The Australia New Zealand Mexico Chamber of Commerce and Industry utilizes Skills Connect e-recruitment cloud technology integrating a customized Google Search Appliance into its website for its members. This now gives full functionality to members both in Australia New Zealand and Mexico for managing their recruitment search and filtration with this game changing technology.
www.anzmex.org.au
By Skills Connect.
12
MAY
A match made online
AFR| MATHEW DUNCKLEY | 11 MAY 2011 12:03:29 | UPDATED: 11 MAY 2011 12:46:27
A new online matching system will allow employers to cherry-pick a new government database of skilled migrants wanting to move to Australia.
Under the system, migrants will first submit an online expression of interest and from there the federal and state governments as well as employers will be able to invite them to make an application for a visa.
Presently, it is companies that must find applicants overseas to sponsor to Australia and applicants have no official way of flagging an interest in moving to Australia aside from the formal visa application process.
This means applicants may have to apply for an independent visa with the hope of finding work after they arrive in the country even though a company may have sponsored their move.
“It is critical that Australia’s skilled migration program is driven by Australia’s skills needs rather than the desires of prospective migrants,” Immigration and Citizenship Minister Chris Bowen said.
“Under this model, the government will be able to select migrants like a business manages its workforce – selecting the best candidates, altering the skill composition of its workforce and speeding up or slowing down recruitment as circumstances change.”
Mr Bowen said he wanted to consult with industry and migration experts on the design and detail of the scheme.
It is understood that the new system will seek to improve upon the existing but cumbersome Skill Matching Database, which allows companies to examine visa applications.
The online service is due to be up and running by June next year at a total cost of $5.9 million over four years.
The Australian Financial Review
By Jason Cadden | AAP | April 18, 2011 | 8:56AM
THE skills shortage re-emerged in the March quarter as the rebuilding effort after a string of natural disasters led to demand for skilled labour outstripping supply.
The 2011 March quarter Clarius Skills Index rose to 100.3 index points, just above the 100 mark that indicate a balanced labour market.
The index was 99.9 in the December quarter, showing a marginal oversupply.
The index showed demand for skilled labour rose by 64,000 in the March quarter, while supply increased by 51,400.
The report said skills shortages were most noticeable in the construction, building and engineering categories.
Clarius chief operating officer Kym Quick said post-disaster reconstruction, combined with the resources boom and major information technology (IT) projects were putting a strain on the availability of skills.
“This is shaping as a major national issue,” Ms Quick said in a statement.
“Western Australia’s boom economy continues draw a range of skills. The impact of the floods, and cyclone in Queensland, has not fully translated into major shifts in labour demand or supply but they are now starting to emerge.
“There are also pressures in the IT sector as three of the major banks spend $4 billion to upgrade their IT systems, and the national NBN rollout.”
Ms Quick said there were oversupplies of skilled labour in health, social and electronic occupations and there had been some large increases in demand in professional categories.
“In financial services we are seeing a tightening of the market because of a reluctance of professionals in this category to chance their arm and explore other job opportunities,” Ms Quick said.
The Clarius index, prepared by KPMG Econtech, analyses labour and supply, using labour force data from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The unemployment rate in March fell to 4.9 per cent, from 5 per cent in February, Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows.
AAP | April 13, 2011 | 2:53PM
NEWSPAPER ads for skilled workers rose by 1.7 per cent in April compared to month earlier, national data shows.
The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations skilled vacancies index in April was 42.9 points, 7.5 per cent lower than in April 2010.
The data will add further to perceptions that Australia is facing a skills crisis as the mining industry expands along with the need for major infrastructure projects in capital cities.
The department’s internet vacancy index rose by 0.7 per cent for the month of March to 94.0 points, to be 13.9 per cent higher than in March 2010.
Newspaper vacancies in April rose in all three of the occupational groups monitored by the department.
Professionals rose 1.7 per cent, associate professionals increased 2.3 per cent and trades were up 1.6 per cent.
Among trades, the largest increase was recorded for electrical and electronics workers, rising 4.1 per cent, while the biggest fall was seen in construction, down 1.8 per cent.
Skilled vacancies rose in two states and Northern Territory during April, led by a 7.4 per cent increase in Queensland.
The biggest fall was seen in Western Australia, down 1.5 per cent.
Over the year, all states recorded falls except for Queensland, which rose 10.1 per cent.
The biggest drop was in NSW, falling by 25.6 per cent.
AAP | February 08, 2011 1:18am
THE Australian economy is booming but rising wages amid a tight labour market are concerning businesses, a survey shows.
The latest Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) business expectations survey showed employment expectations at their highest level in more than seven years, at a net index of 11 points.
