Australian IT recruitment profitability falls

A recruitment industry benchmarking report in Australia and New Zealand shows a weak quarter for the industry between January and March this year with profitability across the sector plummeting 53 percent on the same quarter last year. This is according to the latest research by the IT Contract and Recruitment Association (ITCRA).

Ten percent of ITCRA members contribute data to the results, showing tough trading conditions in the information and communication technology recruitment sector. The negative trend for contributing recruitment firms has been ongoing with five of the last six quarters having seen a fall in profit.

The two key underlying measures of current market activity appear to be the number of contractor hours and the number of permanent placements. The recruitment industry benchmarking report average has fallen 9 percent and the information and communication technology sector has fallen 5 percent on last year on hours processed through the payroll.

Source  http://www.staffingindustry.com/eng/Research-Publications/Publications/IT-Staffing-Report/May-30-2013/Australian-IT?cookies=disabled

A10 Networks and DNA partner to expand the channel in ANZ

A10 Networks™, leader in Application Networking, announced today the appointment of Digital Networks Australia (DNA) as an authorised distributor for the Australian and New Zealand region. The partnership will allow A10 Networks to grow its network of value added channel partners, and accelerate market penetration.

A10 Networks and DNA will jointly implement channel development and marketing programs focused on recruiting new channel partners and accelerating business growth for existing partners.

Munsoor Khan, Director of DNA, said: "We’re pleased to be appointed as A10 Networks' Value Added Distributor in this region and look forward to offering their full range of Application Networking solutions to our channel partners and clients. Our new relationship with A10 plays to our key strengths of providing high quality network infrastructure, security and intelligence solutions."

He said DNA has substantial experience of working with fast-growing vendors and a clear view of what support they need. Initially DNA engineers will be certified on A10 Networks’ technology, then these qualified people will be used to enable channel partners. Finally workshop sessions will be held to ensure that DNA’s partners are ready to work with customers.

“We plan to work very closely with A10 Networks to generate end user leads for the channel, by running workshops, road shows and raising awareness in the marketplace of what the company has to offer.”

Hayato Koeda, President & CEO for A10 Networks KK, and Vice President of South APAC, said: "DNA’s strong channel experience, expertise and high level technical support will allow A10 to accelerate our expansion in the Australian and New Zealand markets. We are confident that the partnership will be a success, and anticipate rapid and continuing business growth.”

About A10 Networks 


A10 Networks was founded in Q4 2004 with a mission to provide innovative networking and security solutions. A10 Networks makes high-performance products that help organisations to accelerate, optimise and secure their applications. A10 Networks is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Australia and Singapore. For more information, visit: http://www.a10networks.com

Source  http://www.cso.com.au/mediareleases/16160/a10-networks-and-dna-partner-to-expand-the/

Turnaround seen in tech job market

THE technology employment sector is expected to strengthen in the second quarter, with hiring experts forecasting a turnaround in the market.

Hays senior regional director Peter Noblet said "positivity and growth" would return in Q2.

"We are seeing definite signs of activity in the market right now," he said. "We are predicting that there will be some fairly hefty movement within the jobs market in IT in the coming quarter."

The latest quarterly report from recruitment firm Hays sees a range of demand hotspots for IT skills.

It singles out demand for ASP.NET developers, ERP project and program managers, Microsoft business intelligence staff, SharePoint Developers and .NET developers.

Mr Noblet said senior systems engineers with strong Citrix skills, MS Exchange and SharePoint knowledge were also required. Helpdesk entry-level candidates and Citrix and VMware professionals were also sought after.

While federal government had been slowing down, it was still considered "pretty good", he said.

The public sector roles most in demand were infrastructure specialists, application packagers, cloud computing specialists, data centre architects and transition specialists.

Mr Noblet said in the Hays business there had been a 5 to 10 per cent lift in jobs registered in the past month compared with the previous month.

"The great unknown at the moment is the election coming up later on in the year and whether companies will still wait to see what happens there before heavily investing," he said.

Hudson ICT national practice director Martin Retschko said hiring intentions had improved in the last three months, up 4.8 percentage points for April to June.

"The IT industry itself also has the most positive hiring expectations of any sector," he said.

At this time last year, the IT industry had the second most positive outlook, after the resources sector, according to Hudson ICT.

"We've seen the rate of growth in the resources sector slow a little over the last 12 months as the economic environment has tightened," Mr Retschko said. "However, ICT has remained quite solid over this period as businesses look towards technology solutions in their business transformation projects."

He said there was a genuine demand for IT roles to support business transformation and IT outsourcing initiatives.

"Nationally, the need to closely align IT with the business is keeping demand high for enterprise architects," he said. "Key growth areas include cloud computing experts, relationship managers, mobile app developers and digital specialists."

Clicks IT Recruitment managing director Ben Wood expected the April to June quarter to improve on the first quarter. "The demand for IT people will steadily pick up through 2013," he said.

The recently released Clicks Recruitment and Retention Report, which surveyed 200 large-scale organisations, found stronger demand for contract labour this year.

"In a tough market, the demand for contractors leads the way out of the downturn," Mr Wood said.

"We are seeing 70 per cent of respondents saying that they will use the same or more contractors than they did last year and that is up from 64 per cent last year."

But he said the growth in the market this year would be gradual rather than a dramatic increase.

"The market has bottomed," Mr Wood said. "I'd say in six months' time we will look back at the last quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013 and say it was around that time that we started seeing things turn."

Spark Recruitment director Luke Singleton agreed the market appeared to have lifted since mid-February.

"We expect that there will be continued hiring through the April to June quarter, but predict that the market will become more constrained the closer we get to the end of financial year."

He said employers were being cautious with their hiring spend and were waiting for the "perfect" candidate rather than hiring people that they needed to train or develop.

"This is particularly prevalent in the permanent market," he said.

"Contracting is still very much in flavour and we are seeing long-term, up to 12-month, engagements being offered."

Mr Singleton said the level of work in the market was consistent with the same time last year, but hiring processes had become more complex and the time to hire had extended.

"We believe that the current market conditions are here to stay for the next six to 12 months," he said.

Source  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/it-jobs/turnaround-seen-in-tech-job-market/story-fna12gpc-1226621055435

More Seasonal Workers Bound for Australia

At least 20 additional seasonal workers from Solomon Islands, including 3 females and 17 males have been recruited under the Labour Mobility Scheme to work in Australia’s horticulture industry.

The workers are expected to leave for Australia later this month following their successful selection by a recruitment agent - the SLN Business Solutions.

SLN Business Solution’s knowledge and understanding of the Australian market makes it easier to find employment opportunities for unskilled workers from Solomon Islands.

During a briefing with the workers in Honiara, Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Bernard Bata’anisia encouraged the workers to become good ambassadors of Solomon Islands as they begin their employment in a foreign country.

“The country expects from you total commitment, good behavior, professionalism and dedication while you are out there in Australia. You must respect and obey the laws of Australia and not to do anything that might be detrimental to your work and stay in Australia,” Mr Bata’anisia told the workers.

He said the challenge and responsibility before them are huge as the workers are going to a foreign country with different cultures, background and way of life.

“For all of you, there might be culture shock or other challenges you may face on the ground. But I urge you to maintain calm and focus on your goal and the reason why you are going to Australia and that is to work with your employer and perform to the best of your ability. Show them the skills and talents that you have and demonstrate that that we can also do the job well,” Mr Bata’anisia

Solomon Islands already have seasonal workers in New Zealand and Australia where they have already earned the respect and trust from the various employers in the two countries.

The workers were challenged to maintain that standard and professionalism and not to bring it into disrepute.

“The continued success of our future employment in Australia and New Zealand depends on your performance, dedication and professionalism in your work,” the workers were told.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, through the Labour Mobility Unit will continue to work in this important area in looking for opportunities for Solomon Islanders in the seasonal workers scheme in both Australia and New Zealand.

This will be done in close partnership with the Agents in Solomon Islands, in Australia and New Zealand as well as with the Governments of the two countries.

Source  http://www.solomontimes.com/news/more-seasonal-workers-bound-for-australia/7593

457 visas about union control

EVEN though Julia Gillard's comments against 457 visa workers have horrible undertones of historical Labor racism, they aren't racist. Instead Labor, in my opinion, is involved in an old-fashioned protection racket of entrenched power and money.

It's federal Labor demonstrating it's a sibling of the "rotten throughout" NSW Labor.

