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2009 was a long and tough year for a recruitment firm operating in the engineering, manufacturing and technical markets. We’re relieved to report however that from October we experienced a dramatic upswing in hiring activity in these sectors. The upswing seemed to be quite broadly based, and industries such as automotive and building services, which for one year had been largely dormant from a recruitment perspective, began exhibiting signs of life. This has given us a great deal of optimism for the 2010 calendar year.
We anticipate that the major test facing our company in 2010 will no longer be a shortage of recruitment assignments to work on. Instead it will be the challenge of locating specialist technical skills in the face of an increasing skills shortage.
Australia Wide Personnel wish you all the best for a successful 2010.
Following are our observations of the key recruitment markets we have been operating in since 1979.
Consulting Engineering and Building Services
The December quarter saw further stability and some growth in the Consulting sector. Many companies are now back to a full time working week. Companies that had scheduled further redundancies for December cancelled those plans due to an increase in activity. The December quarter also saw a number of vacancies for consultants for the first time in 12 months – however all of the enquiry so far has been for experienced Consultants who have the ability to generate their own work.
As mentioned last year, Green credentials such as Green Star and NABERS qualifications are highly sought-after in the current job market.
Consultancy wasn’t the only market segment to show increased activity for the quarter, with the equipment and aftermarket wholesalers also increasing their demand for qualified Sales Engineers and Branch personnel.
From the Contractors perspective there is still a strong demand for experienced AutoCAD Project drafters with experience in producing shop drawings for the HVAC industry.
All enquiries and updated resumes can be directed to Simon Black at simonb@australiawide.com.au or 03 9847 6500.
Automotive Engineering
The automotive industry still appears to be erratic, but there seems to be some good news going around. The December 16 issue of Go Auto News highlighted the release of the new Toyota Camry Hybrid and also an article predicting 1.2 million car sales within three years.
We have experienced an upturn in hiring in the Tier 1 supplier network, especially in engineering management, process engineers and sales/account management. It's too early for us to come out and say that every thing is full steam ahead, but the signals are certainly more encouraging since our last Commentary. Cautiously positive, seems to best describe employer sentiment at present, with recruitment activity on the rise and businesses cautiously recommencing their hiring plans.
All enquiries and updated resumes can be directed to Mercedes Toale at mercedest@australiawide.com.au or 03 9847 6500.
Energy & Infrastructure
The last quarter has seen a strong performance from the sector, which has experienced positive results from the $2.3b in Government spending on road and rail infrastructure and major water projects across the nation. The positions that have been highest in demand are Electrical and Instrumentation Engineers, Civil Engineers (water), Project Engineers/Managers and Contract Managers.
Capital intensive projects had been delayed in some cases due to difficulties leveraging credit, but recent feedback suggests that these projects will be moving ahead early this year.
The renewable energy industry has seen a lack of large scale projects due to the decrease in value of the Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) caused by the Government’s decision to remove the solar rebate and replace it with a multiplied REC scheme. Demand for REC’s is expected to rise this year due to a 50% increase in the Renewable Energy Target (RET).
The Energy and Infrastructure sector’s headcount was not significantly affected by the downturn in the global economic market, which has meant a continuation of the shortage of skilled talent. The skills shortage in this sector has been a generational concern due to the move from Government to Private ownership of assets, limited graduate intake, an ageing/retiring workforce and employer preferences for candidates with specific industry experience. To prepare for future development, organisations need to look for opportunities to recruit staff who have transferable skills and a desire to learn the intricacies of their adopted industry.
All enquiries and updated resumes can be directed to Nick Gilson at nickg@australiawide.com.au or 03 9847 6500.
Drafting
The final quarter of the year showed a slight improvement in the requests for contract drafters - mainly for short term projects that required completion before the end of the year and for holiday coverage over Christmas and into January 2010.
Mechanical Drafting appeared to be one of the areas most severely affected by the downturn in 2009. Sectors which remained strong for contract drafting were building services, civil, structural and HVAC.
Drafters with experience in detailed shop drawings for mechanical services / HVAC were also highly sought after. However in a year of so much uncertainty employers were looking for proven contract industry experience and moving into a new field proved to be very difficult.
The end of the year has been more positive and we expect 2010 will bring opportunities. As companies grow more optimistic it should hopefully result in more hires and contractors should be the first to be called back if a cautious approach to hiring is adopted.
All enquiries and updated resumes can be directed to Gary Mullane at garym@australiawide.com.au or 03 9847 6500.
Electronics, Software & Communications Engineering
The recession that we nearly had is almost, over we think. The final quarter of 2009 certainly showed signs of life and several organisations which were shedding staff in the first half of the year were reversing the trend, or at least, thinking about it. Of course, that is no comfort whatsoever to someone who is out of work and who cannot quite seem to land that elusive job, whether permanent or contract.
Employer expectations are still very high as regards the level of experience and know-how that a prospective employee should bring to the role. Invariably, we (Australia Wide Personnel consultants) spend quite a bit of time with candidates asking, almost pleading, with them to be prepared at interview for questions which require detailed and specific answers. Not every employer adopts a strict behavioural or competency based interview model, but when they ask “Tell me what you have done at company X?”, and the candidate answers with the ubiquitous “what we normally do” reply, they do so at their own peril! They want the candidate to respond with real life examples of what they have done.
Opportunities are surely going to increase in 2010, and there could well be pressure on salaries to rise. However, it all comes back to a supply and demand equation and the scarcity of the skills on offer.
R&D roles will hopefully rise again, and perhaps even manufacturing and manufacturing support. We still see Melbourne as a top spot for innovators and investors involved Embedded software and electronics hardware. The demand for C# .NET and related soft skills will undoubtedly grow steadily, with major IT institutions offering big dollars for city based roles. Some candidates however will be more stimulated by working for a small private engineering firm in the suburbs developing a brand new instrument or communications product.
All enquiries and updated resumes can be directed to Roy Dickson at royd@australiawide.com.au or 03 9847 6500.
Manufacturing Professionals
As we had noted in our October Commentary, there is still a very positive outlook in the manufacturing sector with quite a few companies returning their staff to full hours.
One of the key indicators that the economy has improved can be seen in the trades area, where recently both electricians and fitters were being laid off or on reduced hours. We are now seeing these two trades increasingly heading back to full employment.
While most other areas, including engineering are still spasmodic, most of our clients in the manufacturing sector believe they will be hiring staff by March. Indeed, several have already commenced hiring for Production Managers and Production Team Leaders who have very strong capabilities with lean manufacture, JIT, Kanban etc. These requirements have been in food machinery manufacture, food processing, composite materials and specialty plastics forming. Although there are not great numbers of available roles, the situation is encouraging compared with the last quarter.
All enquiries and updated resumes can be directed to Jim Hughan at jimh@australiawide.com.au or 03 9847 6500.
Regards
The Team at Australia Wide Personnel
Engineering, Manufacturing & Technical Recruiters
Since 1979
www.australiawide.com.au
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