An automotive recruitment specialist says the impending Omicron outbreak will worsen the skills shortage in New Zealand’s labour market.
Automotive Employment NZ managing director Russell Phillips says the current skills shortage is at a level that few people have witnessed previously.
“We’ve previously written many articles on the skills shortage, including one which referred to the perfect storm of events,” Phillips says.
“One article which we crafted back in 2018 was a mere weather front compared with today. If mass absenteeism suggested by Omicron modellers is correct, skills shortages will increase,” he says.
Phillips says SEEK data shows the volume of job ads rose 88% between July 2020 to July 2021.
Applications per job advertisement dropped to record levels in June 2021 and saw a further decline from September to November.
Contract advertising rates increased by 156% from one job board and recently 110% by another, in spite of a record low number of applications.
“Why are applicants from job boards hard to secure? It’s not just a tighter labour market,” Phillips says.
“Contributing to this issue is the job boards which are communicating with job seekers during the application process.
“Applicants are being invited to upload their resumes to job board databases.
“Candidate managers are hunting your applicants in these databases. Are job boards selling your data twice?
“We investigated this issue last year and further data intrusion is possible with recent privacy changes from a one job
board.
“In this case an admission to holding the hirers’ database of applicants goes back years.
“Are there valid reasons why job boards would hold your applicant data for more than seven years?
“Does this signal an intent to market jobs to your applicants and employees? The answers aren’t forthcoming.”
Phillips says record new and used vehicle sales, truck, equipment, and agricultural equipment sales have fed growth.
New dealerships are opening or being upgraded all around NZ. The number of job openings has increased.
“Immigration policies have never been tighter. A Cabinet paper viewed in 2018 noted employers will need to demonstrate ‘upward pressure on wage and salary rates’.
“And compulsory accreditation of all employers will be rolled out by INZ this year, so expect processing delays,” Phillips says.
“The full range of changes immigration policies rolled out in recent years is extensive.
“COVID-19 protocols are a convenient contributor for government, but the impact of immigration changes has been as planned … upward pressure on wage and salary growth.
“Even when borders reopen, the difficulty to attract and secure skilled migrants will exceed the settings enjoyed in 2019.
“Unless inflationary pressures, firming monetary policy, or supply constraints lead to a slowing market, wage and salary growth is here to stay. NZ’s unemployment rate is equal to the lowest level in New Zealand’s history.
“Could it go lower?” he asks.
