but equally so have the expectations of employers. No longer does the comment “he/she will do” apply! The effect of global pressures means that each business has to be demonstrably better than their local or international competitors with corresponding pressure on candidates to perform really well at interview. Nevertheless, the definite improvement in hiring intentions has been encouraging, and straddles hardware, firmware, software and web services design and development. Long may it continue! No one sector stands out, so we can only surmise that business confidence has generally taken a turn for the better, due to macro rather than micro-economic forces.

Paradoxically, downward salary pressures continue. This in turn can create abnormalities as highly sought-after candidates may be able to stand their ground to get the deal they want, while other mere mortals may not have the same bargaining power in a market where employers see themselves as holding the upper hand. The crux is for employers to find the right person and for the candidate to find the right role, and for both parties to avoid making dollars the primary motive. Easier said than done!