How are Australian companies dealing with hard-to-fill jobs?

Employers across the globe are feeling the impact of skill gaps, putting great strains on recruitment drives as competition between businesses increases. 

Recruitment specialist ManpowerGroup Australia found that businesses aren't reacting particularly well to the challenge. Instead of trying to solve the problem with recruitment software or other programs, companies are instead backing down. 

What does the Australian job market look like?

According to ManpowerGroup Australia's Annual Talent Shortage Survey, 42 per cent of business across Australia are finding it difficult to fill certain roles. Making the situation worse, the firm also observed that the amount of employers making concerted efforts to fill these roles is down by five per cent, which is likely to affect productivity. 

The group also outlined the roles proving most difficult for employers to fill. Just like in 2014, skilled trades were still the hardest to recruit for. However, there has been a slight shift in exactly which trades are coming up short. 

"Demand for roles like electricians and mechanics has eased, while a shift in infrastructure developments across the country is seeing demand outstrip supply for specialist engineers, labourers and skilled trades in infrastructure and construction," explained Managing Director Lincoln Crawley. 

The biggest change in the job market over the past year has been the struggle to find appropriate managers and corporate workers. In 2014, these jobs were the fifth hardest to fill in Australia. Now, however, it's the second hardest role to recruit for. 

There have been positive shifts in the job market for some industries, however, with IT staff now significantly less difficult to find than in 2014. These roles dropped from sixth hardest to fill to ninth in the space of a year. 

"As more and more can be done remotely, demand in the IT sector is changing from on-the-ground workers to specialists in key areas such as security, big data, analytics, mobility and cloud," Mr Crawley continued.