It was Labor prime minister Edmund Barton who introduced the shameful White Australia policy in 1901. Then as now, foreign worker restrictions were introduced at the behest of unions seeking to protect jobs.

Then as now unemployment was low. But in 1901 union density was soaring towards 50 per cent of the workforce. Today less than 13 per cent of the private sector workforce is unionised.

Labor's job protection racket no longer relates to protecting the jobs of workers but protecting the jobs, influence and power of the union powerbrokers.

The power of today's unions rests in the leverage and control they exercise over businesses, and the economy, through the Fair Work Act. Foreign workers undermine this control.

Legislative requirements ensure that 457 workers cannot be underpaid. Minimum rates are largely tied to award rates and related conditions. But this doesn't serve union purposes.

The trick with union power today is that the Fair Work Act effectively allows unions to bludgeon strategically incompetent business managers into entering bad enterprise agreements. This happens on a grand scale particularly with big businesses. Clauses in agreements neuter managers by requiring them to seek union approval for major and minor decisions.

With control of managers, unions turn to the workforce with very convincing reasons as to why they should join. Basically, if you want a job, you'll join! Through this process unions control worker recruitment and jobs. This has been the key process enabling unions to re-enter the mining sector, for example.

Even the unions' decade-long enemy, Rio Tinto, has wilted and become "union friendly".

But foreign workers undermine this. Access to 457 workers maintains an alternative route to worker recruitment that is more "market" based. Ex-immigration minister Chris Bowen enraged unions by giving 457 approvals to Gina Rinehart's Roy Hill development in Western Australia. Bowen's demotion has removed this problem for unions.

New Immigration Minister Brendan O'Connor is "fixing" the issue for unions. First he's demonised foreign workers with the Prime Minister's loud support. Next will be the restriction of foreign worker entry in selected areas of union interest.

This will artificially induce a shortage of key labour skills and entrench business managers' reliance on unions for recruitment. Unions will push up pay rates in critical areas, solidifying the inducement for membership.

It's brilliant stuff by Labor. In government it openly and shamelessly uses the law to create institutional power for its elite backers. It's a technique in open display across many policy areas under Gillard.

Ultimately, it can be highly corrupting. Laws are tweaked to favour the rent-seekers. One sort of favour can lead to other sorts of favours and then to the sorts of scandals being exposed in ICAC and Labor furiously trying to protect its brand.

Source  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/opinion/visas-about-union-control/story-e6frgd0x-1226610466289

The 20 companies most Aussies want to work for

IF you could work anywhere in the country, where would you choose?

The most popular answer for Australians is the ABC, according to recruitment firm Randstad.

It bumped last year's winner Virgin Australia from top spot at the 2013 Randstad Awards, with defence and security company BAE Systems coming in third.

The awards measure the perceived attractiveness of Australia's major employers using a survey of 7000 active job seekers.

The ABC, which won second place last year, ranked highly among Australians for its offer of interesting job content, learning and development opportunities, long term job security, workplace culture and work-life balance.

The most attractive industry according to job seekers is the aviation industry, which often scores highly due to perceived benefits like cheaper flights. Virgin Australia and Qantas both ranked in the top five attractive employers.

Mining and resources is the second most attractive sector, with fast moving consumer goods ranked third.

This year Federal Government departments were included in the research for the first time, with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, the Department of Health and Ageing, the Department of Defence and Australia Post all making the top 20.

The survey showed the most important factor when considering an employer was competitive salary and benefits (20 per cent), followed by long-term job security (17 per cent), good work-life balance (11 per cent) and interesting job content (9 per cent).

Randstad managing director Deb Loveridge said this year Australian workers wanted to be recognised and rewarded for hard work and loyalty through better salary and benefits, rather than job security which was a major concern in 2012.

"With people increasingly looking for employers who will reward their efforts and contribution to the organisation, being viewed as an employer who cares for and invests in their people has never been more important to secure and retain top talent in the years ahead," Ms Loveridge said.

The research also found men prefer financially healthy organisations with strong management that offer career prospects and learning opportunities, whereas women look more for flexible working arrangements, accessibility and good work-life balance.

Randstad Award winners 2013 (amongst respondents who know the company, the percentage that would like to work for the company):

ABC - 47 per cent
Virgin Australia - 44 per cent
BAE Systems - 42 per cent
Channel Seven - 42 per cent
Qantas - 41 per cent
Department of Immigration & Citizenship - 41 per cent
Department of Health & Ageing - 41 per cent
Newcrest Mining - 40 per cent
Coca-Cola Amatil - 40 per cent
GHD - 40 per cent
Department of Defence - 40 per cent
Australia Post - 39 per cent
Rio Tinto - 39 per cent
Wesfarmers - 39 per cent
WorleyParsons - 38 per cent
BHP - 36 per cent
Nestle - 35 per cent
Lion - 34 per cent
Westfield - 34 per cent
Computershare - 34 per cent

Source  http://www.news.com.au/business/your-business/the-20-companies-most-aussies-want-to-work-for/story-fn9evb64-1226607050479

Is a university degree still relevant?

Earlier this month, Universities Australia released a report from "The Australian Workforce Productivity Agency" warning that the industry demand for people with higher education is set to sky rocket with growth rates of between 3 and 4 per cent every year till 2025.

Yet with so much evolution in the work place and the technologies that are running them, should a degree still be a definitive requirement or has it become more industry specific?

Ten years ago more than 50% of Australians wouldn't have been able to read this article online due to Internet access constraints. Twenty years ago, stories like this were typed on electric typewriters and faxed to editors, while 30 years ago the yellow pages was the number one source to find the phone numbers for people to interview. Times have changed... drastically.

There are still plenty of people in the work force who would have completed their university studies 20 - 30 years ago, a time before tablets, Google and smart phones, a time when you got a bad back from lugging around the fourth edition of a 10 kg textbook or writing your thesis from facts you found in your Encyclopaedia Britannica that took up an entire wall of your house.

According to many employers or if you check out the latest job listings, it's clear, a degree is still a big desire, even though they could have come fresh off the printing press when a mullet was something on your head, not on your plate and a mouse was something that ate cheese.

Of course if your life long dream is to be a scientist or a vet or a lawyer, higher education is not just necessary it's imperative to ensure you learn the knowledge required to execute these types of positions.

But for many other industries where "hard skills" are required to get the job done is university always the right way to go?

Lincoln Crawley, the Managing Director of Manpower Group Australia, New Zealand as well as the President of RSCA (Recruitment and Consultant Services Association) says in the Australian job market a degree is still an advantage.

"This is a complex issue, what is appealing to prospective employers is that a degree gives the impression of a desire for continuous learning" says Crawley.

So if Crawley was presented with two candidates with similar abilities however one has a degree and the other doesn't who usually gets the job? "If two candidates are all things being relatively equal, then it should be the propensity to do the role and add value to the work place that wins the position not the pieces of paper," he says.

At the time this article was written, a number of universities and Universities Australia were approached to comment on this issue from a Tertiary standpoint, but given the current revolving door of Ministers (Chris Bowen's replacement will be the fifth in 15 months) and the aftermath of the spill, no one was available to comment.
See your ad here

Do those extra letters after your name really get you those extra dollars in your pay packet? Does a degree place you in a position of power and strength in the job market or can it just another form of workplace discrimination?

Most people see the advantage of further education and the pursuit of constant learning, but not everybody believes you always need a piece of paper to prove it.

Source  http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/1389838/is-a-university-degree-still-relevant/?cs=12

Mossad spy Ben Zygier reportedly spilled secrets to Hezbollah leading to his imprisonment

THE Australian-Israeli Mossad agent found hanged in a Tel Aviv jail, Ben Zygier, had passed secrets to Hezbollah before his death, an influential German magazine has reported.

News weekly Der Spiegel said Ben Zygier, a man known as "Prisoner X" who died in 2010 in an allegedly suicide-proof cell, had handed tips to the Lebanese militant group that led to the arrest of at least two people spying for Israel.

After conducting its own "internal investigations", the report found that Zygier had started working for Mossad in 2003, investigating European companies doing business with Iran and Syria.

It said Zygier - who was raised in Melbourne but moved to Israel about a decade before his death - was ordered back to Israel in 2007 because his bosses were unhappy with his work.

In 2008 he took a leave of absence, Spiegel said, and returned to Melbourne to finish his studies after trying to recruit new agents for Israel in a bid to restore his standing with his bosses.

In the process he came in contact with Hezbollah supporters, Spiegel said, and while trying to convince them to work for Mossad, disastrously spilled highly sensitive information.

