Trades Recruitment – Market Commentary October 2020
As a result of the Covid-19 crisis, demand for trades staff is very inconsistent and generally down from a couple of months ago as clients appear to be taking a “wait and see” approach. The ratio of permanent to casual positions appears to be roughly 50/50, although clients are often employing casuals with a view to permanency in the future.
Mechanical & Electrical Trades
In the industrial sector in Melbourne, there are good mechanical fitters and electricians available, but there is very little requirement for them at the moment. FMCG manufacturing has slowed down dramatically in the last month or two as supply chains are full, shifts have been cancelled and companies are reluctant to take on new staff until they can be certain of future requirements.
Despite this, we do have requirements for non qualified, second class welders at the moment and CNC Programmers & Machinists are also in high demand. In Melbourne, the role with the highest demand is Diesel Mechanics. This can sometimes be a challenging role to fill, as candidates often have multiple job offers at once. We recently interviewed a good Diesel Mechanic, who had 5 job offers on the table!
The trade with the greatest demand in Sydney & Brisbane at the moment is Electricians. The market is not as volatile as Melbourne and any roles we have been recruiting have been filled quickly. There are so many good Electricians currently looking for work and we are receiving applications from very high quality candidates. Clients are spoilt for choice.
Field Service, Building & Mechanical Services
With the continued Stage 4 lockdown in Victoria, the majority of hiring for Service Technicians has been placed on hold as companies are often having difficulties getting access to sites. The reduction of people working at clients premises (eg offices), has also resulted in a drop in running hours of essential plant and services. This subsequently affects the requirement for ongoing maintenance. The construction side has been similarly affected . On the other hand, if you are a Fire Service Technician in Canberra, please give us a call – we have immediate permanent roles available with a very high quality employer!
