We love lists here at ChristchurchJobs.co.nz, which is why we scoured the news to give you this list of the ten industries in New Zealand, which are most in need of skilled workers.

Now, before the list, a little background information to keep our perspectives (and our hopes) in check.

Word is that the number of job vacancies has been rising steadily since August of last year, with December as the only exception. This February, it has been reported that there is a 30 percent increase in job vacancies from the past month.

However, the good news isn’t too good for most of the jobseeking population. Most of the jobs that are currently available, and which employers are actively seeking skilled employees for are being offered to people who are already employed.

Not so good news for those who just graduated or those who are not as qualified or those who are looking to transfer their skills to a different industry. Why is this so? The logic behind the idea of offering jobs to those who are already employed is that they are most probably the best and most skilled if they were able to keep their jobs during the worst of the recession.

But this shouldn’t be discouraging to everyone, at least not entirely. In fact, though it may only be beneficial to some for now, this is actually a good sign of things to come.

Julie Mills, CEO of Recruitment & Consulting Services Association, the industry body for the recruitment industry in Australia, put it succinctly when she said that, “When there’s a rise in permanent hiring, it’s a sign that employers are confident they have the work and the revenue to keep people on long term. And in past downturns, it has been a sign for the recruitment sector that the worst is over and the recovery has begun in earnest.”

In Christchurch in particular, as in Auckland and Wellington, there are vacancies for recruitment consultants, and though the recruitment industry is not included in the list, that may very well change in the months to come.

Let’s be positive people!

And now, without further ado, our list of the ten industries with skills shortages in New Zealand:

1. Non-building professional engineers
2. Non-building engineering associates and technicians
3. Nurses
4. Health professionals
5. IT and telecommunications professionals
6. Non-building electrical/electronic trades
7. Building professionals
8. IT and telecommunications technicians
9. Medical technicians
10. Electrical trades (building)

Searching for jobs check out Christchurch job vacancies or need to find some staff? list a job advert

Here’s what ChristchurchJobs.co.nz found out over this week:

1. 78% of Australian companies are planning to increase wages this year
2. 55% of New Zealand companies are planning to do the same

and

3. Both countries are showing signs of economic recovery

So what do the facts mean? To us, it’s a desperately hopeful mix of the good and the bad for the economic picture, let us explain exactly what we mean by this cryptic statement.

First, if you look at the numbers, it looks like both countries are recovering at a healthy clip overall. Increasing wages to address inflation, companies will definitely be creating ideal working environments for many employees.

This is good news because it shows that businesses are healthy enough to increase salaries and jobs, pointing to greater positive growth in economy.

Second, upon closer inspection, we see that in comparison, more Australian companies will be offering better compensation packages than New Zealand companies. We think that this could spark fear that our skilled workers will be more inclined to head over to the other side of the Tasman to where the grass is decidedly greener. (or so they say)

This is bad news for businesses that might be losing their best employees to a better performing Australian economy.

Third, and finally, we have some mixed feelings about the muddy implications of this piece of news. We are glad that Kiwi businesses are looking forward to a positive economic forecast, but knowing that our neighbor will be doing better can create an unhealthy competition for our businesses.

What we do know is that armed with this knowledge, we ought to be empowered. Kiwi businesses, knowing this, should do and need to do what it takes to keep their employees happy and in a good working situation in order to make sure that they stay.

Remember, no matter how positive the forecast seems, businesses can only be as good as the people who run them, and the Kiwis who have the ability to steer NZ businesses back to prosperity shouldn’t be allowed to cross the ditch so easily!

I was going to title this post “I Scream” and play on the sounding between “ice cream” and “I scream” but the fact was that there was little to scream about this week in The Apprentice as tonight proved that boys were better sales people than the girls!

However, I thought that it’d be wise to keep our standards high this week at ChristchurchJobs.co.nz and not delve into the old boys vs girls tittle tattle and not even mention this - rather just give our usual opinion about the Apprentice instead; rather than losing 50% of our readership….oopps! it seems I’m too late this time.

Maybe the boys team can continue their winning in the sales department so I can comment again though?!

What we loved this week…
We loved the part where the boys team where doing their market research and asked “how much would you pay for this?” it kind of reminded us when we were buying a house and the probing questions estate agents use.

We loved the fact that even Auckland based people can get lost in Auckland (boys team)

We loved the fact that the boys didn’t cave in and give stock to the girls.

…and above all we loved the board room show down from the girls team….Meow!

 
  -  don’t forget to watch !! But if you want to apply to become an Apprentice but don’t want the drama you can always check out our local jobs at Christchurch jobs

TV2 Tuesdays 7.30pm

Your CV may be the two words (or letters) that spell the difference between successfully getting an interview and toiling ceaselessly without getting any results.

The problem these days is that the ideal CV has changed from the way we used to think it should be written. Instead of your CV being a list of jobs you’ve held in the past, it should now be more of a marketing brochure that will highlight your best assets and help you stand out from the rest of the applicant pool.

