What do you call a recruitment market that just keeps on getting tougher? Well, one short answer is the HR market in Australia.

“We’ve had a tight market, we’ve had a firm market, we’ve seen acute shortages and it just keeps on getting increasingly ‘talent tight," explains David Owens from Digby Morgan’s associate Australian company, HR Partners.

HR Partners is a specialist HR Recruitment business that has enjoyed a close association with Digby Morgan for over seven years. And, with five branches in three cities, HR Partners is genuinely the market leader in HR Recruitment down under!

“What happens in Australia is a microcosm of the global market for talent and what happens in the Australian HR recruitment space is closely aligned,” continued Owens. “Currently the market is ultra tight. We have a large number of opportunities but a real dearth of qualified candidates on the hunt. Almost all categories of HR professionals are in demand - especially those with more than two years experience.

Why Now?

One of the reasons driving the shortage of HR professionals in Australia is the fact that Australia - a relatively small country of approximately 20 million inhabitants - has a huge flow of both immigration and emigration.

“We have new arrivals tumbling in all the time and, simultaneously, a large number of Australian professionals moving out to take up work opportunities in the UK and Europe. The latest development, of course, is on the back of the outstanding growth in the Asian market and we’re subsequently witnessing a significant flow of Australian talent into the Far East and Singapore. Australian expats are a very successful commodity in the Asian context. It’s fair to say that as a critical part of career planning, the ambitious HR professional in Australia expects to spend some time overseas. If not on the two year thing in Europe and London then in the Asian market - China and Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and, increasingly, the Philippines and India.

“A further significant reason for the acuteness of the market is the rise of savvy, modern business leaders. The people running Australian business are highly educated, talented individuals many of whom have studied some aspects of modern HRM. So HR is valued and enjoys investment but the reality is that supply has not kept up with demand. The market is demanding fully-fledged and experienced HR professionals and, right now, there are just not enough to go around.

“Both in the UK and in Australia it seems that the employment markets we both operate in are very similar - it is just that Australia has cleaner cities, less traffic, less rain and better cricket! So, for all of you would be ‘new Australians’ and for all you Aussies looking to return to the east coast - the side with the Pacific ocean on the doorstep - don't hesitate to drop me an email at dowens@staff-exec.com.au”

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