Recruitment

It’s hard to overstate how disappointed, frustrated, angry and I felt when I read ABC journalist David Taylor’s article Former recruiters tell of their industry’s dark side, as more Australians are likely to need their help on the ABC news website last Thursday. I thought hit-jobs on our industry from ill-informed journalists were a relic…

L-R, My grade 6 teacher, George Kwong (1977); my last day of school in Fiji (1978) On the evening of 30 November 1976 my ten-year-old self, my three younger sisters, and my parents disembarked at Nadi International Airport, after a ten-hour journey from Hobart, via Sydney. My father, having been granted leave without pay from…

If any employer or recruiter thinks that the hiring challenges of 2021 are the peak of their problems then they have another thing coming; very soon. Reports and data out of the UK and the US provide a harbinger of what’s almost certainly ahead for the Australian labour market. Late last month UK fast food…

Australia’s use of immigrant labour, whether via working holiday visas, the Seasonal Workers Program, the Pacific Labour Scheme or the skilled migration program has never been far from controversy. Last year it was the harsh reality that many farmers and growers refused to employ Australians for fruit picking and other agricultural work despite saying they…

New Zealand RCSA members enjoyed what Australian members have not been able to, either this year or last year, when they gathered for their 2021 Winter Ball and Awards Night in Auckland on 8 July. Among the 11 category winners was the 2021 Recruitment Professional of the Year, Brian Bernard. Brian has been responsible for…

The past 18 months have provided all the evidence that the Hays Australian temp division is the single most important business unit in the Hays global empire. I compared the Hays 2021 financial year results for the period 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021 with the Page Group results (comprising the brands Page Executive,…

Earlier this week SEEK Limited released its full-year results for the 2021 year, ending 30 June. The headline group results were: Revenue up 5% (in constant currency) to $1.59 billion Operating profit up 18% (in cc) to $473 million Net profit after tax (before extraordinary items( rose 58% from $89 million to $141 million) Group…

Last month three different friends or clients in three different states attempted to hire either a PA, EA or a clerical assistant. Six weeks later the three jobs remain vacant. Candidates starting then accepting another job, candidates ghosting the interviewer, high salary expectations and no candidate worthy of an offer summarised the experiences of those…

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has created the most significant re-set in the employer-employee relationship in this country since the Sex Discrimination Act (1984) of nearly four decades ago. Australia is just one of many countries where changed expectations, rather than new legislation, have rapidly altered the workplace dynamic. These changed expectations are…

This week, two different events of significance occurred in the Australian employment sector. On Monday, a group of Uber drivers from Sydney and Melbourne launched legal action in the Federal Court to determine whether they and thousands of other gig economy delivery drivers and couriers are entitled to the minimum rates of pay and other…