Market Yourself!
Go ahead! Sell yourself! This is the advice of resume writing expert Denis Odlin, who works as the local manager of Australian firm Successful Resumes. And, as the company name overtly states, they specialize in helping applicants land interviews by streamlining their CVs.

According to Odlin, the long, detailed CV is now out of vogue. In its place is a more streamlined CV that is shorter and easier to understand.

More importantly, applicants should use their CVs to market themselves. The first half of the resume should be able to hook your employer and get them to buy into the idea that you are exactly the person they want to fill their vacancy.

Common mistakes
The temptation is to NOT fix something that ISN’T broken, and you reason that there isn’t anything wrong with the resume you’ve drafted right out of college, right? So, isn’t it purely logical to just add our experiences to our CV’s job list as we go along?
Wrong! And this is precisely where most of us fall short in preparing a unique and competitive resume.

The problem is that we stop trying to improve our CVs and just add to it without considering how times are changing and how employers are trying different approaches to recruitment as well as looking for different things in a candidate’s resume.
Doing this also creates a resume that is longer than what recruiters want to look at, and thus, increasing its chances of getting chucked into the unwanted pile.

What to do Instead
Instead of focusing on the things that we do wrong however, maybe it’s high time we create a list of things that we ought to be doing right. The following are a few other helpful tips that will spruce up your CV and help you land an interview.

1. Focus on your strengths and abilities as well as unique skills and talents to market yourself to the recruiter. Ask a colleague or a trusted supervisor about what makes you a unique worker. This will help you see yourself in a new perspective and bring out the achievements you have under your belt that you may have forgotten about or taken for granted.

2. Be brief and straight to the point. Don’t use ambiguous words or vague statements that will require recruiters to read between the lines.

3. Use a professional sounding e-mail address in your CV. Avoid using cutiepie15@yahoo.com or sexysenorita@hotmail.com, which you created for the fun of it. It sounds quite inappropriate and may not sit well with employers. On the flipside, avoid using your work e-mail either.

Q  - How do you get seven young male business professionals worried?

A- Tell them that they have to run an underwear fashion show against an all women team, and oh, by the way the project manager on the opposing team has qualifications and commercial experience in the Fashion industry and should you lose one of you will be fired.

With 13 contestants left in the mix, it had to be an unlucky break for some-one! But credit to the Number 8 team they got more right than wrong. Here’s some tips if you are thinking about running your own fashion show or even applying for a job in fashion. We hope you like them.

Tip 1 Choose your underwear wisely and make sure it fits the models too.
Tip 2 Don’t choose anything from last year’s season
Tip 3 Always make sure you can pay the makeup artist
Tip 4 Choose props wisely, a rugby ball may not be the right accessory
Tips 5 Knee length red socks may raise eyebrows, wear with caution (or pride)

Christchurch Jobs - We think that the boys did well, and in all fairness pulled out a good effort against a team that had a lot more experience, shame about the red socks. But at least it gave plenty of smiles as well as cringes…. and who knows maybe it’ll catch on.   :)     Well done TV2 you made everyone in our office laugh this week – we can’t wait for next Tuesday!!!   (7.30pm)

Boys team =  Daniel Phillips, David Wyatt, Paul Natac, Richard Henry, Thomas Ben.
Model = Chris Whiteside
You’re fired = Lee Davies

Green Jobs - we're seeing more of them

We’ve been talking increasingly about the importance of being conscious about the environment in order to save the planet, but did you know that the environment also has an impact on global employment too?

We know that caring for the environment has become such an important issue; so important, in fact, that new career opportunities are sprouting up all over the world just to address our need for specialized knowledge about the current state of our environment and what we humans can do in order to adapt to and alleviate the major effects of climate change.

This global initiative to address the problems related to climate change is just as evident in New Zealand as in any other country, if not more. Kiwis are one of the few who are incredibly skilled and adept in the renewable energy industry, in particular in the geothermal energy market. Add to this the fact that New Zealand offers competitive academic programs in the field that churns out equally competitive candidates.

This need for more employees who can deal with the rising need to address issues of climate change in businesses and government is ushering in a new trend in employment. It is creating job opportunities not just for technical fields like the sciences, which seem to be the most impacted by this, but also in business, where departments like finance and marketing need to put into place measures for sustainability and carbon emissions reporting.

We have to remember that businesses are investing heavily in addressing climate change, which is opening up exciting avenues for new career opportunities.
Check out the chch jobs website to find exciting new career opportunities in this field.

Just a reminder, to watch - The Apprentice tommorrow. It’s at 7.30pm TV2. Last week we saw the numbers go from 14 contestants to 13, (erm, we mean interviewee’s) and this week we’ll see another person bite the dust. So who will 13 be unlucky for? …. and who is in the current line up?  The Girls team (   Athena  ) and the boys team  (  Number 8  )

At Christchurch Jobs, it’s a split decision on who we think is going to win, We like Paul - we think he has tons of potential & Thomas Ben has some very good skills. For the girls we’re thinking it would be good to see Meena in the role of PM, and give her the chance to show what she’s got. We think that she is a lot like an earlier contestant from the UK version of the Apprentice that went on to have a successful career!!