This included the names of Lebanese nationals Ziad al-Homsi and Mustafa Ali Awadeh, who were arrested in May 2009 on charges of spying for Israel and later sentenced to several years of hard labour.

The report said Israeli security authorities had told Zygier after his arrest that they wanted to make an example of him and demanded a prison sentence of at least 10 years.

Zygier was found dead in his cell in December 2010 at the age of 34.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said the allegations were internal matters of national security for Israel's intelligence agency,

But the coalition still had unresolved questions about how Mr Zygier's case was handled by consular staff in Australia.

Ms Bishop said no effort was made to contact his family or to offer consular assistance to Mr Zygier, an Australian in prison overseas.

It ''beggars belief'' that Stephen Smith could still claim he recalled nothing of the case despite being foreign minister at the time and the matter relating to national security and intelligence.

''This minister Stephen Smith didn't even bother to find out if the family or indeed Mr Zygier required assistance'' she told Sky News on Monday.

It was time for ``frank and honest answers'' from the government about this matter.

Source  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/failed-recruitment-mission-led-to-ben-zygiers-jailing-and-suicide/story-e6frg6so-1226605062114

Is recruitment really like Facebook?

I have heard it said that the business models of recruitment and Facebook have many parallels, most of them not very complimentary.

 

For example, both service two clients, but only one pays. In recruitment it's the candidate and the client and with facebook it's the user and the advertiser. In both instances it seems to be the objective to gather as much information about the non - paying party in order to secure business from the paying party. In recruitment the client pays and with facebook it's the advertiser. That is why facebook wants to know everything about its users, even when they are not on- line - they pass this information to the advertisers who use it to target specific audiences. In the recruitment industry much of the personal information gathered is used to "sell" the candidate to their clients.

In both cases this can harm the reputation of the brand, because the sharing of information often takes place without the candidate's or user's knowledge. This throws up some ethical questions and while both businesses may deal with well-known brands, it places a question mark over their own.

I can't speak for facebook, but I believe that some recruitment agencies need to take a good, long hard look at how they conduct their business. There is a watchdog organisation, APSO (Federation of African Professional Staffing Organisations), which has prescribed a code of ethics that govern their members' business practice. It specifically states, for example, that agencies may not send clients unsolicited CVs or send CVs without first obtaining the candidate's express permission to do so, by divulging the name of the client and details of the vacancy.

It has become more apparent in recent years that many clients insist that their recruitment suppliers are members of APSO before they will engage with them. It provides a measure of confidence that the recruitment agency they are dealing with subscribes to a regulated code of ethics and that they have some recourse should there be such a need.

Deal with an accredited APSO member and you will be more likely to "Like" their service.

For more information about APSO, their code of ethics and whether your recruitment supplier is a member, go to: www.apso.co.za

Source  http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/22/90555.html

Aggregator's recruitment results surprising

Last July, Vow Financial began ‘aggressively’ targeting recruits around the country in an effort to expand its broker network – and the response has been surprising, says the aggregator’s CEO, Tim Brown.

“In February, 2013, a campaign began promoting our industry-first three different commission models: flat fee, percentage and transaction, which has seen a surge in enquiry into the Vow Financial Group. Add to this, Vow's diversification offer makes overall offer truly unique.The surprising results are that the enquiry for brokers has been much higher than we thought.”

Prior to the campaign, Brown says Vow were expecting a 10% open rate to the email sent to industry professionals, but the actual figure ended up being over 25%.

“We also saw a spike in the website page views from new visitors at over 3,000 for the 24 hours after the campaign, indicating market awareness of our new offerings.”

So far this financial year, Brown says Vow has increased its loan writer numbers by 21% compared to July, 2012.

“During February alone, new accreditations to be processed has more than doubled and our BDM team has been swamped with enquiries from brokers. We have seen a change in the industry with brokers expecting more service, support and products from their aggregator. Brokers expect more than a simple lender plug in with a ‘set and forget’ model.”

Source  http://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/aggregators-recruitment-results-surprising-173344.aspx

Controversy surrounding 457 visa crackdown heats up

 The hotel industry has stressed that if the government is going to make it more difficult to employ foreign staff, it must actively promote job vacancies to Australians.

This comes following the government’s decision to crack down on 457 visas that allow Australian employers to sponsor skilled workers from overseas on a temporary basis.

Des Crowe, CEO, Australian Hotels Association (AHA) National said the hotel industry is in desperate need of staff, however the government’s Job Services Australia (JSA) network has failed to fulfil employers' staff quotas.

“Promoting Australian recruitment and cracking down on 457 visas is meaningless unless more is done to connect Australian employers to Australian job seekers.

“The hotel industry would prefer to employ Australians, but we need to be able to find them in order to put them into jobs,” he said.

Crowe said the hotel industry has 36,000 vacancies at present, and he predicts this figure will continue to rise to 56,000 by 2020.

“Tightening restrictions on overseas workers will make it more difficult for employers to fill jobs, so the question now is what will the Government do to get Australian job seekers into Australian job vacancies?” he asked.

He said the JSA network is largely ineffective because it focuses on larger employers, when by nature the hospitality industry is characterised by small business.

“Hospitality is predominantly a small business industry, and we need the JSAs who understand the hospitality industry to connect with local employers not just with big business. Currently the hotel and hospitality sector is being ignored by JSAs,” added Crowe.

He said the AHA promotes hospitality careers, including the current Employ Outside the Box program for disadvantaged job seekers, and highlights the need for the government to similarly demonstrate such support for the industry.

“The AHA is currently providing skills advice to 600 hotels through the Workforce Futures Program.  This presents an ideal opportunity for a tourism and hospitality focused JSA to work with the industry as we roll out the program.

“The previous Employer Broker Program provided funding allowing the AHA to facilitate employment by identifying demand and working with local JSAs to fill vacancies.  It is clear that unless this matching exercise occurs, JSAs will continue to ignore the hospitality sector," he explained.

Crowe said while the JSA system was established with the aim of assisting disadvantaged people find work, many have nevertheless been unable to find meaningful employment because the system simply focuses on directing job seekers to big employers.

“Encouraging employers to maximise the potential of the local workforce by employing workers with a disability, mature-age or disadvantaged workers is nothing more than a gesture unless there are resources available for linking jobs with job seekers.

“As long as employment services fail to recognise the demands of business there will continue to be debate over the need for overseas workers to address labour and skills shortages,” he added.

Source  http://www.hospitalitymagazine.com.au/accommodation/controversy-surrounding-457-visa-crackdown-heats-u

Aussie row over 457 work visa abuse hots up

New Australian immigration supremo Brendan O’Connor’s announcement that temporary work visa 457 was open to widespread abuse has ignited parliamentary confrontations.

Accusations that the 457 visa is being used by Australian companies to employ overseas workers in jobs suitable for Aussie nationals involved claims that jobs were skilled in order to obtain the visas. In fact, the positions were unskilled and were given to cheap foreign labour.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard is taking the stance that a visa system riddled with holes was inherited from the previous government, and believes Australian nationals are missing out on employment as a result. Her opposition counterpart Tony Abbott strongly disagrees, saying that the government is making use of the issue for political reasons and demonizing migrants as a result.

Following Gillard’s Sunday night speech which focused on jobs for nationals, Abbot told the media that her assault on foreigners was insulting to migrants who’d made a significant contribution to the country’s economy. O’Connor, clearly seeking the last word, is now promising changes to the 457 visas which will end the abuse.

Aussie trade unions are in favour of the changes, stating that 70,000 fewer construction jobs are on offer due to a 40 per cent rise in 457 visas issued in 2012. However, Australian businesses, especially in the IT sector, are complaining the new regime will cut the total of available jobs and damage the sector.

Julie Mills, representing an association of IT recruiting companies, believes that Aussie IT jobs may be outsourced to other countries including India as a result of further restrictions, resulting in even fewer jobs for local IT workers. Andy Cross, representing Ambition Recruitment, says that current and future demand is unlikely to be met by home-grown supply, adding that job applications from overseas should be actively encouraged. 

Source  http://www.emigrate.co.uk/news/20130306-6248_oz-row-over-457-visa-fraud

Energy HR: an alternative recruitment solution

Energy Human Resources was founded in 2007 with the aim of providing a commercially viable, honest and transparent recruitment services. With the conviction that ‘there must be a better way’, Founder and Principal Sarah-Jeanne Fraser broke from traditional outsourced recruitment delivery methods and presented industries with an alternative solution.

