Managers, professionals and technical staff are in short supply as the country emerges from the global recession, according to a local human resources firm. These are the findings of an interim study by Clarian Human Resources, which is a follow up to the Great New Zealand Employment Survey (GNZES) it conducted in late 2009.
This interim survey across a variety of industries involved 249 employers and managers, as well as 138 employees, from all sizes of businesses.
The 2010 interim survey reports that 33 percent of employers say the skill requirements for jobs since the recession have changed.
Out of these, more than a quarter (26 percent) say they need more skilled managers and professionals and another 16 percent require technical people. However, 29 percent unanimously agree that both managers/professionals and technical staff are the positions that are hardest to fill (see graph below).
The technical skills in demand cited by the respondents are around statistical analysis, software developers, IT specialists, IT graduates, project managers and specialist designers.
Clare Parkes, director for Clarian Human Resources, says organisations should ask themselves the hard questions when it comes to staff retention. “Are newly-identified roles the main driver for your present need for recruitment? Or is it simply that your key talent are leaving for greener pastures? If the latter is the issue, the focus should be on understanding where problems exist in staff retention,” she says.
Follow CIO on Twitter @cio_nz.
Sign up to receive CIO newsletters.
Click here to subscribe to CIO.
Join the CIO New Zealand group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.