An increase in mining projects has fuelled demand in many engineering disciplines, according to a report released by recruiting experts, Hays.

 

The latest Hays Quarterly Report, for the July-September quarter, finds that hotspots of demand now exist within building services for Electrical Engineers at the senior level and for Specialist Fire Engineers.

 

Within heavy industrial, Bulk Materials Handling Drafters and Designers as well as Mechanical Engineers are needed. Within civil and structural demand exists for Road and Bridge Engineers with local experience, while in rail it is Permanent Way Engineers and Design Managers that are needed.

 

Civil Project Engineers and Project Managers are also sought in response to infrastructure spending, which is strong relative to private investment. A shortage of skilled Electrical Engineers exists.

 

In terms of packages, we are seeing a dramatic increase in the requirement for Civil Designers and Drafters skilled in 12D and 3D software packages. Within the building services sector, Designers skilled in the use of Revit continue to be in demand. These software packages have become more common within both large and small consultancies and this has swiftly led to a shortage in the number of skilled individuals able to use it relative to demand.

 

In a localised trend, demand is also up in Western Australia for Engineering Technical Officers, Design Coordinators and Environmental Health Officers as new resource projects create a need for professionals to design and have a thorough understanding of the environmental rules and regulations. Building Surveyors have also become an area of demand in Western Australia, where the new Building Survey legislation being imposed is drawing surveyors to private consultancies.

 

Overcoming skills shortages

In response to the shortage of skills, employers are increasingly considering overseas candidates, especially those from the UK and Ireland, and will offer sponsorship. Many are also investing in staff at the grass roots level and are training them internally. Others are utilising temporary assignments in order to take advantage of overseas candidates here on working holiday visas.


Employers are also offering additional benefits, such as higher superannuation or a vehicle, in order to aid candidate attraction.


We advise employers to move quickly through their recruitment process since time delays can result in missing out on a preferred candidate to a competitor.

The coming quarter

The focus will be on civil/infrastructure projects and we expect to see an increase in both temporary and permanent vacancy activity. Activity will be positive in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia. For example, in Victoria large projects are being won that focus on residential sub-divisions, healthcare and community developments.

 

Within the public sector, we expect to see a continuing shortage of candidates this quarter with employers struggling to backfill positions that have arisen due to people moving on to the private sector.

Employer trends

Many employers seek candidates who are an exact match to their requirements, and who possess both good technical skills as well as client facing and business development skills.

 

There is a continued demand for local candidates who couple high level technical skills with excellent client facing capabilities.

Candidate trends

While in some states the candidate pool has increased, such as Queensland, in others like New South Wales there is a skills shortage and a lack of candidates with extensive local experience. As new financial year budgets allow for recruitment activity, we expect the candidate pool to tighten.

 

We also note a steady flow of candidates seeking to relocate from the UK and Ireland.