Labour market recovery seems favourable on paper, however on-ground realities are much harsher
From software specialists in Auckland to GPs in rural New Zealand, help wanted signs are popping up across the country. As businesses and contractors grow concerned over the labour shortage in the country, candidates are jumping ships for better experience, higher salaries and designations.
An Indian Weekender research of job recruitment websites, Seek NZ and Trade Me Jobs revealed that there are over 26,000 jobs listed across the country.
A boom in the increase in projects has seen the construction industry, including trade and services top this list, with 3942 open jobs. The information and communications technology industry comes in second with more than 3500 jobs open for skilled workers at all levels. Healthcare and medical industry brings up the third with over 2034 jobs, among which 1479 roles are seeking nurses, that’s almost 5 percent of the entire job market.
Some 117,000 are currently unemployed in New Zealand, according to figures released in August by Stats NZ. According to data released by the OECD's 2021 Employment Outlook, New Zealand is expected to take 1.5 years to return to its pre-pandemic employment rates, of 67.7% from Dec 2019. The New Zealand government’s analysis so far paint a picture of a country in recovery.
However, it seems labour market recovery may seem favourable only on paper and in statistics, as on-ground conversations reveal a completely different reality.
Border closures mean that businesses can no longer rely on migrants to fill high and low skilled jobs. In industries like hospitality and horticulture, which primarily relies on foreign and migrant workers, uncertainty over work visas has hindered many companies’ ability to hire in recent months
Meanwhile, there is a separate ongoing debate about a skill shortage. IT and healthcare industries face a scarcity of highly-skilled and trained staff that would normally be brought in from overseas. Other sectors have similar stories, notably the construction industry, as the dearth of skills becomes evident.
Andrew (name changed) a contractor within the construction industry said, “There’s a massive shortage of skilled and in general labour in the construction industry. It’s largely because we can’t get people in, and we don’t have enough people in New Zealand who are skilled in doing those roles.”
Construction has seen a boom in the past few years, primarily in Auckland. In August, Auckland Council awarded 89 tenders for construction and network support with a value over $50,000 for work around Auckland. In 2021, a mid-size construction project consultancy approximately 200 projects at various stages, with one project manager looking after 10 to 12 projects at any given time.
Rahul Menon, a project manager within the industry said, “In this lockdown as opposed to the last one, the whole industry is absolutely busy. Consultants are busy, and they have no resourcing. Many times, when we go to tender in the markets, the contractors find it difficult to get a price out of their sub-contractors because they don’t have the resources they need. So, there are projects, but contractors just don’t have the personnel.”
Echoing this view Andrew said, “Sub-contractors don’t want to come for the small jobs, so we have to actually wrangle them. It’s hard getting people. It’s the highest bidder at the moment. People are getting headhunted and poached from everywhere.”
In parallel, it’s a job seeker’s market in the IT industry as well.
Data published in May this year in the ‘Investor’s Guide to the New Zealand Technology Sector’, showed that record amounts of capital have been invested in tech companies in the past year. Investment in early stage start-ups has increased 48% in the past 12 months, with $160m invested in tech start-ups by angels and venture funds.
A direct result of this is observed in the hiring boom within the market. Technology companies are struggling to hire and retain staff, while job seeker are jumping ship in search of more experience, better titles, pay, brand name and even making a move to contracting.
Upasana Bhor, a senior application specialist fielded two job offers, and three interview requests just within the last three months. She observed that many companies are now starting to sped up their hiring process in order to not lose candidates. “I had already gone for two interviews with one company, and had another lined up with a different company. After finding out that I am interviewing with another company, the recruiter sped up their recruitment process to get me face time with their teams,” she said.
Vikram Patil, a senior Test analyst who recently moved from being a contractor to a full-time employee says, “The contracting market has opened up which means a lot of people are moving from full-time roles to contracting because they know there is a demand. Since February, I have received several calls from recruiters, primarily via LinkedIn with interview offers and even help in sourcing candidates for mid to senior levels and technical roles.”