Ms Fraser has developed a company which is a trusted and respected provider of efficient recruitment services throughout all spectrums of white collar vacancies in the oil and gas, mining and construction industries.

Now with offices in Perth, Brisbane and a newly committed office in Singapore, Energy Human Resources’ (HR) clients have experienced the benefits of an ongoing partnership.

“Energy HR is known for its unique business model, providing a proactive and highly cost-effective recruitment solution to consultancies, engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) firms, and construction contractors around the world,” said Ms Fraser.

“Having ongoing partnerships with organisations within the industries, Energy HR has played a pivotal role in the growth of reputable organisations that have a local and global footprint. Construction and engineering, procurement and construction contractors such as Enerflex, EPCM firms including LogiCamms, and mid-sized consultancies such as Enscope have been partnering with Energy HR for several years.

“Energy HR has thus been instrumental in supporting their growth through recruitment and company development, offering a cost-effective alternative solution to traditional providers.”

Following on from active recruitment throughout all states of Australia, Energy HR opened a Queensland branch early in 2012, allowing the organisation to concentrate on effective recruitment along the east coast of Australia.

Ms Fraser said “Someone once said to me ‘You’re the captain of your ship, so you must always ensure that you’re steering it in the right direction.’ As a result, closely following market and project activity, and networking in areas most relevant to our business has been paramount to Energy HR’s success in the last over five years.

"Understanding the industries we work in, knowing the people in those industries, and being familiar with the relevant projects has allowed us to be successful recruiters. Crossing national and international boundaries has opened many doors that benefit both Energy HR as well as our clients.“

Although Energy HR is known to predominantly operate in the downstream oil and gas and pipeline industries, major contracts have been implemented with companies in the mining and commercial construction sectors, providing successful partnerships with companies such as Macmahon and Brookfield Multiplex.

Ms Fraser said “Energy HR works closely with its clients, offering a solution aligned with their specific business needs that provides long-term successful business partnering. The relationship is intimate, with weekly interaction and integration into the client’s recruitment and HR structures.

“The unique points of difference of Energy HR become evident when the client identifies the reduction of significant costs often incurred when using traditional agency recruitment fee structures. Energy HR delivers consistent results in recruitment, resourcing and consultation. We always maintain high standards of work practices and ensure integrity, respect and confidentiality at all times.”

For more information visit www.energyhr.com.au

Australian employers cautious about giving jobs to people who move often

Employers in Australia are being more cautious when it comes to hiring people who have moved around too often according to the latest outlook report from recruitment services firm Hays. They are also being very specific with their requirements, being more demanding about core and soft skills and are looking for candidates with a proven and stable background.

Employers are willing to wait to find the exact match and in some industries, such as architecture, for example, employers prefer only local candidates. When it comes to employing overseas workers, the Australian market in industries such as procurement is much more open to considering talent from the UK at present, according to the report.

IT employers are being very selective with their permanent hiring and ensuring that candidates with adequate skills and experience are hired. They would rather not hire and have an empty seat than hire the wrong person, says Hays. The report also says that where employers cannot appoint a permanent candidate, they are increasingly looking at other solutions.

‘We are seeing the increased use of temporary workers in the construction industry. There will also be strong demand for not only permanent teachers but an increase in temporary opportunities,’ the report says. ‘Temporary assignments are also a long term strategy for some employers such as those in the accountancy and finance sector. Also, employers in this space are looking for greater longevity and commitment and in return are offering more training and development opportunities,’ it adds.

    Quote from AustraliaForum.com : “Hi ! My CO asked for more Employment Reference Evidence. I am a Civil Engineer with more than 8 years of experience. I gave two reference letters – one covering first six years and another covering next two years. But the CO finds it insufficient and wants more employment reference. What do I do now ?”

Meanwhile, more IT employers are taking employees on a contract basis in order to get them on board rather than waiting for their own internal process for permanent hires due to the length of the process involved. ‘We are also seeing the increase in temporary hires in the logistics and life sciences industries where there is expected to be a flurry of recruitment due to the launch of new products this year,’ it points out.

In the area of office support the amount of direct permanent placements has been significantly lower during the last quarter in contrast to this time last year and employers are now more than ever opting to ‘try before you buy’ and starting candidates on a temporary basis. ‘In a follow on effect, temporary to permanent placements have been significantly higher. Employers are choosing to do this for a number of reasons not least because of the amount of red tape involved with taking a candidate on in a permanent capacity,’ says the report.

In terms of long term solutions some employers are interested in candidates that can take a step up to fill a role rather than have someone more senior take a step back. ‘Therefore some companies are interested in passive candidates who aren’t necessarily active and on the market. We have also observed that employers providing a range of value add services to candidates are seeing modest growth in their firms through increased client attraction,’ it explains.

In the engineering sector, employers are ensuring they have won enough work and have projects in the pipeline before recruiting. However, businesses have become extremely strategic and prefer to utilise their own staff for internal transfers interstate to fill positions and IT employers are placing high emphasis on industry experience along with technical capability.

‘Employers still seem to prefer to hire candidates on a temporary or contract basis initially and then transfer them to their payroll or make them permanent when they’ve either proven their ability and cultural fit or the organisation is better positioned to offer a permanent placement,’ the report concludes.

Source  http://www.australiaforum.com/information/jobs/australian-employers-cautious-about-giving-jobs-to-people-who-move-often.html

457 visa change won’t save jobs: IT recruiters

The technology recruitment sector says changes to the temporary skilled worker 457 visa program requirements, introduced by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Brendan O’Connor, at the weekend do not address the real employment threats posed to local tech workers from offshoring and will have little impact on hiring practices.

The technology sector has been accused of taking advantage of loopholes in the immigration system to employ skilled workers from lower-cost countries such as India in preference to more expensive Australian workers. On Saturday, Mr O’Connor said changes were being instituted across industry sectors to ensure jobs for Australian workers.

However, experts from within the technology recruitment and offshore outsourcing industry said previous reforms had already tightened the ­system enough to make it too expensive to bring in much-needed skills from overseas. Some also warned that the changes meant it was more likely that some roles would now simply be outsourced instead.

The chief executive of the Australian and New Zealand IT contract and recruitment industry body ITCRA, Julie Mills, said the IT recruitment sector would welcome moves to institute consistent and effective reviews of employers across all sectors that were rorting 457 visas.

But she said on-hire arrangements of 457 visa workers were already rigorously restricted by the existing agreement, which limits the number of such visas companies in recruitment can bring into Australia. Ms Mills suggested that offshore outsourcing of skilled positions was more of a threat to tech jobs than 457 workers and that efforts would be better directed towards focusing on training.

“For all recruiters, including ICT, the opportunity to bring in skilled overseas workers requires a rigorous assessment of need via the 457 labour agreement process – so the changes being discussed, I would suggest are already entrenched in the process for recruitment companies,” she said.

“A bigger concern is the offshoring of ICT process and administration roles rather than the 457 visa program. The ICT sector and the contract and recruitment companies would always look to the local market across all states, but if the right skills are not available in the right place then projects cannot wait until the talent re-skills or graduates – particularly in IT which is often central to any infrastructure and business development at both a government and private enterprise level.”

The managing director of technology at recruitment firm Ambition, Andy Cross, said his company had stopped sponsoring workers on 457 visas when the system was last tightened up in 2009 as the process was too onerous.

However, he said tightening up the ability to bring in skilled workers went against the global nature of the IT industry and meant shortages of skilled workers in high demand areas would go unmet.

“With falling demand for undergraduate technology courses and an aging population, it’s obvious we can’t realistically expect to meet current or future demand with our current homegrown supply,” Mr Cross said.

“We probably need to be encouraging overseas applicants to meet market demand and support the technology industry. Supporting local resources first is admirable but perhaps the minister should be looking simultaneously at ways to actively dissuade Australian companies from continuing to outsource IT roles to cheaper cost bases overseas.”

A director at Mindfields, Mohit Sharma, said the changes to 457 rules would have little impact on the local IT jobs market as the outsourcing market had matured in the past five years to such an extent that most high-value work was performed by global teams at large IT companies.

“The IT industry is highly virtually globalised. How many Cloud specialists do AMP or ANZ have? They have none,” he said.

“There is a high demand for these skills, but numbers are very low. Offshoring of such roles will increase but not to low cost destinations.”

Source  http://www.afr.com/p/technology/visa_change_won_save_jobs_it_recruiters_LnRT3ioZvqNIxmC1jVb1bL

State Government must better promote Adelaide as it loses fight to attract international students

THE state's biggest university and industry leaders have demanded the State Government better promote Adelaide as an education destination because it is losing the battle to attract international students.

