Skilled migrants sought in 2009: Hays salary survey

There is good news for skilled migrants hoping to make the move to Australia in 2009. The annual Hays Recruitment’s salary survey showed that even though areas have been hit by the recession, and companies are still tightening their budgets, there is still a great need for highly skilled workers in Australia.

The survey results were compiled by Hays Recruitments into a series of salary guides for the following industries:

Accountancy and finance
 Banking and finance
 Insurance
Office support Contact centres
 Human resources
 Sales and marketing
Logistics
Procurement
Legal
Pharmaceutical
Information Technology (IT)
Construction and property
Manufacturing and operations
Resources and mining
Oil and gas

Accountancy and finance

In the Accountancy and Finance Australian Salary Guide, survey results showed that Australian employers are seeking candidates with project accounting and business strategy experience to improve their business models and reduce costs. There is also a current shortage of credit controllers, accounts receivable and experienced payroll officers and managers.

Pharmaceutical

In the Pharmaceutical area, the end of 2008 witnessed a marked slowdown for CROs and cutbacks. Also, additions to the legislation have expanded timelines for commercialising new products and a large number of products were up for patent expiration. As a result, the industry saw some downsizing and consolidation.

There is, however, positive news: the Pharma Australian Salary Guide revealed that growth plans remain in place within the CRO environment and also, according to the Hays survey, some companies are looking at niche and “orphan” products focusing on patient care over blockbuster profits, and still others are becoming centres of excellence.

As a result, new vacancies will have more scope, scientific interest and development potential. Clinical research associates remain areas of demand, particularly within CROs, while clinical or medically qualified scientific liaison personnel are needed.

Information Technology (IT)

When it comes to the IT sector, Hays described 2008 as “a year of two halves”, with the resource-led Perth and Brisbane markets still candidate short and hiring slowing down as the year progressed. The recruitment specialists added that there is still much debate about whether IT skills shortages currently exist in Australia.

The Information Technology Australian Salary Guide found that demand has decreased and candidate availability has risen, but quality candidates with excellent technical knowledge remain in short supply (e.g. J2EE and MS.Net developers). In non-technical roles, project managers, business drivers and business analysts with strong business functional skills are needed.

Within the IT sector, New South Wales and Victorian salaries remained steady, as did South Australia’s, despite increased defence projects. Canberra, on the other hand, saw some permanent salaries increase, such as those for systems administrators (from $60,000 to $85,000) and mid-level business analysts (from $75,000 to $90,000).

Construction and property

In the Construction & Property Australian Salary Guide, the survey shows a dramatic shift in the market over the last six months, with all transactional and development based areas experiencing downturn. However, Hays points out that this year “could be the perfect time for investors with stable capital bases to snap up bargains”.

There is still high demand for experienced estimators and managers with strong business development skills. According to Hays, there are many commercial and mixed-use developments opening in 2009, which are creating new roles within facilities management, and this is expected to continue in 2010.

According to the report, salaries of white-collar staff within the civil sector have risen. Estimators in Sydney, for example, are earning up to 20% more as compared with last year’s figures, while contracts administrators in Adelaide are earning between 11 and 33% more.

Manufacturing and operations

For manufacturing and operations professionals, staff reductions have become typical. However, some niche markets continue to grow, such as food and beverage, FMCG, building products and utilities.

Demand for building products, however, is predicted to fall in the second half of the year unless the federal government’s construction fund has an immediate term impact on the market. According to the Manufacturing & Ops Australian Salary Guide, highly skilled and experienced candidates will always be sought after in niche markets and may also be able to capitalise on organisational restructures, finding themselves in a position of demand with some room to move.

Resources and mining

With nickel prices dropping drastically at the end of last year there were obvious consequences to the resources and mining industries, with some projects being put on hold. However, Western Australia's gold producers have had a brighter second half to the year. With gold prices at all time highs, junior gold producers have a positive outlook for the new financial year.

Mining engineers, particularly in open cut, remain in strong demand. Process and chemical engineers are also in demand, while electrical engineers with extensive PLC programming experience combined with a strong materials handling background are highly sought after. There is an increase in demand in production-based geology positions and across a number of skilled-labour roles, including auto-electricians.

The Resources & Mining Australian Salary Guide revealed that salary expectations of candidates in this sector have dropped between 5 and 15%. Employers are taking on more contract workers in an effort to manage reduced budgets, and these contractors’ hourly rates have been forced down as employers renegotiate supplier arrangements with all agencies and onsite contractors.

Oil and gas

The economic downturn has also affected the oil and gas industries in Australia. With the fall in oil prices, many exploration and drilling programs have been scaled back, resulting in fewer hiring opportunities. However, a number of smaller organisations have taken the chance to attract and recruit high-level engineers, something that, as Hays pointed out, they’ve historically struggled to do.

The industry remains robust in Western Australia, according to the Oil & Gas Australian Salary Guide. Increased investment from overseas has given the green flag to a number of those projects that were previously shelved. In addition to this, the gas market presents an exciting opportunity for the industry moving forward across Australia, both offshore and in coal seam gas activity. According to the survey, it is hoped the billions of dollars that will be invested into the new sector will generate huge profits for operators and their private investors.

Many projects will soon commence off the West Australian coast, creating high demand for Subsea engineers. Structural and mechanical engineers at all levels are in demand in Victoria as a major brownfield project is scheduled to start. Production and maintenance staff, particularly experienced shutdown crew, are, as always, in demand. Also, opportunities for engineers specialising in geoscience and petroleum remain steady, and are likely to increase throughout 2009.

The salaries in this industry were affected by the fall in oil prices and contract rates currently stand between 10 to 15% lower than in the third quarter of 2008, while bonus payments are considerably lower.

Other industries covered in the Hays Recruitment Salary Survey include: