Hays Policy & Strategy
January - March 2012
Hotspots
We are seeing a strong demand for Economists, with vacancies in both consultancies and in government. Consultancies look for candidates with an understanding of government, so suitable candidates can usually apply for roles in both areas. For consultancies, demand is the result of projects coming through from government and so they are growing their teams.
Within the education sector there will be a need for candidates with compliance backgrounds within universities and registered training organisations. Universities will soon be regulated by a new body and as such will have to go through new audits as will RTOs. There have also been a number of new RTOs established and most have significant growth plans, which is further adding to the demand for suitable candidates.
In other areas of demand, Policy Managers and Secretariats are needed, with employers taking on these candidates until the end of the financial year. We have also seen a heavy focus on health policy candidates, with peak body associations offering the majority of roles in response to National Health Reform.
In Queensland, policy research and policy development skills will be highly sought after as we enter into the election cycle and the new government will no doubt introduce new policies.
Overcoming skills shortages
Internal expressions of interest are proving ineffective. Employers have therefore become more competitive by moving quickly through their recruitment process and working closely with agencies to secure the best staff. Employers will also consider policy candidates with highly developed written and verbal communication skills but who lack relevant subject matter expertise.
The coming quarter
Early this quarter we expect to see an increase in the number of six-month contracts as employers secure skills through until the end of the financial year. February should bring an increase in overall vacancy activity as employers focus on projects.
Consultancies and government will recruit Economists, although there are some consultancies that will wait and consider our economy before recruiting. The education/RTO sector will recruit this quarter on both a temporary and permanent basis.
In Queensland, the looming state government election may have an impact depending on which party is elected to power. Short term, we will see temporary positions created as the current government wraps up loose ends before announcing an election.
Employer trends
We have seen many employers shorten their recruitment timeframe to compete for the top talent. In Queensland, we've also seen employers adopt speedy turnaround times to secure staff before the state election is called and they enter caretaker mode.
Employers are quite specific in their requirements. In general, they are looking less at transferable skills and require specific subject matter knowledge.
Candidate trends
In general there is more confidence in the market and good candidate flow. Candidates have been receiving multiple job offers and those employers that maintain a lengthy recruitment process rather than quicken their pace have missed out on top talent.
In Queensland, the state government's voluntary separation packages have led to a large number of policy and program management candidates entering the market. Given the restrictions of this program, these candidates cannot return to state government for three years, which will have an impact on the candidate pools available for state government roles in the future.
