Is your business struggling to find qualified candidates for certain roles? You’re not alone – the latest statistics from SEEK show vacancies are on the rise across multiple sectors.
The organisation’s monthly Employment Marketplace Report monitors whether the number of jobs adverts has increased, decreased or remained roughly the same for key industries. This provides an indication of which professions are currently experiencing skills gaps.
Organisations that are struggling to source the right talent could benefit from hiring apprentices and trainees. Apprenticeship Central is a useful site that can help businesses search for and contact candidates who are interested in on-the-job and off-the-job training opportunities.
According to the SEEK report, many trades-based positions were in high demand last month due to housebuilding activity. This was despite the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealing the number of dwelling approvals slumped 0.1 per cent month on month in December.
Building work props up vacancies
Earlier this month, Chief Executive Officer of Master Builders Australia Wilhelm Harnisch said 232,078 dwellings were approved in 2015, buoying home buyer confidence.
Nevertheless, SEEK described residential building performance as sluggish, instead noting that commercial projects are the driving force behind the industry.
“We continue to see the impact of the strong property market play out in creating jobs across New South Wales and Victoria, with design and architecture, trades and services, and construction all posting strong double-digit growth,” said Michael Ilczynski, SEEK Employment Managing Director.
“On a micro level, cleaning jobs also surged in January when compared to a year ago, suggesting our increasingly busy lives [have] made this the year we are investing in home help.”
Job ads up in other sectors
SEEK also said there were small annual jumps in advertisements for banking and financial services, administration and office support, engineering, and information and communication technology.
The mining sector also showed surprising growth in New South Wales and Victoria, with ads increasing 15 and 12 per cent respectively in the states year on year. Unfortunately, this was not enough to offset the 22 per cent slump seen nationwide over the last year.
Drill and blast mining and mining operations were two industry segments that enjoyed double-digit growth, with Mr Ilczynski claiming there were hundreds and even thousands of jobs available.
He also confirmed oil and gas production and refinement vacancies experienced a rise in demand, although the market doesn’t employ a large number of people overall.
