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Skilled staff shortages loom again as GFC recedes


Issues & Trends – December 2010/January 2011

Skilled staff shortages loom again as GFC recedes

STAFF shortages are again emerging as a potential major headache for the industry as the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) recedes, the corporate travel market stages a strong recovery and the high-flying Australian dollar drives increasing numbers of Australians through leisure travel agencies’ doors in quest of overseas holidays.

The honeymoon for employers is well and truly over according to inPlace Recruitment managing director Sandra Chiles.

“We started the year coming off the back of a downturn with some displaced candidates still looking for work,” she said. “However the rapidly returning skills shortage is going to challenge the
travel industry now and in the long term.”

AA Appointments Australia managing director Adriana D’Angelis agrees. “During the GFC, the travel industry enjoyed a rare period where we had an abundance of qualified candidates to forward to each job vacancy,” she said.

“However in the past nine months we have seen this trend come to a rapid end. It is estimated that 25 per cent of industry staff have made the perman-ent move to external industries such as real estate, retail and finance.

“Compounded with the intense growth in the industry, this has resulted in an ever increasing demand for qualified staff, in all areas including corporate, wholesale and retail travel.

“Our clients are now experiencing a major skills shortage.”

But D’Angelis stresses the news is not all doom and gloom. “Great candidates are still around, it is just a matter of finding them,” she said.

AA Appointments ran a major campaign during September-November encouraging candidates who have left the industry to re-apply. The campaign also targeted mums coming back to work on a part time and full time basis.

“The drive was very successful and in November, AA recorded our highest month of new placements in the past 10 years – up 25 per cent from the 2008 boom period,” D’Angelis reported. She said this included both executive and operational level roles.

“AA has also been working closely with travel colleges and assisting companies with their staff induction and retention strategies, which has also provided some short term solutions,” she added.

Richard Kellaway, general manager, of Melbourne specialist travel recruitment company, CRC Travel Locum, agreed with his colleagues but also pointed out: “Apart from one or two periods in the past 15 years, there has been a continual shortage of experienced staff, and it is becoming increasingly acute.

“When people stop hiring, as they did during the GFC, the ripple effect is felt two to three years down the track, so potentially, the situation is going to get worse before it gets better.”

Kellaway believes the solution may come from two areas.

One is to embrace the global work-force – “and to that end we have already started investigating bringing experienced staff in from Ireland through 457 visas, where the skills and experience are immediately transferable”, said Kellaway.

Secondly, he said, the industry needs to take advantage of “the great resource sitting at home bringing up children”.

Kellaway suggests that companies able to strategically harness the highly experienced part-time workforce – and make it possible to for mums to job-share seamlessly in the retail or corporate travel sectors – will be “the real winners in the battle for the quality employee”.

Chiles believes it is vital the travel industry supports a long term work-force plan to attract, develop and retain talent.

She urges greater workforce flexi-bility; recognition of skills and experience gained in other industries; and rewards and recognition programs relevant to today’s workforce culture.

“Traditionally the ‘frontline’ roles are where the greatest needs are and this will continue into the next 10 years,” she said.

Chiles advocates recruitment based on aptitude and attitude whilst broad-ening recruitment strategies to embrace the mature aged, part time and return to the workforce job seekers as well as sponsorship of overseas experienced travel personnel.

She is also calling for lobbying of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship to have critical travel roles added to the Skilled Occupation List, which she dubs the “endangered list”.

“We are already beginning to see a tug of war for quality staff. The way we tackle the escalating skills shortage now will have a strong influence on future growth for our industry,” she said.

 

 

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