Federal Government figures show the number of international students enrolling in tertiary courses in SA fell more than any other state in the past year, costing the economy more than $20 million.

Enrolments in SA declined nearly 10 per cent to 28,191 last year from 31,278 in 2011.

Nationally, the average drop was 6.9 per cent, while the next most affected state was Victoria, where there was a 7.8 per cent decline.

UniSA deputy vice-chancellor (international and advancement) Nigel Relph told The Advertiser his main concern was the sharp decline in international students coming into schools and TAFE SA, who would then feed into the universities.

"I would say that government support should be directed towards international recruitment for VET and schools and also destination marketing for the state as SA is still less well-known internationally than the eastern states," he said.

Australian Council for Private Education and Training chief executive Claire Field said the decline in SA was worse than the rest of the country because ministers in the eastern states were better spruiking their state as an education destination.

Source  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/state-government-must-better-promote-adelaide-as-it-loses-fight-to-attract-international-students/story-e6frg6n6-1226580666832

Sky Blues keep Chianese with one-year deal

Sydney FC are showing no signs of slowing down their recruitment drive, having re-signed striker Joel Chianese on Monday morning on a one-year deal.

The 23 year-old made a name for himself last season by bagging six goals in just nine appearance but he has had a frustrating campaign with the Sky Blues and has been limited to just six appearances due to injury. He will be given another chance to prove himself under the tenure of Frank Farina after agreeing terms to a new one-year deal early on Monday morning.

Chianese has returned to full fitness and has been used a substitute in the club's last two home wins against Adelaide United and Brisbane Roar. His new deal comes just two days after Sydney signed Socceroos captain Lucas Neill for the remainder of the season.

The striker was coming off contract and rival clubs had signalled their interest in signing him. However, Sydney maintained a regular line of communication regarding a contract extension and Chianese had no hesitation in re-signing when the offer eventually arrived.

"With every player there's always opportunities out there but for me the club approached me pretty quickly. They let me know their intentions of keeping me here, they had faith in me, they obviously said to me they know what I can do on the park so for me it wasn't really a tough decision."

Sydney FC also in the final stages of negotiations with Alessandro Del Piero's agent over securing the Italian great for another season. His agent and brother, Stefano, arrived in Sydney at the end of last week to finalise a one-year contract extension and held talks with chief executive Tony Pignata over the weekend.

"It keeps getting bigger and bigger," Chianese said. "We have Alessandro, one of the legends of the game and now we have the Australian captain, it's great. The type of people they are, they don't think they're better than anybody else so it's great to have those guys in."

Job cuts as South Australia Police forced to find $150 million in savings

METROPOLITAN police stations could be closed to help cut the police budget by $150 million.

Police Minister Michael O'Brien said the closure of smaller "shop-front" stations is among measures being discussed to meet the savings target over the next four years.

"There's been a significant decline in patronage at what I call the shop-front, outlier police stations," he said.

"It could well be that the smart thing to do is to wind back on a number of those and get those police officers out on the beat.

"Increasingly the public of South Australia are embracing online solutions and SAPOL are increasingly moving to receiving a whole range of reports ... by online lodgement."
Police officers in Rundle Mall

Police officers walk the beat in Rundle Mall. Picture: Calum Robertson

Mr O'Brien said country police stations were not being considered for closure "at this stage".

Mr O'Brien said he will explore possible cuts with Police Comissioner Gary Burns over the next three days, but reiterated a State Government commitment not to cut police numbers.

"We will find the maximum savings that we can within SAPOL but they will not be savings that will in any way bring about a reduction in the size of the police force," he said.

"I don't believe at this point in time, from what I have seen, that they will be sufficient to get us to where we want to be so we may have to return to the budget process and do a top up."

 It comes as South Australia's police union today meets Commissioner Gary Burns amid grave concerns the number of officers on the beat must be cut to meet huge savings ordered during the next four years.
Police officers in Rundle Mall

The police budget must be slashed by more than $150 million in the next four years. Picture: Calum Robertson

Mr Burns has been asked to find $150 million of savings from the SA Police budget over the next four years. He will meet police union representatives today after yesterday conceding savings likely would be made through reduced staff costs .

In 2011-12, SA Police spent $616.5 million on employee benefits expenses and $134.5 million on supplies and services.

Check SA Police's financials, starting on page 104 of their 2011-12 annual report, and leave your suggestions for how the budget savings target should be met in the comments box below.

Premier Jay Weatherill and Police Minister Michael O'Brien have ruled out any reduction in police numbers.

But Police Association president Mark Carroll told adelaidenow the union's members had grave concerns about the implications of cuts for frontline officers.

"With budget cuts of this magnitude now expected in the next four years, it will be extremely difficult to meet them without reducing staff numbers," he said.

"The Government has committed to recruiting an additional 313 police by  2016. Imposing massive cuts to the police budget seems at odds with that promise.

"The association is meeting with Commissioner Burns (today) and will formally request that he identify where the savings will be made."

The budget cuts are in addition to a forecast reduction in sworn officers and cadets - down by 71 to 4535 in June 2013 - compared with a year ago.

Victims' Rights Commissioner Michael O'Connell said any cuts to services would be detrimental to victims and the public in general.

"Victims and other members of the public want the police to be seen dealing with crime, enforcing the law and keeping them safe," he said.

"Hopefully, the cut in the police budget does not impede the Commissioner who is committed to making the police visible, responsive and available."

Mr Burns said almost 80 per cent of the police budget was tied to salaries, wages and superannuation.

"To find those savings will be a very difficult exercise for us," he said. "The last thing we want to do is reduce police numbers but it's on the cards that we will actually  have to look at our workforce."

The budget will be cut by $19.3 million in 2012-13, $31.8 million in 2013-14, $44.5 million in 2014-15 and $57.1 million in 2015-16.

The cuts will have to be balanced against an enterprise bargaining agreement, brokered in March 2011, allowing for a 17 per cent increase in police base salaries over three years.

Mr Weatherill said the Government could not be criticised about the resources it had given to police. "I can rule out any cut in police numbers. In fact police numbers will grow," he said.

"It's gone from 3700 to 4500 at present and will be 4700 by 2016." Mr O'Brien said the State Government was committed to recruiting 313 additional police officers by 2016.

"We are working with SAPOL to ensure any savings do not impact on frontline services," Mr O'Brien said.

Family First MLC and former police minister Rob Brokenshire said savings targets would likely be met by delaying recruitment, rather than sacking officers.

"I cannot see how, with cuts of that magnitude, that there will not be a significant impact on frontline operation police services," he said.

"Above replacement of those retiring, there will be no recruitment services in the next two years. Worse than that could be a net depletion of police numbers due to the budget cuts being so dramatic that they simply can't replace those retiring."

Mr O'Connell said he would be disappointed if the budget cuts prevented the Commissioner from establishing a Police Victims Unit, which he had previously flagged.

Budget and Finance Committee chairman Rob Lucas said police would need to look at both officer and staff numbers to meet the budget cuts.

"For the first time today a police commissioner has confirmed a reduction in total police numbers," he said.

Source  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/budget-cuts-could-mean-fewer-police-on-duty/story-e6frg6n6-1226575351167

Jobs Start-Up OneShift Eyes Capital For Expansion

Australian online recruitment services start-up OneShift is in talks with potential equity partners as its seeks to grow its footprint, managing director Genevieve George told Deal Journal Australia.

Ms. George founded the business in June last year after returning from a working holiday year abroad where she discovered the lack of flexibility and availability of short-term work.

“I made a deal with cafes who would give me shifts and I’d assure them that if I didn’t turn up because I was traveling, someone else would,” explained Ms. George.

In just eight months since its inception in Sydney, OneShift now has 70,000 registered users  and more than 2,000 businesses or households across every Australian state and territory, and has recorded 2 million page views in the past three months.

Though the website initially targeted 18 to 24 year-olds in the hospitality industry and offers roles as diverse as nude modelling, 38% of its users are skilled radiographers, dental assistants, paralegals and engineers, among others.

“Our oldest user is a 78 year-old retiree who accepts project management opportunities when he wants to, while our youngest is 15 years-old,” Ms. George said, noting that the site also offers job-sharing opportunities which is often seized by

Based on performance, users are rated by employers, who in turn, are verified by OneShift once they have paid their employee. While it doesn’t charge companies for posting job ads, the start-up’s revenue is derived from an business’ decision to engage with members; it charges A$22.00 for three introductions and A$5.50 for every one thereafter.  Companies can speak to potential staff via instant or video chat within the site or via telephone, though each member is responsible for providing their personal contact details directly.

