Project Managers, Site Managers and Civil Design Managers are just three of the skills that remain in demand across Australia’s construction sector according to findings from the October to December Hays Quarterly Report.
The report also highlights employers’ preference for candidates with like-for-like experience.
“Employers are looking for candidates with like-for-like experience, including in the same industry and on the same systems,” says Simon Bristow, Senior Regional Director of Hays Construction.
Mr Hayes believes employers are becoming more strategic in their hires and are taking their time when they recruit to ensure that each placement is the right person for the job. As a result, the recruitment process has lengthened.
“We advise candidates to sharpen their existing skills and industry experience to enhance their value,” he said.
“Employers meanwhile need to be aware that candidate shortages still exist in many areas. Many organisations have invested in retention strategies to keep their best people, so there’s still a shortage of high quality candidates for certain roles, particularly those that require excellent leadership skills or very specific experience.”
According to the Hays Construction Quarterly Report, such candidates include:
ACT
The ongoing progress of many sites has seen employers strengthen their operational team. As a result skilled Project Managers and Foremen/women with strong delivery experience and a high-end project background are in high demand. Also sought are Site Managers, Site Supervisors and strong Quality Assessors.
New South Wales
Highly experienced construction professionals are sought for high rise residential and commercial construction projects. While general sentiment is cautious there is a strong demand for general Foremen/women, Site Managers and Project Engineers with significant experience on projects worth over $100 million. In addition, across all large-scale construction projects there is a strong demand for commercial staff from Contracts Administrators to Estimators.
Northern Territory
Major civil and commercial projects are leading to high demand. Within the civil market there is high demand for Site Engineers for quality control purposes as well as Civil Supervisors to control onsite activity. Meanwhile the commercial market requires Project Managers for projects about to commence and Site Supervisors for both new projects and projects that have fallen behind or are not performing well.
Queensland
There is demand for skills in the Surat Basin in particular. This rural region is already seeing a shortage of technical staff for construction projects as available candidates are often attracted to CSG projects in the area. In most demand are Senior Project Engineers, Project Engineers, Civil Project Managers, Civil Design Managers and Civil Designers (main roads). Employers are specifically seeking candidates with NDRRA experience or experience working on Main Roads contracts.
South Australia
Given the limited number of projects, civil contracts are all tendering on the same work and want to make their bid the most attractive, which is fuelling demand for top shelf Senior Residential Estimators and Senior Civil Estimators.
Tasmania
A few key projects have created specific demand for electrical and construction trades professionals.
Victoria
Project Managers are needed for the state’s strong high rise apartment market. Highly qualified Estimators remain in high demand, while Contract Administrators are sought in response to large health and apartment projects. Site Managers are needed for projects, including aged care and apartments. Residential Project Managers are also sought.
Western Australia
Perth is currently experiencing an acute shortage of experienced Estimators in both the construction and residential sectors. Employers seek Estimators at all levels, but those with 10 or more years of experience are in greatest demand. Demand has been exacerbated by the nature of Perth’s competitive market, with decreasing margins and an increase in the level of projects being tendered on by each contractor. In addition a number of large-scale projects will commence in Perth in the coming months.
Across Australia Occupational Health & Safety specialists are sought. This is a role that is progressing and becoming more documented. Employers are now seeking qualified candidates with dedicated experience in this field, as opposed to the previous trend to assign this function to any team member who was interested.
