Recruiting the talent you need – When it comes to the mining industry in Queensland, the skills or labour market is a complex and changing landscape that defies many of the conventional economic models of supply-and-demand.
When extraordinary ‘local’ circumstances are factored in, such as extreme remote locations and the impact of adverse weather events, it’s difficult to predict just when the current skills shortage might peak. Although a number of initiatives have been discussed at both state and federal levels, such as an increase in the skilled migrant intake, history tells us that there is no quick, easy solution to a problem of this kind. In 14th century England, when plague struck down between one third and one half of the population, King Edward III passed the Ordinance of Labourers, a piece of legislation that was designed to offset the subsequent acute shortage of labour by fixing working conditions and wages at pre-plague levels. The simmering resentment that followed this piece of legislation was a contributing factor to the peoples’ revolt of 1381, and did nothing to solve the original problem of a severe labour shortage!
Fast forward to 2011, with the prevailing market conditions, and what can a recruiter or an employer do to find or attract the talent that they’re looking for?
It may be something as simple as starting a conversation.
The people that you’re looking for are smart, savvy and ‘special’. They know that they’re in demand, they know what they’re worth, and they need to be persuaded that it’s going to be a good move if they come and work for you, in preference to the dozens of other companies that might be chasing them. Starting a conversation where you talk ‘one-on-one’ about your company, what it’s achieved and where it’s heading can be a powerful and positive way to get people thinking favourably about you as an employer, provided that you do it through the right medium or channel.
Newspapers are still the most ‘engaging’ form of communication for serious recruiters who want to open up a dialogue with potential job candidates. When people read a newspaper, they give it their undivided attention. They can dwell on one page or one section for as long as it interests them. They can flick back to something; they can keep it for future reference, they can pass it around to friends and colleagues. As Queensland’s biggest recruitment marketplace, The Courier-Mail CareerOne lift-out in The Saturday Courier-Mail is the perfect place to showcase and build your reputation as an employer of choice. With a regular section that’s dedicated to the mining, engineering and construction industries, the editorial environment is both credible and authoritative, bringing some persuasive extra support to your corporate message.
Throughout the year, The Courier-Mail CareerOne lift-out also runs a number of special advertising features covering specific aspects of the mining and resource industry, enabling you to reach a pre-qualified audience during a strategically-timed recruitment window. Newspapers cater to the information needs of all age groups, and The Courier-Mail CareerOne lift-out to all types of jobs, across the board. Your advertisement can stand out from the rest in the highly competitive labour market to a potential audience of 965,000* readers each week.
If you offer training courses as a way of expanding the mining industry talent pool, then the Upskill section every week in The Courier-Mail CareerOne lift-out is another option, again supported with engaging editorial on a wide range of training issues. Some analysts predict that the mining industry skills shortage could be with us until 2020. We have no way of knowing if that is the case, but we do know that, in the years ahead, The Courier-Mail CareerOne lift-out is determined to be there to help employers and recruiters find the top talent they are searching for.
Contact: your Account Manager on (07) 3666 6358 or email: bookingsqld@careerone.com.au
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