The survey found competition for new staff and its effect on wages were the issues most likely to affect business conditions into the middle of the year.
Executives reported an overall easing in expectations for sales, profits, inventories and capital investment after recent highs.
Twenty-seven per cent of companies expect wages growth to be the primary influence on their business, up two percentage points from the previous month.
The unemployment rate for December 2010 was five per cent and was expected to fall further during 2011.
AAP | January 27, 2011 | 7:57am
AUSTRALIA could be heading for its lowest jobless rate in almost four decades, creating a shortage of workers, Access Economics says.
Access, in its latest Business Outlook released today, said the unemployment rate would average 4.1 per cent in 2011/12, nudging up only about 0.5 percentage points over the following three years.
This would take unemployment to its lowest rate since 1974.
“The problem won’t be where the next job is coming from, but where the next worker is coming from,” Access said.
The forecaster said a drop in immigration – being encouraged by politicians seeking a “smaller Australia” – and growing baby boomer retirements, would lead to skill shortages.
Net migration peaked at 298,900 in 2008/09, but it is set to level out at about 170,000 from 2015.
AAP | December 09, 2010 11:35am
AUSTRALIA’S unemployment rate was a seasonally adjusted 5.2 per cent in November, down from 5.4 per cent in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said today.
Total employment rose by 54,600 to 11.416 million in the month, seasonally adjusted. Full-time employment rose by 55,100 to 8.033 million in November and part-time employment was down by 400 to 3.383 million.
The participation rate in November was a record high 66.1 per cent, up from an unrevised 65.9 per cent in October.
The forecast was for total employment to have fallen 0.2 per cent to 5.2 per cent, an AAP survey found.
Economists forecast total employment to have risen by 20,000 in November, with a participation rate of 65.8 per cent, down from 65.9 per cent in the previous month.
By Eoin Blackwell | AAP | October 05, 2010 | 8:12AM
THE number of jobs advertised on the internet rose in September, following increased employer appetite in the healthcare, accounting and IT sectors, a survey shows.
The Advantage job index rose 3.29 per cent in September, marking the 13th straight weekly increase in jobs advertised online.
The sector winners for September included healthcare, up 7.29 per cent, accounting (up 6.57 per cent) and information technology (up 5.57 per cent).
“The job market is going from strength to strength and, with the election behind us and a growing economy, this trend looks set to continue,” Advantage director of global market intelligence Bob Olivier said.
“In times of growth, employees are more willing to commit to full time employees rather than hedge their bets in a slowing or uncertain economy by hiring contract or temporary staff or freeze hiring altogether.”
The index showed the number of part time positions advertised rose 3.4 per cent in the month, while full-time positions rose 3.2 per cent.
Casual and temporary job ads rose 1.8 per cent in the month.
By Elissa Doherty | Herald Sun | September 17, 2010 | 12:00AM
A BAD boss – rather than a dislike for the job – is the main reason people quit, a new book says.
Workplace management expert Tony Wilson said bosses should look at themselves when staff resign, rather than blaming factors such as salary and workplace environment.
He pointed to a survey by global research organisation Gallup that found the calibre of the boss was the primary reason people stayed – but also the main reason people left.
He said research from Indiana University also found that a worker’s relationship with their boss was nearly as important as their relationship with their spouse.
Wilson, who wrote Jack and the Team that Couldn’t See, claims most managers spend too much time on operations, systems, strategy, products and services rather than people.
“While these are important pieces in the performance puzzle, they spend relatively little time developing their people – their greatest competitive advantage,”he said.
Mr Wilson said among the important areas bosses need to concentrate on were providing clarity on their expectations of staff, constant feedback and open and honest communication.
Social intelligence was also important to learn how to properly relate to staff.
AAP | September 06, 2010 | 11:46am
AUSTRALIAN businesses are confident about the economic outlook, with job advertisements rising 2.6 per cent in August and 36 per cent on a year ago, a survey shows.
The ANZ job advertisement series shows the total number of job ads placed in major metropolitan newspapers and on the internet rose in August to an average of 176,239 a week.
This follows a 1.4 per cent rise in July.
“The pick up in job advertisements in recent months suggests Australian businesses are confident about the local outlook despite the uncertain global economic environment,” ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan said.
“This suggests the Australian economy is maintaining good momentum into the second half of 2010.”
The monthly rise in job ads in August followed a 6.9 per cent increase over the previous three months from April to June, the report showed.
The August increase reflected a 1.5 per cent rise in newspaper job ads and a 2.6 per cent increase in internet job ads.
The survey showed the total number of ads was 36.1 per cent higher than August 2009, seasonally adjusted – the fastest annual growth rate since May 2007.
