Is 2008 the year for your career?
The January Hays Quarterly Forecast has been released and it reveals the hottest jobs and boom markets for 2008 in a
variety of market sectors across New Zealand.
“The New Year has arrived, bringing with it the traditional increase in vacancy activity as businesses determine the
staff they require for the year ahead,” says Jason Walker, Regional Director of Hays in New Zealand.
The Forecast shows that 2008 could be the year for you, with a definite upswing in permanent vacancies. “The shortage of
experienced skills means solid candidates will be snapped up with speed in 2008, and provided jobseekers know what they
want and why they want it, it is a year that will provide prime opportunities to advance your career.
“With the first quarter of the year the traditional time that candidates reassess their career, the majority of
vacancies are the result of staff departures, although new jobs are still being created due to additional headcount
requirements or the restructuring of roles internally.
“Employers are moving quickly once they identify a candidate they wish to offer a role to, particularly since good
candidates will continue to receive multiple offers of employment.
“Employers also need to streamline their recruitment process, since unnecessarily lengthy recruitment procedures often
lead to employers missing out on talent because the candidate is offered another role in the meantime.
“In light of the ongoing demand for staff, many employers are proactively searching for talent overseas on an ongoing
basis - large employers, such as CA firms and financial services corporates, are competing not only with other
organisations locally but also with international companies for the limited supply of candidates.
The year’s hotspots are revealed in the Hays Quarterly Forecast. The top areas of strongest demand across New Zealand
are as follows:
Accountancy & Finance: Within the commercial arena, demand for NZCA part and newly qualified accountants is very strong across all
sectors. Management accountants and financial analysts with a NZCA qualification are also required, particularly within
the manufacturing industry, while qualified and experienced accounting managers and group accountants with strong
technical skills and staff supervisory experience are another hotspot of demand. At the accounting support level,
assistant accountants with NZ commercial experience studying towards their professional qualifications are sought, while
credit controllers and payroll clerks are required due to the shortage of candidates with two to three years New Zealand
experience. Within professional practice, demand is high for experienced business advisory and taxation specialists at
the intermediate and senior level. Auditors are also in constant demand.
Contact Centres: Increased demand from banks for experienced collections staff has put these candidates firmly on the
hotspots list. This demand will continue to grow during the year, due to the number of fixed term mortgages that are
maturing and the inability of customers to service monthly payments. Entry-level contact centre staff are also in
demand, with the market remaining tight and competitive for those that show potential and commitment. The speed of the
recruitment process will be a key factor in successful recruitment at this level.
Construction & Property: Development managers and entry and intermediate level property managers are hotspots of property demand,
since the movement of candidates (particularly in the first quarter of the year) overseas continues. Senior architecture
technicians who can assemble buildings, ground-level HVAC candidates, such as technicians and senior technicians,
estimators, professional quantity surveyors at all levels, commercial project managers and site managers are also
required.
Information Technology: Project support and management in addition to level 2 desktop support are the key requirements,
with employers reacting to the skills shortage by recruiting junior staff into these roles and allowing rapid career
progression. New projects and turnover created by the large number of vacancies in these areas continue to fuel this
demand, with average tenure for these candidates falling.
Insurance: Senior underwriters are required for all specialist areas, particularly life underwriters in Wellington and
engineering and professional indemnity underwriters in Auckland. Actuaries and brokers (commercial, corporate and
professional indemnity), product and compliance specialist skills are also required nationwide at the senior level.
Resources & Mining The resources and energy sector in New Zealand continues to develop. Within oil & gas the exploration and production industry shows no sign of slowing. Geoscience professionals including geologists and
geophysicists, in addition to reservoir and petroleum engineers, are in great demand. The development of several new
mining projects across the country has seen the demand for technical mining staff increase over the last six months –
engineers and supervisors at all levels are extremely scarce. Design engineers, particularly within power and energy, in
addition to project engineers for heavy industrial EPCM projects are also coveted. New Zealand’s power industry has seen
an increased need for specialist engineers in the fields of transmission, distribution and generation mostly around
protection systems, primary designers for sub-stations and generation technologies, both development and design
orientated.
A more extensive review of hotspots for each market sector, along with hiring intentions, salaries and candidate
attraction, is contained in the Hays Quarterly Forecast, available at www.hays-hps.co.nz/forecast
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