According to Hays’ January Forecast, the hottest jobs and boom markets for 2008 lie in in the logistics market.
“The New Year has brought in the traditional increase in vacancy activity as businesses determine the staff they require for the year ahead,” says Tim James, Regional Director of Hays Logistics Personnel.
The Forecast shows that 2008 could be the year for you.
“The shortage of experienced skills means solid candidates will be snapped up with speed in 2008, and provided jobseekers know what they want and why they want it, it is a year that will provide prime opportunities to advance your career,” James says.
“Employers are moving quickly once they identify a candidate they wish to offer a role to, particularly since good candidates will continue to receive multiple offers of employment.”
“While the first quarter of the year is traditionally the quietest in the logistics market, many employers have continued to recruit in order to attract the best possible candidates.”
“Organisations are optimistic about their general business activity, and therefore have hiring plans in place.”
“The majority of vacancies are expected to be operational, however senior leadership activity will also be positive,” he says.
The year’s hotspots are revealed in the Hays Quarterly Forecast.
The top areas of strongest demand in logistics are as follows:
Within the transport arena there is a severe shortage of drivers and experienced mid level operations staff, specifically transport schedulers and fleet controllers.
With the level of candidates not meeting the number of vacancies, the shortage of candidates is also affected by the low appeal of mid to lower level transport operations roles to potential candidates, who do not view the long hours or stereotype of the industry positively.
In warehousing there is an increased demand for warehouse supervisors who can motivate and manage staff while controlling profit and loss.
This demand is driven by the increased pressure placed upon warehouses to be efficient.
With more warehouses viewed as production plants and Six Sigma and Kanban utilised to drive changes, the traditional supervisor now needs to be multifaceted — more than a leader, candidates need to demonstrate their ability to be an essential part of processing and analysing information.
Within supply chain the key hotspots of demand exist for supply chain planners and demand analysts.
Over the past five years these roles have become more highly valued functions within a business, as new and cutting edge world-class processes become available and organisations become aware of technology and methodologies available to them, requiring planning and demand accuracy.
Candidates with front-end planning experience are also required to accurately manage production/import requirements.
A more extensive review of hotspots for each market sector, along with hiring intentions, salaries and candidate attraction, is contained in the Hays Quarterly Forecast: www.hays.com.au/forecast
.png){kind=logo}
.jpeg)