From software specialists in Auckland to GPs in rural New Zealand, help wanted signs are popping up across the country. As businesses and contractors grow concerned over the labour shortage in the country, candidates are jumping ships for better experience, higher salaries and designations.
An ...
From software specialists in Auckland to GPs in rural New Zealand, help wanted signs are popping up across the country. As businesses and contractors grow concerned over the labour shortage in the country, candidates are jumping ships for better experience, higher salaries and designations.
An Indian Weekender research of job recruitment websites, Seek NZ and Trade Me Jobs revealed that there are over 26,000 jobs listed across the country.
A boom in the increase in projects has seen the construction industry, including trade and services top this list, with 3942 open jobs. The information and communications technology industry comes in second with more than 3500 jobs open for skilled workers at all levels. Healthcare and medical industry brings up the third with over 2034 jobs, among which 1479 roles are seeking nurses, that’s almost 5 percent of the entire job market.
Some 117,000 are currently unemployed in New Zealand, according to figures released in August by Stats NZ. According to data released by the OECD's 2021 Employment Outlook, New Zealand is expected to take 1.5 years to return to its pre-pandemic employment rates, of 67.7% from Dec 2019. The New Zealand government’s analysis so far paint a picture of a country in recovery.
However, it seems labour market recovery may seem favourable only on paper and in statistics, as on-ground conversations reveal a completely different reality.
Border closures mean that businesses can no longer rely on migrants to fill high and low skilled jobs. In industries like hospitality and horticulture, which primarily relies on foreign and migrant workers, uncertainty over work visas has hindered many companies’ ability to hire in recent months
Meanwhile, there is a separate ongoing debate about a skill shortage. IT and healthcare industries face a scarcity of highly-skilled and trained staff that would normally be brought in from overseas. Other sectors have similar stories, notably the construction industry, as the dearth of skills becomes evident.
Andrew (name changed) a contractor within the construction industry said, “There’s a massive shortage of skilled and in general labour in the construction industry. It’s largely because we can’t get people in, and we don’t have enough people in New Zealand who are skilled in doing those roles.”
Construction has seen a boom in the past few years, primarily in Auckland. In August, Auckland Council awarded 89 tenders for construction and network support with a value over $50,000 for work around Auckland. In 2021, a mid-size construction project consultancy approximately 200 projects at various stages, with one project manager looking after 10 to 12 projects at any given time.
Rahul Menon, a project manager within the industry said, “In this lockdown as opposed to the last one, the whole industry is absolutely busy. Consultants are busy, and they have no resourcing. Many times, when we go to tender in the markets, the contractors find it difficult to get a price out of their sub-contractors because they don’t have the resources they need. So, there are projects, but contractors just don’t have the personnel.”
Echoing this view Andrew said, “Sub-contractors don’t want to come for the small jobs, so we have to actually wrangle them. It’s hard getting people. It’s the highest bidder at the moment. People are getting headhunted and poached from everywhere.”
In parallel, it’s a job seeker’s market in the IT industry as well.
Data published in May this year in the ‘Investor’s Guide to the New Zealand Technology Sector’, showed that record amounts of capital have been invested in tech companies in the past year. Investment in early stage start-ups has increased 48% in the past 12 months, with $160m invested in tech start-ups by angels and venture funds.
A direct result of this is observed in the hiring boom within the market. Technology companies are struggling to hire and retain staff, while job seeker are jumping ship in search of more experience, better titles, pay, brand name and even making a move to contracting.
Upasana Bhor, a senior application specialist fielded two job offers, and three interview requests just within the last three months. She observed that many companies are now starting to sped up their hiring process in order to not lose candidates. “I had already gone for two interviews with one company, and had another lined up with a different company. After finding out that I am interviewing with another company, the recruiter sped up their recruitment process to get me face time with their teams,” she said.
Vikram Patil, a senior Test analyst who recently moved from being a contractor to a full-time employee says, “The contracting market has opened up which means a lot of people are moving from full-time roles to contracting because they know there is a demand. Since February, I have received several calls from recruiters, primarily via LinkedIn with interview offers and even help in sourcing candidates for mid to senior levels and technical roles.”
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