With recent government statistics indicating a predicted rise in demand for Human Resource professionals over the next 5 years, TMS explores the reasons behind this prediction and discusses whether HR is the new growth sector of the Australian economy.
According to the Department of Employment Education and Workforce Relations’ Occupation Projections Report for 2012 employment growth for Human Resource Professionals from 2012 – 2016 will be a healthy 2.4%. This compares favourably with the growth predictions of traditional growth sectors such Accounting, Information Technology and even some Engineering disciplines. So what is driving this growth?
Firstly, it is clear is that an evolution in HR practices has occurred over the last decade as business leaders increasing understand the value of people to their organisations. As such they are willing to invest in better, faster and more effective HR services to achieve their business goals.
Secondly, the scale and complexity of HR roles has increased dramatically. The days of ‘one-size fits all’ HR have long fallen by the wayside, replaced by a myriad of programs, technologies and processes, each with its own particular implementation requirements and management challenges. As an example, the resources boom has created the need for specific roles dedicated to managing the workplace health and safety aspects of mining operations, a role which is now firmly entrenched in the Human Resources category.
So if a growth in Human Resources roles is inevitable, how is that playing out in the local market?
In Queensland, TMS is seeing anecdotal evidence of an increase in demand for specialist HR positions such as Health & Safety Advisors within the resources sector, more specifically Oil & Gas, a sector which is continuing to drive growth across the state. In comparison, the corporate HR market outlook remains quite soft as the impact of the State Government reforms continue to dampen demand and increase the number of candidates available.
The market outlook for employment growth in the HR sector for the next six months remains mixed, with the government sector unlikely to pick up until early 2013 and the commodity prices dampening demand in the mining sector across all disciplines. However, beyond early 2013 there is a strong likelihood of increase labour demand across the board as both local and international economies are expected to return to long term growth patterns. It is our belief that, due to the systemic changes in the way businesses invest in their people, the Human Resources sector will be at the forefront of this growth over the coming years.
In anticipation of this expected upturn in the demand for HR professionals, TMS has recently expanded its recruitment service offering by hiring experienced HR Recruiter Leanne Sharp to our business. Leanne has a strong track record of placing senior HR professionals and executives within the Queensland market and beyond, and will be offering these services to our own clients going forward.
