Jobs slump doesn’t mean the skills crisis is over

The recent turnaround in the mining engineering sector, has brought about daily news of projects being put on hold; failed take-overs; recruitment freezes and in the worst cases large scale redundancies.

But how has all this effected recruitment for the coming year? Does this mean the skills shortage is over?

Articles such as this one suggest not with The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) predicting a 20% jump in mining jobs by 2010.

Whilst most engineering firms have slowed their recruitment; they are also using this opportunity to assess their current skills in house against what has become available in the market place; using this opportunity to employ higher skilled people to join their team. The shift in the market means that companies are now able to choose from a few applicants for 1 job rather than 1 applicant for several jobs.

Most engineering firms are expecting that for the first part of next year, this market shift will also mean that they are able to do much of their own recruitment in partnership with only a handful of key external recruitment providers who understand and promote their business; and not settle for anything less than great service.

Susan Anderson is a Principal Consultant and specialist in the field of Mining & Heavy Industrial Design.