Guest comment: as the market heats up, here are the hottest jobs
Recruiting activity in Australia's banking sector is heating up as organisations that have been operating with skeleton staff increase headcounts and improve the work/life balance of existing staff. Skills shortages are likely to re-emerge and candidates will move back towards the driving seat of the jobs market.
Compared with a year ago, Australia's banking job market is almost unrecognisable. Last year jobs were cut, jobseekers' confidence was low and recruiting employers could select from a vast range of immediately available candidates.
Today however, employers are acting to aggressively take more market share. Business is improving and firms tell me that they sense new optimism in the market. In line with increased confidence, permanent vacancy activity is rising, not just in banking, but also in wealth management and insurance.
There are also many instances of employers opting to recruit now in an attempt to gain competitive advantage and secure the best of the available talent. Meanwhile employers are repopulating teams that have been struggling with extra work. They realise that they risk losing dedicated employees who don't feel recognised, rewarded and, most of all, supported. Thus employers are reassessing and recreating vacancies to support their teams.
Together this vacancy activity is draining the candidate pool. The GFC may have given employers a breather from the skills shortage, but with such activity now taking place the breather will not last forever.
So which jobs are really in demand?
Already the first signs of skills shortages can be seen. For example, with the housing market active and auction rates almost three times higher than one year ago, workloads have risen within the home-lending operations space. Mortgage processing candidates are consequently in demand. Retail lending (residential) candidates are also sought as confidence returns and people reinvest.
Equipment finance is a growth area, particularly within the major domestic banks. In addition, the banks consistently face large issues in the fraud space and so seek new ways of analysing and detecting activity in this area. This means fraud analysis and detection candidates are needed.
Superannuation candidates are also sought. Industry funds are increasing their recruitment activity and are hiring relationship managers and business development managers to build new business. Superannuation operations functions, particularly client services, continue to require new candidates.
As the economy begins to stabilise and the Australian dollar strengthens further, retail and institutional investors are beginning to return to the market. With the Big Four banks acknowledging the importance of a wealth-management-lead recovery, financial planners and para planners are once again sort. Technical para planners and sales-focused financial planners in particular are in demand.
Business analysts and project managers (transformation and change management) are another area of demand. New budgets have been allocated and projects that were postponed during the past 12 months are now commencing.
Credit risk will also be an active area of recruiting, although it is an area where skills shortages already are an ongoing issue, particularly for SAS and SQL skills.
Given such levels of candidate demand, a "skills storm" is likely to return and those employers with effective resource planning in place (and the right infrastructure) will be the ones who come out smiling. This includes access to a global candidate pool; re-examining recruitment practices to ensure they are best-practice to help you attract staff; and shortening the length of the hiring process in order to quickly secure quality candidates.
Jane McNeill, senior regional director, Hays Banking
(Daily Dispatches is taking a holiday until early next month.)