Missed last week? Here’s what happened on The first episode of the Apprentice

It’s very tempting to make a general statement these days that no one in the job market is exempt from being axed just because the economy has been struggling to hold itself up.

On the contrary! Experts have noted that although unemployment is at its highest in New Zealand in the past decade, skilled workers and employees with unique talents, advanced skills and exceptional performance manage to keep their jobs and even have the luxury of having a selection of job offers if their current employer cannot afford to keep them on the roster.

Bottom line, ladies and gentlemen, is that performance still matters.

Last year, while the country was engulfed in the worst of economic recessions, employers found that they had a difficult time trying to find skilled employees, and these are precisely the people that are needed to bail out flailing companies and steer them back towards economic health.

While it is true that there are a lot of unemployed workers out there, most of them are unskilled or are fresh graduates with no experience, which explains why they have the most difficult time trying to get a job. It’s catch-22, you know. You need experience to get a job, but to get a job you need to be experienced.

But for those who are in the middle of their career paths and are building a lifelong reputation in their chosen field, now is the time to shine, to show that you are worth keeping by making yourself a valuable commodity.

How do you this?
1. Be at your peak performance
2. Show that your experience in the field pays off in valuable situations
3. Keep yourself updated skillswise. Learn new skills especially on the technological end because this is the trend of the future
4. Develop your skills by taking short courses, workshops or certifications that will help boost your work value

Remember, employers these days might not hesitate to drop less-skilled employees, but if you are a performer, chances are you will not only get to keep your job but also find other opportunities elsewhere that may even offer more than what you are currently getting.

Employers are now moving away from crisis management to a different mode of operation and they will do what they can to keep their best employees on board, by giving them salary incentives, lesser workload, resumption of career development opportunities and other extra perks.

For those who are not on this skill bracket however, then it’s time to build yourselves up. Don’t stay stagnant. Keep yourself dynamic and learning. It may be a challenge to find a good job these days but once you do, it’s completely up to you to make sure that you keep it.

-  Looking for careers advice, visit our career section you can find a wealth of information online, thats quickly growing.

-  Employers in  Christchurch,  if you are considering Christchurch recruitment then check out low cost job advertising from just $69+gst

While unemployment rates in NZ are still troubling for some sectors, it is quite refreshing to note that there is a way to increase your chances of getting hired for the number of jobs that are available and will become available as the troubled NZ job market looks to bounce back this year.

The number of people who have been laid off their jobs because of the recent global financial crisis are actually going back to school to beef up their qualifications and hone their skills.

Yes, you heard that right. A good way to boost your chances of getting the job that you want is to go back to school.

And no, you don’t need to stop working just to do that.

Did you know? Many top universities are now offering distance-learning courses that can be conducted through electronic correspondence, and many Kiwis are learning that this is a great way for them to either improve on their current skill sets or learn new skills that are currently in demand, both of which will increase their chances of getting hired.

The beauty of this is that distance learning operates on a flexible time schedule. Because most universities recognize that enrollees for their distance learning programs may come from different countries, continents and time zones, their programs are often tailored in such a way as to allow the students to learn at their own pace and at their own time.

This is great for Kiwis who want to work or are working at the same time or those who need to stay at home to take care of their kids, as they will be able to fit their learning around their other scheduled tasks. This is also great for our Christchurch residents and jobseekers who don’t want to travel just to get their education.

So while looking for a job, why not work at getting a little bit more qualified? Use your time wisely. Who knows, that degree or certification gained from distance learning will be the extra boost your CV needs to get noticed and help you get the job you want.

In the meantime, continue looking for jobs in Christchurch at chch jobs  :)

So who watched The Apprentice last night??

We did.

And were enthralled by the go getters who were out to impress Mr.Serepisos the millionaire boss. Just in case you missed things up till now, 14 people go on the interview of a lifetime to win a dream job and huge 200,000 salary package but only if they are chosen by Terry.

Each week the contestants, erm, jobseekers try to impress the boss by being the most proficient team member and at all costs avoiding being told that they are the weakest link.
So the scene is set, the contestants have been placed into the penthouse suites at $3,000 per week, they are suited and booted and ready to impress; the music is tense as the first assignment is revealed…..

and we’re told it’s a sausage sizzle cook off..!

I could almost hear Sir Alan Sugar choke right there. What happened? Did TV2 run out of budget or get a cheap supply of sausages; it’s hardly a key skill that you’d want to put on your CV when applying for a CEO assistants role…. “I pride myself on my sausage cooking techniques…” 

So the winner will be the team that can cook and sell the most sausages, talk about a shock!

I thought that we might see some key negotiating skills, or maybe something involving the Auckland City, possibly Sky Tower. But no, we were going to be delighted by the trauma of a competitive BBQ.

That aside, I have to admit by the end of the programme, it was a tense show-down in the board room with the blame game a foot and corporate back-stabbing that we love to see on The Apprentice.

It’s still worth looking next week and if you pardon the pun… I’m sure things will be heating up as people get fired… just remember though don’t burn that sausage otherwise…

You’re fired!!!