Easing restrictions in Australia have brought many inhabitants to tears. After enduring nine months of border controls, Western Australia is now opening its borders to New South Wales and Victoria effective December 8th. All states are now accessible for travel without quarantine except South Australia who is still facing COVID-19 challenges. Safe travel is still a critical priority. There are new screening requirements for travelers including health checks, temperature checks, travel reporting, and in some cases COVID-19 testing.
This move signifies a major breakthrough for Australia who has managed to handle the pandemic with success and virtually eliminate locally sourced infections. Restrictions are easing in many other states with sizable capacity increases for social gatherings. With only 11 national cases as of December 02, Australia appears to be following in New Zealand’s footsteps for likely elimination. As long as new cases are linked to overseas travel, the strict quarantine mandates ensure transmission is not an issue and few cases are being effectively contained.
Border closures had significant impacts on businesses and have been a catalyst for change. From limited resources and supplies, reduced revenue, remote workforces, and dips in productivity, they’ve been hit hard on many levels. Companies have adapted quickly to embracing technology to resume pre-pandemic productivity levels. Redefining the ways in which we work has paved the way for a more global workforce and the silver lining is creating higher levels of trust within a remote team environment.
International and national travel suspensions created new dilemmas for growing companies that require highly specialized talent. Certain industries have been hit harder than others, especially technical and heavy industries. The majority of companies have struggled in finding the right rare expertise available within their own state. This local skills shortage meant that many important roles were left vacant for unprecedented periods of time.
While Aussie companies typically fill vacant roles in about 40 days, when it comes to finding highly-skilled or specialized talent this number is easily multiplied by 5-10 times. 13% of roles remain vacant for three months or more, which is costing Australia $6.7 billion annually. The largest losses come from the mining, construction, and professional services sectors where specialized talent is a requirement costing a whopping $221 million per year.
There’s an increased demand forecast for industrial occupations for 2021, which could accelerate losses for vacant roles. Thankfully, the reopening of borders on a national level enables companies to cast a wider search net. There are increased job activities for both postings and applications, which is also creating strong competition for sought after talent.
At Easy Skill, we’re seeing an impressive volume of new roles coming to market and we’re having more conversations with our clients who are after specific and technical talent. The market is resuming some of its vibrancy as companies are gearing up for success in 2021. Those that are leading the charge are seeking out the right people partner who can them to unleash their potential. After all, people are what make the difference and building the right dream team is the key to outmaneuvering the competition.