Thought Leadership - 2 May 2008
Securing our future skills supply
The recruitment industry in Australia is highly competitive because of the tight professional labour market. Domestic skills shortages across professional occupation groups are part of a global trend, with employers in locations such as the UK and US facing similar challenges. Many are targeting Australian professionals who are regarded as a well educated and skilled talent pool.
Employers across Australia are already feeling the impact of capacity constraints resulting from the skills gap. In sectors such as mining and construction, projects are being stalled because companies cannot find the skilled labour they require. This situation will only get worse because of an ageing Australian workforce and the increasingly fluid nature of global skills flow.
Securing our future skills supply requires a collaborative and sustained response from the government, the business sector and the recruitment industry. Dialogue between policy makers, business leaders and those at the coal face of recruitment activity is required to deliver the right strategies for the right sectors at the right time.
At the policy level, investment in tertiary education, targeted skilled migration policies and more affordable child care are all key. So too is a competitive tax system as many of our young professionals who are working overseas are benefiting from more attractive tax schemes.
Government is beginning to address these broad areas of policy, but the effort needs to be long term and targeted at white-collar as well as blue-collar workers.
The business community has a vested interest and key role to play in reducing the skills gap. Companies need to invest in their own growth and in the training and professional development of their employees. Our research shows that career development is the most effective way to retain staff. Employers should enrol their top performers in talent management programs to demonstrate their potential has been recognised and will be invested in.
Retention strategies should also address the exodus of highly qualified professionals to the UK, US and Asia. There is a genuine opportunity to influence people to stay by demonstrating the career advantages of continuing to work in Australia. In many instances employees can work for the same global firms in Australia that they would approach overseas, and a decision to stay while many of your peers leave has every chance of fast tracking your career development.
On the domestic front, the business community needs to improve the flexibility and adaptability of roles in order to better target low-participation groups. For professional occupation group, this means mature aged workers and skilled women with family responsibilities. These groups represent a valuable and underutilised talent pool that can be reengaged with flexible working arrangements.
Along with government and business, the recruitment industry must do more to assist in addressing the skills shortage. More active lobbying of regulators is required and the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association should be commended for bringing issues such as skilled migration and the 457 visa to the policy agenda.
Global recruitment firms have an obligation to advise and assist companies in attracting skilled workers from overseas markets. Australia needs to be repositioned as the career destination of choice, rather than simply a lifestyle choice. International recruitment drives and job advertisements should clearly articulate the career benefits of working here.
On the issue of workplace flexibility, progressive government policies to encouraging higher participation rates will not be effective if employers do not receive guidance on the practical workforce restructuring necessary to deliver flexibility. Within any given company, there are numerous business functions and a variety of job types that need to be assessed on their own merits. Some will be suitable for a restructure, others won’t.
The devil is in the detail when it comes to improving participation rates through workplace flexibility. Offers made with the best of intentions frequently fail because the practicalities of the revised arrangement haven’t been thought through.
Valuable employees, whether working mothers or mature aged workers, walk away because they cannot get the job done effectively within agreed timeframes. Policy and positive employer intentions need to be translated into practical and flexible workplace reform. Recruitment firms must play an advisory role in this process, not simply a transactional function.
Australia needs a collaborative and sustained response to the professional skills crisis that involves government and the business sector, but also recognises the important role the recruitment sector should play in ensuring policy translates into the provision of skills in highest demand.
By Phillip Guest
Managing Director, Australia
Michael Page International
Contact
Jason Hemens – Corporate Communications Manager
Ph: 02 8292 2094
Email: jasonhemens@michaelpage.com.au
About Michael Page International
Michael Page International is a leading professional recruitment consultancy specialising in the recruitment of permanent, contract and temporary positions on behalf of the world’s top employers. The consultancy operates through 141 offices in 24 countries and employs more than 4,300 people. Australian operations began in 1985 and the office network has since expanded to include Sydney, Chatswood, Parramatta, Melbourne, Wheelers Hill, Brisbane and Perth.
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