The luck of the Irish

Since the fall of the Celtic Tiger, Australia has had a large influx of Irish workers in the industry, particularly in the construction, property and engineering sectors.

These foreign workers have proven to be quite popular in the local market. Yes, they may be coming to Australia out of employment necessity but due to their skills and experience along with our current needs, Australian employers are eagerly snapping them up.

The construction industry in Ireland is stuck in a depression that sees only 20% output a year so it’s understandable that Irish workers are seeking work elsewhere.

On the cusp of a 25 year expansion, it’s estimated that Western Australia will need 150,000 extra workers by 2017. This need will be readily met by overseas skilled workers because their skills set is of such a high standard.

Given the fact that Australia has such a small population compared to its land mass, and the rapid growth of its cities and booming mining industry, there is a need to fill positions with people who have proven experience (which will inevitably come from overseas). This is a quicker way to fill the positions rather than waiting for graduates to get 5 years of experience under their belts before they can take the next step in their chosen profession.

This isn’t to say that Australian workers are being dealt the short end of the stick but, in the current situation, overseas workers have the qualifications and skills to fill demand automatically. Australia is breeding a generation of workers to match their international counterparts but the majority are either at university or obtaining experience so perhaps local employment will escalate in the next decade but for now, there is an automatic solution in overseas workers. Of course, on some occasions this will mean that Australian workers may lose out on jobs, but this again will only seek to drive up the level of expertise and the quality of candidates that Australia will produce in response to this influx of overseas workers.

However, it isn’t all rainbows and roses for our international friends. Visa issues and cultural transitions add a layer of difficulty but the largest added stress is the requirement (for some professions) that workers have a certain amount of local experience.

For example, the UK/Irish’s planning system differs greatly from the Australian system. For those in the planning and architect industry, there is a need to familiarize themselves with our system by gaining local experience whether through entry level jobs or work experience/intern initiatives.

Despite these hurdles, Irish workers are coming in steadily. With their reputation of being good workers and the ease with which they enter the Australian market and culture, the Irish are here to stay. Considering Irish productivity rates are among the highest in the OECD and in Europe for many years, fingers crossed the luck of the Irish continues to rub off on Australia.

RESEARCHED AND EDITED BY DANIELLA SERRET AND RAY AULD.

SOURCES:

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Australia-wants-Irelands-unemployed-125684948.html

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/07/06/skills-shortage-has-australia-tapping-u-k-irish-workers/

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Thousands-of-Irish-workers-wanted-in-Australia-says-Aussie-minister-130933433.html

Is it all Doom and Gloom? - An Interview with an Executive Chairman

It’s all over the news that business and consumer confidence is low and that Australia and other Western economies are heading for tough times. Money is tight, many business sales are falling and company directors are wondering what the outlook looks like for 2009.

We interviewed an Executive Chairman from a National Infrastructure Organisation to grasp an idea of how the current economic climate has affected the construction sector and what they foresee for 2009.

How has the current economic climate affected your Industry in Australia, and workload in general?
Yes we have been affected, private building is very weak but government building projects remain strong. In mining, top tier miners are still spending (albeit reduced) but second tier miners have stopped expansion. There is still a lot of money being spent in rail; the government sector in particular is very strong. Gas is also a strong industry with there being a number of schemes for liquefied natural gas in Western Australia, Queensland and Darwin. Other areas are going strong such as water treatment plants, recycling and the pipelines.

In regards to the areas of construction that you specialises in which areas have you found to be hit the hardest, and why?
The private building sector has been the hardest hit, which is made up of residential and commercial projects. The reason is finance related with banks changing both their cost of funds and their lending criteria to developers.

Where will you now be shifting your focus or what do you foresee as becoming your main area of interest?
We won’t change our focus too much; if we were purely a builder we would slow down, but because we are well diversified we will have enough to keep us going.

Do you think that the current economic climate will have a lasting effect on the construction industry and what do you foresee as being some of the long term ramifications for the industry as a whole, if any?
Project funding will become much harder to secure and will probably never revert to that of the past few years. You will need to have an fundamentally secured project to receive funding, meaning excellent fundamentals, high degree of pre sales and larger equity invested with less debt.. 2009 will start off very flat and probably wont get up and running until the first half of 2010 where more stimuli will come back into the economy.

