UPFRONT Trans Tasman talent tussle?

The drain of Kiwi brain power across the Tasman is likely to remain problem as job demand in Australia surges at time when the local labour market is also under pressure.
In the past year, mining boom in Australia has contributed to the creation of more than 400,000 jobs – the highest annual rate since records were first collected 40 years ago. Unemployment has fallen to record three percent in the ACT and 4.4 percent in Western Australia, though the country as whole has not yet broken through the five percent rate.
New Zealand has meanwhile hit the lowest level of unemployment recorded in OECD countries at 3.7 percent, with warnings that the gradual slowing of growth in working-age population combined with continuing employment growth is putting more pressure on an already tight labour market.
Statistics show more women entering full-time employment but at least one recruiter suggests employers are not doing enough to tap into under-utilised skills resources – including older workers, mid-career mothers, those wanting part-time work or job-sharing, foreign students and new migrants.
Robert Half International managing director David Jones says “it is critical employers utilise this goldmine of highly trained and experienced workers rather than selecting candidates purely because they fit the traditional full-time employee profile”.
While this is not new issue, it is becoming more critical.
“There is need to focus on implementing people-friendly strategies that attract the potential talent by offering flexibility in the form of job sharing, adaptable working hours, room for personal development, sabbatical opportunities, unpaid leave options and the ability to work from home.”