Survey Reveals Employees Needed in skilled areas

ManpowerGroup New Zealand: Annual Talent Shortage Survey Reveals Employees Needed in Engineering, Skilled Trades and Accounting & Finance

Worldwide talent shortage even more acute in New Zealand, with 59 percent of local employers struggling to fill jobs, compared to 36 percent globally

NEW ZEALAND, 29th May 2014 – ManpowerGroup New Zealand today released the results of its 9th Annual Talent Shortage Survey, finding that more than 1 in 2 employers (59%) in New Zealand are experiencing difficulty finding staff with the right skills.

The survey of more than 650 Kiwi employers found the most difficult jobs to fill are Engineers, Skilled Trades and Accounting & Finance Staff – with Accounting & Finance Staff moving up to the top three this year, ahead of IT Staff, which dropped to fourth place.

The results also reveal the talent shortage is increasing in New Zealand, with the percentage of employers struggling to fill roles rising from 48% in 2012, 51% in 2013 and now 59% this year.

Mr Lincoln Crawley, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Australia & New Zealand, said talent is a major concern for employers across New Zealand.

"This is the second year in a row that over half of employers in NZ are struggling to fill roles, despite having an unemployment rate of 6%.

“New Zealand’s economic and employment growth is being fuelled by construction, infrastructure and housing developments in Auckland and Christchurch. This growth is filtering through to other sectors across the country, including retail, accommodation and food services,” he said.

Mr Crawley says talent shortages will severely impact businesses.

“58% of respondents said that the skill shortage is reducing their ability to service their clients, 39% highlighted the reduction in competitiveness and productivity, 27% said that it is lowering existing employee engagement and morale, while 23% said it reduced their innovation and creativity.”

“Organisations need the right staff to service growing demand or they will miss out on growth opportunities and risk being left behind

“We need to look at more targeted campaigns to attract workers from overseas, get better at identifying and attracting untapped talent in the New Zealand market, like young and mature aged workers, and improve collaboration with education institutions to ensure trainees and graduates are work ready,” he said.

A closer look at the global survey results reveals the talent shortage is widespread across the world – but most acute in Japan (81 percent of employers), Peru (67 percent), India (64 percent) and Argentina, Brazil and Turkey (63 percent). Employers in Ireland (two percent), Spain (three percent), the Netherlands (five percent), South Africa (eight percent), and Singapore (ten percent) are the least likely to face shortages.

The research shows that globally the roles most difficult to fill are Skilled Trades Workers, Engineers, Technicians and Sales Representatives – three of those four are unchanged from last year. Employers are still reporting Accounting and Finance and Management/Executive positions are increasingly hard to fill – with no change from last year.

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