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Articles on Jobseekers Advice If you would like to submit an article to Jobseekers Advice, then please feel free to contact us. We are always looking for a wide range of articles dealing with career advice, CV advice, interview advice, working abroad, employment issues, education and training and other recruitment or careers related topics. The articles can be the result of professional experience or personal insight - we are looking to offer all points of view.
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International Recruitment Trends by Bernadette Uzelac The increasing globalisation of the marketplace combined with an ever increasing shortage of skilled staff and advances in technology have resulted in large scale changes to recruitment practices throughout the world.
Having recently returned from Singapore where I met with recruitment industry colleagues from the US, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong, it is apparent that the most significant changes to recruitment involve the development of professional employment organisations (P.E.O.’s), the use of email and the internet for sourcing jobs and candidates and the continuing trend towards contractors and temporary staff.
The recruitment industry is gearing up for these changes by developing strategic alliances and global partnering to ensure access to the best candidates world wide.
Professionalism, technical competence and the development of world best practice are the hallmarks of successful recruitment consultancies. Organisations hiring staff continue to undergo massive change in striving to be competitive and profitable.
Many organisations have moved to outsourcing all of their non-core activities. P.E.O.’s have emerged to manage multiple employee groups for companies outsourcing the human resource function. All employees from unskilled positions through to the CEO can, and are, outsourced.
This concept is quite different to the typical approach used by most temp agencies. Organisations of any size can benefit from this approach and employees, particularly those working in smaller companies, have much to gain from the combined benefits that a P.E.O. can offer as a large employer.
Increasingly, recruitment agencies are moving towards sourcing candidates through internet job boards enabling recruitment activity to occur in real time. The ability to recruit internationally has been a huge development and boon for organisations using these services.
In Asia, the concept of “a job for life” is rapidly becoming a vague memory as large scale retrenchment occurs and unemployment figures rise. The growth in temporary and contract positions is a continuing trend and one that is already emerging as a significant growth area in Australia.
Unfortunately, in Australia this growth has also brought with it unparalleled growth in the number of temporary hire firms, many of which lack the professionalism and skills required.
As there is no licensing requirement for recruitment firms, virtually anyone can set up a business with little accountability for their actions. The closest we have to licensing in Australia is membership to the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (R.C.S.A.), the peak industry body throughout Australia and New Zealand.
This is a professional development and self regulatory body made up of member firms which adhere to a strict code of ethics and conduct. The dismantling of the former Commonwealth Employment Service has resulted in confusion in the marketplace and inaccurate perceptions which pool all employment services under the one umbrella.
The fact is that only a very small number of private employment agencies are part of the new “Job Network”. The important philosophical difference between these services and the vast majority of private agencies is the focus.
Job Network agencies are contracted to find jobs for unemployed job seekers, therefore their key focus is on the job seeker.
Private agencies provide a service to employers using their skill, expertise, recruitment systems and networks to source the right candidates whether currently employed or not for their client companies.
The focus in this case is on the employer. This distinction may be subtle but it represents a quantum difference in the two approaches and, consequently, the quality of the service provided to meet the expectations of employers.
Information technology is a major growth area and positions will continue to emerge globally for skilled and qualified personnel. It is pleasing to note that Australia is at the forefront in many areas within the recruitment profession.
In particular, we have a strong emphasis on delivering a quality service and in ensuring the technical competence of consultants. Our industrial relations environment has meant that in Australia there has been an emphasis on ensuring that the right staff are sourced which has resulted in quality recruitment techniques that are now in demand by overseas firms.
Bernadette Uzelac is Managing Director
of People at Work.
She has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Deakin University and a
Graduate Diploma in Organisation Change and Development from R.M.I.T..
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