Job market trends

Employers have reduced the number of junior and intermediate permanent health and safety roles and are making less use of contractors, in response to the current economic recession.

Similarly, people currently in salaried OHS roles are not moving on as rapidly as they might have done a couple of years ago, as the desire for job security rises.

There is also stiff competition for senior OHS roles which fall vacant, as highly qualified and experienced New Zealanders look to return from overseas, along with similarly skilled would-be migrants who want to relocate here.

This is the consensus view of a number of people involved in recruitment for OHS roles contacted recently by Safeguard.

Alison Gill, director of specialist recruitment agency Eden FX HSE Recruitment, describes the competition for senior OHS roles as “fierce”, but says there is still role growth in sectors such as energy and infrastructure.

With a larger pool of talent available, employers are looking to recruit people who will stick around, “rather than someone who believes it is still necessary to change positions every 12 to 18 months for career development purposes.”

This is bad news for the type of CV Mike Cosman often sees, where people have stayed in OHS roles for two years or even less.

“It’s not clear if this is about them building their CV by getting a range of experiences, or of a more worrying sign of a mismatch between expectations and reality on the part of employer and employee.”

Cosman, managing director of Impac, says enquiries from overseas remain strong as people lose their jobs in the recession or look to relocate to New Zealand for the lifestyle. Employers are looking for people who can add value to their business and work collaboratively with colleagues.

“Box-tickers have no place in the current climate.”

Andrew McComish, chair (compliance) of the Recruitment and Consulting Services Association and director of consultancy thinkHR, has found employers who would otherwise have created a new OHS position are holding off until the economy picks up.

He has also detected a trend for employers to look for practitioners who have a strong grasp of business management, and also with experience in the health side of OHS. “The trend is moving from safety to health – in other words, to employee wellbeing.”

Health and safety consultant Ian Clark, who is national manager of NZISM, says employers have improved how they specify OHS roles and have begun to look more closely at how candidates can demonstrate their competence, not only through experience but also with formal tertiary qualifications and a commitment to professional development.

This story appeared in Safeguard Update newsletter of 27 July.

For more stories visit the news story archive.

To get all the news every fortnight – subscribe now!