Staff are matched on location, skills, and availability and a smartphone app will soon allow users to update their profiles based on geographic changes, for example, if they arrive in Melbourne from Sydney. Another feature which will be added is the inclusion of a calendar which allows members to block out dates like birthdays or university commitments so that employers can access exact availabilities.

OneShift will be launching in New Zealand in the first half of calendar 2013, and has ambitions to expand into Southeast Asia and the northern hemisphere, only after solidifying its Australian position.

Sydney-based Oaktower Partnership is advising OneShift on a potential transaction, which is in response to unsolicited approaches.

Source  http://blogs.wsj.com/dealjournalaustralia/2013/02/06/jobs-start-up-oneshift-eyes-capital-for-expansion/?mod=google_news_blog

Australian union ramps up nationalist campaign against guest workers

Since the beginning of the year, Australia’s largest construction union has been conducting a reactionary nationalist campaign targeting guest workers with the intent of scapegoating them for rising unemployment in the construction, mining and manufacturing sectors.

The restrictive 457 temporary work visas scheme allows Australian companies to employ overseas workers for up to four years, provided they can demonstrate the recruitment is necessary to fill skills shortages. Those employed under the scheme must receive the same wages and conditions as their Australian counterparts.

Two weeks ago, the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) called on the federal Labor government to impose a freeze on the recruitment services of tradespeople on 457 visas. CFMEU national secretary Dave Noonan declared: “The fact that the government is allowing a blowout in 457 and other temporary work visas when tens of thousands of construction jobs are being lost is just crazy policy.” He claimed “too many employers are rorting the visa system to get cheap compliant labour.”

The union also made an extraordinary submission last month to the Senate inquiry considering a draft Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill aimed at amalgamating existing statutes covering age, disability, race, sex and other forms of discrimination. It called for employers to discriminate against guest workers when implementing sackings.

“Our view is that commonwealth and state anti-discrimination laws should explicitly provide that discrimination by employers in favour of Australian citizens and permanent residents not be prohibited by the consolidation legislation,” the submission stated. It demanded overseas workers be sacked first in any downsizing or restructure.

So much for the declaration on the CFMEU’s web site proclaiming the union “welcomes migrants to our industry” and takes a “stance against all forms of racism and sectarianism”. In fact, the union’s persecution of immigrant workers is not new. It has a history of informing on so-called “illegal” immigrants on construction sites to immigration authorities, resulting in police raids and deportations.

The union campaign has nothing to do with defending jobs in the construction industry or stopping the exploitation of guest workers that undoubtedly takes place by employers seeking “cheap, compliant labour”. The real purpose of whipping up this “Australia first” nationalism is to divert attention from the ongoing job destruction taking place under the Labor government and the role of the unions in enforcing the restructuring demanded by big business.

Since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, large sections of the economy have been devastated. In manufacturing alone more than 130,000 jobs have been eliminated. By the CFMEU’s own estimate, some 68,000 construction jobs were destroyed over the same period. Following last year’s marked slowdown in the Chinese economy, investment and output in the mining industry has also declined, with the axing of 10,000 jobs.

In every instance, the unions blocked any fight by workers to defend jobs and working conditions. Last year, the CFMEU oversaw the “orderly closure” of several coal mines including the BHP Billiton Mitsubishi (BMA) Norwich Park and Gregory open cut pits in Queensland. Hundreds of jobs were destroyed.

In construction, the CFMEU has collaborated with companies to drive up productivity through the imposition of greater “flexibility”, the dismantling of protective work practices and the policing of ever more stringent deadlines. These processes not only cut back on jobs but also undermine safety. According to the latest official statistics, 30 workers died in the construction industry during 2010-11—second only to the number of deaths in agriculture.

The CFMEU’s nationalist campaign is being openly backed by sections of the Labor Party. Senator Doug Cameron, the national convenor of the party’s so called “left” faction, has called for a “hard-headed analysis on the need for 457 visas” and “a reassessment of the numbers of 457s required given the downturn in manufacturing, building and construction.”

It is no accident that the scapegoating of guest workers comes in an election year. Like the targeting of refugees, the attacks on “foreign” workers will be used to divert public attention from the responsibility of the Gillard government, backed by the unions, for the avalanche of job losses and the slashing of essential social services.

The federal government, which has been careful not to alienate the major mining corporations, has not yet commented on the CFMEU’s call for a freeze on the issuing of 457 visas. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Julia Gillard signalled the introduction of new procedures to give priority to “Australian jobs” when the government came under criticism for approving guest workers for the Roy Hill project.

The mining industry unions denounced the recruitment of 1,700 overseas workers for the $9.5 billion Roy Hill mining project in Western Australia that is being developed by a consortium led by Australia’s wealthiest person, Gina Rinehart. Australian Workers Union (AWU) national secretary Paul Howes, a key political backer of Gillard, described the hiring of guest workers at Roy Hill as “sheer lunacy”. The CFMEU in Western Australia launched an openly chauvinist campaign, paying for newspaper and radio advertisements denouncing “foreign workers taking your jobs.”

The unions have a long history of whipping up nationalism and racism to divide the working class, going back to the xenophobic White Australia policy that remained in force until the 1960s. The unions subsequently backed immigration restrictions and the compulsory detention of refugees initiated by Labor in the 1980s and extended under the succeeding governments.

Workers must reject the unions’ attacks on “foreign” workers and champion the right of workers to live and work in any country of their choosing with full citizenship rights. The profit system, not guest workers and refugees, are to blame for rising levels of joblessness and the destruction of social services. Any struggle to defend jobs necessitates a political break from those who defend capitalism, including the unions and Labor Party, and a unified fight by workers across national borders. The Socialist Equality Party calls for the formation of rank-and-file committees in every workplace for a workers’ government and socialist policies.

Source  http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/02/04/aust-f04.html

Locals losing out on jobs because of high immigration

HIGH immigration is harming the job prospects of young Australians, says a Monash University study.

The report found about 200,000 migrants who arrived here over the last two years had found work.

This equalled the total number of new jobs created in Australia over the same period.

Monash population expert Dr Bob Birrell said Australians faced ferocious competition from the new arrivals, especially in less-skilled jobs in areas such as manufacturing, retail, construction and food services.

"This had a harmful impact on the level of employment, participation in the labour market and the working conditions of other Australians, particularly young people," he said.

"There is a strong case for a re-evaluation of migration policy in these circumstances."
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Dr Birrell's report, The Impact of Recent Immigration on the Australian Workforce, was co-written by Dr Ernest Healy and will be released today.

It comes as the nation's annual migration program is at a record high of 210,000, and the country is awash with a million temporary entrants, most of whom have work rights.

High immigration has bipartisan political support, despite a recent Galaxy poll, which showed that 70 per cent of Australians don't want the population to hit 40 million by 2050 as projected under current migrant intakes.

The Monash report said that high immigration was continuing as unemployment was worsening - there were 418,000 Australian-born people out of work in November last year compared to 338,000 four years ago.

And the total number of Newstart and Youth Allowance recipients had soared from 501,000 to 672,000 over the same time.

Dr Birrell said that young people without post-school qualifications faced serious problems getting work in the current job market, and they often competed with temporary migrants in the hospitality and retail sectors.

"Yet these are the very industries that have been hardest hit in the recent slow down in employment growth," he said.

The belief that Australia was "importing a highly educated addition to its skilled workforce, which is helping to fill skilled vacancies is largely incorrect", he said. 

Source  http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/locals-losing-out-on-jobs-because-of-high-immigration/story-e6frf7kx-1226568163500

Shock from recruitment industry over DfE plans to abolish safeguarding children Quality Mark

Today the Department for Education announced their intentions to discontinue the  DfE Quality Mark Scheme from 31st March 2013.  The Quality Mark was first launched in July 2002 to help drive up standards in the education recruitment sector. The Quality Mark sets minimum standards for supply teaching agencies like how they interview, the vetting procedures when placing staff in to schools and much more.

In response to this Director and owner of Aspire People, a supply teaching agency in the Midlands said: "The Quality Mark is recognised as an important badge of best practice by LEAs, schools, parents and recruitment agencies. It is the only legitimate way of auditing the education recruitment industry, has raised the standards of supply teachers and ensured that recruitment agency are carrying out the necessary safeguarding and vetting checks properly. Further to this agencies will no longer be accountable."

