New analysis from global HR and recruitment services firm Randstad has revealed that 4% of all Australian engineering and maintenance jobs are currently vacant, compared to a global industry average of 2.1%.
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The skills with the highest vacancy rate in Australia are:
1. Operational efficiency — 7.7%
2. Facility maintenance — 6.9%
3. Safety and compliance — 5%
4. Civil engineering — 2.9%
5. Equipment maintenance — 2.5%
6. Electrical engineering — 2.2%
7. Mechanical engineering — 1.3%
Salaries are being driven up in part by this skills shortage, with Australia offering the fourth highest salaries for the skills globally, with an average salary range of $72,000 to $138,000—11% higher than the UK.
While Australia has stronger female representation in the industry when benchmarked against key players like the US and UK, more must still be done to close the sector gender gap with men currently accounting for 71% of all engineering and maintenance talent.
Randstad national director of construction, property and engineering Clayton Colbert said, “It’s around twice as challenging to find the right engineering or maintenance talent than the global average.
“They tend to be less mobile and are usually required onsite, generally making it harder to access new talent pools. So, rather than fighting talent scarcity in their local market, businesses struggling to recruit should look to relocating talent within the field.
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“Employer branding is a key piece to this puzzle. To attract interstate or international staff, they need to compete on salary as well as non-pecuniary benefits, culture, and work-life balance.”