In the Construction and Property sectors, salaries are considered considerably good, do you see them changing, staying the same or increasing? Why is this?
Building will most probably stagnate, infrastructure remuneration might continue to move upwards but it won’t increase at the rate it has in the past.

With the current state of the market, have you found that Gen Y employees are concerned or worried about their jobs?
This generation has never experienced a recession before. Many employers have been biding their time through the boom times and will now look to show the Gen Y’s that the boot is on the other foot. We are not like that. We love the vibrancy and diversity of the contribution from Gen Y’ers.

Do you still envisage a skill shortage in Australia, calling for offshore candidates or will you now focus more/only on local talent?
Research shows that by 2018 there will be more people leaving construction than entering into it. We must continue training and bringing on graduates – this is a critical part of our business model. We also appreciate the importance of continuing hiring graduates cadets and apprentices.

What are your predictions of your immediate workload moving into 2009?
We expect to remain slow to steady in 2009 – certainly slower than 2008.. In general, the building sector will suffer as private development has all but stopped. State and Federal governments are being responsible by investing heavily into infrastructure – the trick will be just how quickly they are able to get these projects off the ground.

How Important is Gen Y in the Workplace?

I recently read an article on the Sydney Morning Herald Website; http://smallbusiness.smh.com.au/managing/management/gen-y-in-the-firing-line-909289552.html which has stated that current employers are more likely to get rid of Generation Y employees first, compared to their elder aged staff.

This raises many questions about Generation Y and how we are perceived in the workplace.

Today’s current economic climate has the ability to be one of the worst downturns that the world has ever experienced and it is certainly one of the most volatile times for my Generation of workers, known as Generation Y!

As a Generation Y employee working in recruitment, I am often in a position where I will hear about the pro's and con's of workers closely aged to myself, 18 to 30 years old. We often hear from the media, management sources, elder members of the community and various other outlets that Generation Y are considered lazy employees who are only money driven and move around jobs way too much.

Whether you agree with this or not, I often see Generation Y employees that work and study extremely hard to achieve goals and meet expectations whilst really trying to be the best employee they can, so they can live as comfortably as generations of workers before us have.

So I ask the question, have Generation Y candidates in the Construction Industry been stereotyped as a bunch of cash greedy job hoppers or have we been given an easy ride to success with every opportunity to achieve?

Therefore, I thought I would take this topic of discussion to a professional in the Construction Industry, a General Manager from a National Mid Tier Organisation who has first hand experience employing Generation Y candidates and managing them on a daily basis.

1. How many Generation Y employees do you have at the moment and what type of positions do they fill?
We currently employee 12 Generation Y staff (considered 18yrs to 30yrs old) which consists of Contracts Administrators, a Contracts Managers, a couple of Foreman and Cadets.

2. What do you look for when you hire Gen Y candidates and what are your expectations? Do these expectations differ to any other Generation of workers?
I have the same expectations of my entire staff whether it’s Generation Y or Generation X. I look for younger employees that have the same work ethic as the older staff and have a bit of street wise about them. They must be a good cultural fit also.

3. Are Generation Y employees fulfilling your expectations in the workplace? Do they achieve set goals and targets?
Alot of Generation Y employee’s don’t set goals and need to be pushed. The work ethic is different between Generation Y and Generation X workers who get on with the job because they are used to working hard with longer hours. Gen Y will work longer hours but they need to pushed into doing it. Gen X would easily work a 60 plus hour week and wouldn’t leave until their job was finished, they would work 6 day weeks because working a Saturday was normal, younger employees will only work the odd Saturday.

4. How do you find the turnover of Generation Y staff? Do you find them loyal or do they move around too much?
They definitely move around too much, a lot of the younger employees are short sighted and are only chasing the money that is on offer. I think this current climate will change all that and most of these young workers should change their ideas.

5. In your opinion do you find that Gen Y candidates try and progress too quickly in the workplace?
Yes they do, it is common to see 24 and 25 years olds wondering why they are already not Project Managers. A lot of these candidates are straight out of University and want to become a Project Manager straight away. You would normally spend 4-5 years as a Cadet then move into Contracts Administration and then with at least ten years experience under your belt you would become a Project Manager.

6. Do you find that they are career driven or money driven or both?
I would say both, with money being the most important thing for most.