Aspire People's Operations & HR Manager, Daniel Dawkins said: "We are keen for the Recruitment Employment Confederation to develop a new audit scheme to go live from April 2013 which QM holders can transfer on to. We are having a webinar this Friday with QM and REC regarding this."

The Recruitment Employment Confederation (REC) are writing to Michael Gove and David Laws to ask them to reconsider the decision. 

Source  http://www.onrec.com/news/news-archive/shock-from-recruitment-industry-over-dfe-plans-to-abolish-safeguarding-children-qu

London bankers fear bonus "donuts" to double

Twice as many London bankers fear the dreaded "donut", or zero bonus, in the current pay season compared to a year ago, according to a survey released on Monday.

Financial services recruitment services firm Astbury Marsden said a poll of bankers in London showed 22 percent are not expecting a bonus of any kind from pay awards covering 2012 performance, compared to 11 percent a year ago.

Regulators and politicians are taking a harder line on excessive pay, and Astbury Marsden said 44 percent of those polled cited that pressure as negatively impacting their pay.

Banks including Barclays , Deutsche Bank , UBS and Goldman Sachs are also keen to cut costs in a tough environment and show they have learned lessons from the past, which is also putting pressure on pay.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts bonuses for 2012 in London's financial sector will more than halve to 1.6 billion pounds from last year, and will keep falling until 2015.

Bonuses - typically paid in February and March - will be down 86 percent from the record 11.5 billion pounds paid out in 2007/08, the CEBR said.

Bonuses still make up a big percentage of pay in the industry, and managing directors expected them to be worth 88 percent of their base salary.

Almost half of those surveyed said they would look to change employer if they were unhappy with their bonus, the number of those who would look to move overseas fell to 14 percent, half the level of two years ago.

A separate survey released on Monday said a third of London financial workers expect their base pay to rise in 2013, as firms try to attract and retain the best talent.

International Recruitment firm Morgan McKinley said 57 percent of financial workers it polled expected compensation to remain relatively flat this year and 33 percent expected a pay rise of up to 10 percent. Half of those expecting an increase cited firms' need to attract and retain the best talent as the main reason.

Morgan McKinley said there was a 36 percent drop in registered job vacancies in financial services in December from the previous month to 1,323 positions, down 24 percent from a year earlier.

It said it expects a pick up this month, as a seasonal slowdown in December was compounded by some banks postponing hiring until the new year.

Source  http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/business/a/-/world/15888343/london-bankers-fear-bonus-donuts-to-double/

Are LinkedIn, Monster killing the recruitment industry?

Since the growth of LinkedIn, a social networking website for people in professional job positions, many have pegged the question: is the recruiting industry dead? As the employment pool grows and the job vacancies shrink, companies rely on recruitment.

Business Insider published an article last spring that discussed how the headhunting industry, otherwise known as recruitment, was dying. Through websites such as Monster,LinkedIn and Workopolis, companies can find top talents and workers can find the best positions that suit their skills for free.

Indeed, the Internet has forced industries to evolve, while also creating a scarcity in other fields. Before the days of LinkedIn, businesses had to pay headhunters to discover the ideal worker. Nowadays, as these websites offer free services, companies can simply do it themselves without paying an exorbitant fee.

“In November 2008, in one week’s time, I lost 50 job orders. Everything just shut down. I don’t think it ever really came back, or will ever come back,” said Andrea Sobel, a former headhunter for more than two decades, in an interview with the business publication. “I think companies, in the meantime, have pretty much figured out how to do it without agencies, because of the internet mainly.”

With the unemployment rate in the United States hovering just under eight percent and an enormous phalanx of workers seeking jobs, companies may resort to recruitment agency again in the future.

Canon Recruiting Group, a recruitment firm for senior banking, IT, medical, insurance and technical professionals, has, perhaps surprisingly, become one of the nation’s fastest growing companies. Founded in 1980 by Tim Grayem, the California-based business has been recognized as one of the top human resources companies in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and sales have grown 584 percent during a three-year period from 2009 to 2011.T

he award-winning company, which maintains 500+ employees, notes that it specializes in hard-to-find and hard-to-fill positions, something that LinkedIn may very well lack because it has, according to its own statistics, more than 200 million registered users in 200 nations and territories.

Aside from recruiting, it also offers staffing solutions, consulting services, such as outsourcing and mergers and acquisitions, and payroll functions – it claims to have never missed a payroll in the company’s history.

For those looking for work, its website consists of a job board that lists professional employment opportunities in the U.S., such as project manager, mortgage closer, government and conventional underwriters and mechanical engineer.

Perhaps a job board is easy to search on and navigate and there is a pool of talent waiting to be tapped, but there isn’t a personalized touch, a trait that recruiting agencies are known to specialize in. Even if budgets at firms are tight, utilizing recruiting experts may pay dividends in the future with an array of professional, experienced, talented and skilled employees to carry out the necessary tasks.

As ERE.net writes: “LinkedIn needs recruitment to survive. Despite views to the contrary, recruitment companies still contribute the lion’s share of its revenue. LinkedIn is undoubtedly negatively impacting parts of the recruitment services market. But it’s not the third-party agencies. It’s the job boards.”

Source  http://www.futureofmediaevents.com/2013/01/16/are-linkedin-monster-killing-the-recruitment-industry/

Australian foreign minister warns against revising Kono statement

Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said Japan should honor its 1993 statement acknowledging that the Japanese military forcefully recruited "comfort women" to provide sex for its soldiers before and during World War II.

That episode was one of the darkest in modern history, and a revision of the statement, issued by the then chief Cabinet secretary, is undesirable, Carr said in a joint news conference with his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, in Sydney on Jan. 13.

The government’s official statement, presented by Yohei Kono, acknowledged, “The then Japanese military was, directly or indirectly, involved in the establishment and management of the comfort stations and the transfer of comfort women.”

Responding to questions by Australian media, Kishida said, “Prime Minister Shinzo Abe feels distressed about the issue of comfort women, and he has the same thoughts as those of the successive prime ministers (following the statement).”

Kishida indicated the possibility of Abe upholding two statements by Prime Ministers Tomiichi Murayama and Junichiro Koizumi during their tenure that expressed apology and remorse over the Japanese invasion and colonial rule.

"(Abe) will honor the Murayama statement issued 50 years after the end of the war and the Koizumi statement 60 years after," he said.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga indicated caution about reviewing the Kono statement in a Jan. 4 interview.

But he also said the first Abe government (2006-2007) decided at a Cabinet meeting that documents found by the government carried no description directly indicating the forcible recruitment services and transfer of comfort women to so-called "comfort stations."

Suga also indicated that while upholding the Murayama statement, Abe would provide his own statement.

The Australian foreign minister’s remarks are believed to be intended to express concerns about all of these moves.

The foreign ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation with the United States over security issues in the Asia-Pacific region.

But Carr took a mild tone in the news conference, saying they are not trying to contain China.

Patrys given nod to advance bone marrow cancer trial

Patrys (ASX: PAB) is progressing its Phase I/IIa PAT-SM6 multiple myeloma trial in Germany after receiving positive safety data from the first group of patients.

The company has received approval from the independent board monitoring the trial to move to begin treatment of the second group of patients after no significant adverse events were reported from the first group.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of the plasma cells in bone marrow, with the disease characterised by too many malignant (cancerous) plasma cells being produced.

The first group of three patients was treated in the Department of Haematology and Oncology, University Hospital of Würzburg, Germany, with each patient receiving four doses of Patrys’ lead antibody PAT-SM6, at a dose level of 0.3mg/kg.

Full data from this first cohort will be available in the March quarter of 2013.

The recruitment services of the second group of three patients has already begun, and each of the patients will initially receive four doses of PAT-SM6 at a dose level of 1mg/kg.

The trial is an open-label multi dose escalation trial in relapsed and multi-resistant patients with multiple myeloma who have failed all currently marketed drugs and have a very poor prognosis.

Initially, 12 patients will be enrolled in four dosing groups and will receive a minimum of two cycles of treatment, with additional cycles of treatment offered if a patient shows a partial response.

The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of escalating doses of PAT-SM6, while the secondary objective is to measure efficacy.


Expanding trial

Late last year Patrys received approval to begin the planned Phase I/IIa multiple myeloma trial of its lead anti-cancer product PAT-SM6 in Australia, expanding on earlier approval in Germany.

