How to Recruit Hard-to-fill Blue-Collar Positions | IRP
Recruitment Difficulty Rate
The latest Recruitment Experiences and Outlook Survey (REOS) from Jobs and Skills Australia has revealed that recruitment difficulty is now sitting at a rate of 54%. In Capital Cities, 52% of recruiting employers experienced recruitment difficulty, 3% higher than the previous month.
Employers recruiting for higher skilled positions were more likely to experience recruitment difficulty, at a rate of 66% in February 2024.
At the same time, the proportion of employers expecting to increase their staffing levels in the next three months has increased by 2%, up to 26%.
The increase of the recruitment difficulty rate partnered with employers increasing staffing levels will lead to a challenging few months ahead for recruiters.
The Survey also showed that in February 2024, 56% of employers recruited due to staff turnover, while 30% recruited to fill new positions only. This highlights the need, not only to find skilled individuals to fill new roles, but also to retain current members of staff to reduce high churn rates.
How to Recruit Hard-to-fill Blue Collar Positions
It is no secret that Australia is continuing to experience a skills shortage in the trades sector. Skilled blue-collar positions such as Boilermakers, Welders and Sheet Metal Workers are becoming more difficult than ever to fill.
It is time to rethink how we can retain blue-collar workers and be proactive in hiring new, skilled tradespeople.
1. Offer Excellent Benefits
Trade Qualified and Skilled Workers look at much more than the job description. As they are in high demand, they have the option to be a bit more selective when choosing where to work. Providing your workers with benefits such as flexible working arrangements, longer lunch hours, improvements to break areas, air-conditioning on site, or weekly pay, can really help your company to stand out and compete against others. You need to make these skilled workers want to work for you. Take a look at our blog about the need for different recruitment approaches to learn more.
2. Clear Pathways for Career Growth
As stated in the REOS Survey, one of the primary challenges faced by employers is high turnover rates and constantly having to fill the positions of those who have left. To address this issue, companies can provide employees with a clear pathway to career growth and progression. This helps to motivate staff as they will feel they are working towards something, rather than feeling stuck doing the same thing for the rest of their time with the company.
3. Provide Additional Training
A good idea to help retain current employees but also fill any skills gaps is to provide training to your staff. This helps them to upskill and allows them to try out different departments within the company, finding one that might suit them better. Employees will feel valued when their company invests in them and provides them with training that can help them advance in their careers. Hiring people from the get-go who are eager to learn, but may not have the relevant qualifications or experience, is a great way to fill skills gaps.
For example, we hired Josh Raphael for BlueScope Steel who was trained on the job to become a Sheet Metal worker. Josh had no previous experience in this sector, but we knew he was more than capable to learn the role. He has now been with the company for 2 years and his productivity levels are the same as the other Sheet Metal workers.
4. Demonstrate Career Advancement
It can be hard for young people to enter the blue-collar workforce if they cannot see how their job role will advance. Employers can prove that blue-collar workers can advance within the company by promoting people to higher decision-making positions or even to management. Doing this can help to attract young people to the sector as they will see there is an opportunity for advancement.
5. Acknowledge and Reward Staff
Simple things such as regularly thanking your staff and providing them with positive feedback can help them to feel appreciated and valued. Worker’s like to know that they have done a good job and be recognised for it as it helps them to feel valued and appreciated. Routine evaluations such as weekly catch ups or monthly reviews can give managers the chance to praise worker achievements, get to know them better and build meaningful relationships. Investing in employee recognition programs and activities would also really help to ensure they feel acknowledged, thus encouraging them to want to stay with the company.
6. Mature Age Apprenticeships
One measure to help attract qualified workers back into their relevant fields could be to offer mature age apprenticeships. If a skilled tradesperson has been working for a long time in a different industry, they may need the opportunity to re-skill and re-train in a certain field. Many older workers are often faced with barriers to re-entering the workforce such as age-based discrimination or family commitments. Overcoming these disadvantages is a crucial step in bridging the skills gap.
Although employers and recruiters are heading into a difficult time trying to fill skilled labour positions, there are always ways to step up to the challenge and see it as an opportunity for improvement. It is those companies who are willing to make positive changes to their recruitment and retention processes that will see the benefits.
If you need support with your Recruitment or HR services, reach out to us today at hello@irp.net.au or call us on (08) 9477 7999.
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