7. In your opinion what sort of positive skills / knowledge / experience can Gen Y bring to your company that Gen X fails to bring?
The biggest skill they can bring is their use of technology and getting the most out of software and systems. It comes naturally to a lot of younger employees with most Generation X workers struggling to get the most out of technology.

8. Considering the current state of the market, have you found that Gen Y employees are concerned or worried about their jobs?
I haven’t had too much feedback from my employees but we do keep them in the loop and updated as much as possible.

9. Do you think the volatile nature of the Construction Industry is off putting for junior candidates coming through the ranks?
It is really hard to say at the moment because a lot of industries are in a similar position. I think that in the Construction Industry we are very fortunate that we can offer very good money to younger workers and probably one of the only sectors that can afford this luxury. Its up to the young employees how much they want out of it, if they are prepared to work hard and apply themselves then they can find a very rewarding career in Construction.

10. If your company experiences a downturn, is Gen Y the first to go? If so Why?
No not necessarily, it is usually a combination of factors including loyalty and performance. If an employee has shown us over 10 years service which some of them have, and have performed quite well then we are going to be more likely to keep them on.

11. Looking into 2009, what type of employee bracket will you be looking to employee?
Quite hard to say at this stage however we will be looking to take on a real mixture of workers. In terms of Generation Y we normally take on a few cadets which is something we will continue, we would also like to take on some young site based people when the time is right, as previously we have had an ageing site team. It is important that the young employees don’t want to progress too quickly, not being a Project Manager within 1 or 2 years is not the be and end all.

12. What is your overall message / opinion about Generation Y in the workplace today?
I would say overall, Generation Y have un-realistic salary expectations in relation to their experience. There have been certain companies that have expanded too quickly in our industry and in some cases thrown younger employees too much cash for what they can do. I believe that the older workers are alot more realistic in our industry. They have often worked their way up, been through the hard times and will take less money even though they have better experience. If Gen Y comes out of university and after 1 or 2 years ask for a salary of $110K which I have noticed, then quite often they will be the first to leave during a downturn.

Please feel free to comment and provide your perspective on this continually debated topic.

Patrick Page
Construction Consultant
Conduit Recruitment

Review calls for 457 wage overhaul

The Federal Government has been told to overhaul the temporary skilled migration scheme to make the pay rates fairer.

Industrial Relations Commissioner Barbara Deegan has told the Federal Government to scrap the minimum salary system and replace it with market rates.

The Construction and Mining Union's (CFMEU) National Secretary, John Sutton, says the change would prevent the exploitation of 457 visa holders.
"That's something that's been clear to the unions all along. We've called on Government now for over three years to implement that and we feel vindicated that the commissioner is arguing that," he said.
"That's a bedrock concept. These workers must be paid the same as Australians who are doing the same work."
"It will take away a lot of the attractiveness of this scheme being a cheap labour scheme."
Immigration Minister Chris Evans agrees.

But Senator Evans says he is wary of the recommendation to give foreign workers Medicare coverage by charging an employer levy.
He says it would put an additional burden on the public health system.
The Government will consider the recommendations as part of next year's budget.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/latest/5144614/review-calls-for-457-wage-overhaul/

Credit crunch to hit the building industry

It is clear that the current economic crisis is affecting numerous industries, including the building sector.

An article in The Age yesterday discussed the industry’s concerns.

The construction industry faces job losses due to a downturn in activity caused by the global economic crisis, builders have warned.

Projects from small apartment developments to big commercial jobs have been put on hold amid investor concerns and tightening credit.

The downturn could be a setback for the State Government's controversial plan to encourage more Melburnians to live in flats around transport and retail hubs.

Master Builders Association of Victoria executive director Brian Welch said yesterday many projects had been stopped in the early stages and others cancelled.

"Investors are looking around and asking if they really wish to take a plunge at this point - this will send a shudder through the industry," he said.

"There is a prospect there will be industry layoffs and a downturn in work in the new year."
The Housing Industry Association, which represents home builders, said the crisis was hitting apartment projects.

"It ranges from 20-unit to 200-unit developments," HIA acting state director Robert Harding said.

"The larger the development, and the more money that needs to be put up, the tougher it's getting."

Mr Harding said this could hurt the Government's Melbourne 2030 urban plan, which centres on apartments.

Mr Welch said unions should consider more flexible work practices on big commercial projects to help ease the pressure during the economic crisis.