Approval has been received from the Alfred Hospital Ethics Committee, and the addition of the Australian site will provide Patrys with the option to accelerate patient recruitment rather than relying on a single site.


Growing target market

PAT-SM6 is an anti-tumour antibody that has shown promise as a potential treatment for multiple types of cancer including melanoma and multiple myeloma.

There is an estimated 200,000 cases of myeloma worldwide with only 40% of patients surviving over five years.

The multiple myeloma market is currently dominated by three major products – Revlimid, Velcade and Thalidomide – with combined net sales greater than US$3 billion in 2010.

A trial in patients with this disease is attractive from a development perspective as it is possible to determine very quickly whether the product is working by assessing routine blood counts and bone marrow samples.

Patrys has now screened PAT-SM6 against more than 200 tumours from individual patients with various cancers, and the product binds to over 90% of the tumours screened regardless of cancer type or patient age, gender or disease stage.

The company has successfully completed a Phase I clinical trial to evaluate PAT-SM6 as a therapy for melanoma.

Source  http://www.proactiveinvestors.com.au/companies/news/38118/patrys-given-nod-to-advance-bone-marrow-cancer-trial-38118.html

Warning for Kiwis wanting to work in Australia

 New Zealanders are being warned to do their research before heading across the ditch for work.

A recruitment services expert believes over the last year or so the Australian market has dried up, and their government has been doing more to protect their citizens and keep them in work.

Managing Director of Hays New Zealand, Jason Walker, says the days of unskilled workers heading to Australia and picking up six figure salaries are now gone.

He says employers aren't hiring unless people have very specific skills.

Jason Walker also says there's been a number of issues which have made the Australian job market a tough nut to crack.

"It's very difficult, the Queensland government was almost bankrupt and making a significant number of redundancies, and there's a lot of unionised problems and issues over there with the mining sector."

Source  http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbnat/1526616000-warning-for-kiwis-wanting-to-work-in-australia

10 maltreated OFWs sue recruitment agencies, employers for ordeal

Ten maltreated overseas Filipino workers (OFWS) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have filed cases against their recruiters and principals following their repatriation to the Philippines.

In a report to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Hans Leo Cacdac said the cases have been filed before the POEA’s Docket and Enforcement Division.

Cacdac added that the agency has provided lawyers to help the OFWs pursue their cases.

“The 10 OFWs who filed the cases were among 20 migrant workers who ran away from abusive employers in the United Arab Emirates and were earlier repatriated to the Philippines,” Baldoz said.

She identified them as Nerissa Molleda, Maria Malaya Padilla, Diana Lou Publico, Angela Uyammi, Clarence Viscarra, Mary Chell Afable, Lariza Arceo, Janet Bentero, Jonnalyn Belmosao, and Maida Esmael.

Charged before the POEA were: Futuristic International; Cyber Manpower; Noveau Riche International; Al Mashel Agency; Marhaba Recruitment Agency; Golden Tower Engineering Consultant; Dalandanan Manpower; Al Alammi Labour Recruitment/Ramil Amohtasib; CXM International Recruitment Services, Inc.; Expert Human Resource Consultancy Recruitment; Sky Resources Manpower; Ras Al Khaimah; Konnexion Manpower; Mohammed Naveed Nahrula Siddqi/Dar Almadina; Greenworld Agency; Rashi Mohammed Ali Salim Alkhaya; Dalandan International, et al; Al Amani Labour Recruitment/Royal Emirates Supermarket LLC/Fahad; and Shames Al Sobeh/Madam Rashia.

Cacdac noted that some of the recruiters had no POEA license and record of deployment.

He also cited Futuristic International, and Noveau Riche, which were found to be under documentary suspension by the POEA since November 19, 2011, and July 30, 2012, respectively, due to earlier cases.

Earlier, Labor Attaché to Dubai Delmer Cruz confirmed the repatriation to the country of the 20 maltreated OFWs.

The majority of the abused OFWs were illegally recruited women workers who risked going abroad as tourists and ending up abused and maltreated.

“We continue to stringently warn OFWs against falling prey to illegal recruiters and to immediately report any sign or suspicion of illegal recruitment activity to the POEA,” Cacdac said.

He stressed that recruiters who have continued to recruit OFWs even if their licenses have been suspended or canceled, would be deemed guilty of “blatant defiance of the law.”

Meanwhile, Baldoz reminded the DOLE’s labor attaches in 38 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) of her earlier directive for them to go all out and prevent or pre-empt such illegal recruitment activities in coordination with Philippine Missions abroad and the POEA.

Baldoz, who sits as the POEA chair, emphasized that POLOs have been empowered to cancel the accreditation of any employer found violating the rules on the hiring and deployment of OFWs without having to go back to the POEA in the Philippines. 

Source  http://globalnation.inquirer.net/61263/10-maltreated-ofws-sue-recruitment-agencies-employers-for-ordeal

UAE creates jobs for Emiratis

An additional 2,000 jobs will be created for Emiratis at the travel and tourism company Emirates Group over the next five years. It is part of an initiative to increase the number of Emiratis in the private sector launched by the President Sheikh Khalifa, the state news agency Wam reported.

Emirates Group signed an agreement with Absher, a ministry initiative that helps companies comply with government policies and Emiratisation initiatives.

Emirates Group will meet annual recruitment services targets specific in the agreement by exchanging applicant information with the Ministry of Presidential Affairs.

Jobs will be created across the company’s 50 divisions, which include Emirates Airline and the air service provider Dnata. It employs 62,000 people and has had an Emirati recruitment programme for more than 20 years.

“The personnel hired as part of this programme will work in all fields and at all levels across The Group, including specialities such as engineering, ground services, inflight services, flight crew and overseas station management,” said Abdul Aziz Al Ali, the company’s executive vice-president of human resources, in a statement.

The Emirates Group will work with the Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Board and the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority to recruit Emiratis.

Source  http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-1-152990-UAE-creates-jobs-for-Emiratis

Staffing Services Firm AREA To Streamline Recruitment Processes With Development Of App

 What if applying for a job can be as easy as downloading an app for your smartphone?

Australian Regional Employment Agency (AREA), a private company that specialises in the provision of labor to regional and remote locations throughout Australia, recently divulged plans regarding the development of an application for smartphones which will fast-track the recruitment process to the benefit of both job hunters and businesses looking to fulfil their manpower requirements.

Unlike conventional job boards wherein available jobs are posted, AREA has built its own recruitment process called "Target Recruiting." With this system, a person looking to find work in Australia, particularly in the farming, mining, hospitality, construction and entertainment sectors, simply needs to create an account with the recruitment agency to receive notifications about available jobs. Majority of the workers AREA supplies employers are Australian Working Holiday Makers, Working Travellers, and Grey Nomads.

For applicants, this means that they only get notifications about jobs that closely match their preferences, while for employers, this means cutting the time allocated for recruitment services as the job offers are sent only to those who match their requirements. Concurrently, AREA posts available jobs on their Facebook page which the page's viewers can tag their friends with.

AREA Managing Director Nick Thompson explains that the development of their smartphone app is the next logical step as the company seeks to differentiate itself from other migration recruitment agencies by embracing social networking and emerging technologies.

"Our main goal has always been to ensure continuity of work so that the clients we supply staff to get better quality workers. The development of our app is just another step further to minimising waste for a smoother recruitment process," Thompson added.

In 2012, AREA launched a web-based farm labour hire/contracting recruitment platform which sources out only the staff that match a position request. By fine tuning their recruiting staffing services process, AREA has put a premium in filling the manpower needs of its clients, a vital resource which is essential in the farming industry.

Source  http://www.melodika.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=549629&Itemid=50

NRI hiring may double this year as India Inc looks to go global

A growing desire in India Inc to induct global talent with international exposure is expected to result in a near doubling in the recruitment of non-resident Indians (NRIs) this year.

The country is expected to hire around 50,000 NRI professionals this year, compared to 27,983 recruited last year, finds a survey by a global recruitment tendering platform MyHiringClub.com. Bangalore will lead this recruitment, accounting for 11,894 jobs, followed by Delhi-NCR and Mumbai with 10,320 and 6,780 jobs respectively.

Among the sectors surveyed, IT & ITeS is expected to create 11,450 jobs, followed by FMCG (8,930), automobile & manufacturing (7,341), infrastructure (4,894), pharma & healthcare (3,245), telecom (1,391) and banking & financial services (1,391). 

Source  http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/NRI-hiring-may-double-this-year-as-India-Inc-looks-to-go-global/articleshow/17863860.cms