Cutbacks have been the order of the day, with companies restructuring and making redundancies.
Cutbacks to both temporary and permanent staff resulted in an influx of candidates to the market, meaning employers are now less likely to pay for employees to relocate and are cutting back on FIFO roles in favour of residential arrangements.
There is considerable focus on the pre-screening stages of hiring given the volume of applications and the increased scrutiny on hiring choices.
Given the shift from construction to operations there is less design and project focused work, and employers are showing increased interest in candidates with the capacity to drive process improvements that reduce cost and increase productivity
With minimal greenfields projects on the horizon, candidates with brownfields maintenance and operational skills will be in demand in the contracting space in the next quarter, Hays says.
While exploration companies are inevitably struggling to gain investment, consultancies are really feeling the pinch and are reducing workforce numbers, resulting in a focus on temporary staff who can work on short-term assignments.
Hays said some "top talent" was becoming available as retrenchments were now being extended to highly experienced and skilled engineers.
"It is likely that for the next few months we will see employers continue to turn to temporary staff to help them reach project milestones," Hays said.
In Queensland demand is high for commercial analysts and maintenance workers.
Commercial analysts are needed to assess the viability of operations and assess the current standing of projects, while maintenance professionals are in demand as employers are looking to avoid disrepair and to maintain the value of their assets with both office and field-based roles.
Engineers are in demand in Victoria.
With gas works set to continue throughout the year there is a need to have project engineers capable of running both distribution and transmission pipeline projects.
Small to medium-sized enterprises require process engineers to help develop overseas markets and devise strategic plans.
Project managers have also been in demand in the gas pipelines arena because of the volume of work.
"Individuals who can take a project from end-to-end without leadership are hot property in Victoria," Hays said.
The firm said confidence in the local industry had been lost and many candidates were looking to China, Singapore and Europe for work.
In Western Australia and the Northern Territory sales engineers are in demand to assist with tender preparation and servicing existing clients, while estimators and cost engineers are becoming continuously relied upon to ensure companies are developing competitive tenders and finding efficiencies within their own projects and businesses.
As major projects in Darwin progress further into the construction phase, candidates with specialist trades experience in areas like pressure testing and non-destructive testing are in high demand.
In terms of candidate trends, the main focus for people in the market right now is stability, meaning employees must adopt an open mind and a willingness to consider alternative career paths and roles.
"The oversupply of talent has forced people to consider lower salaries and contract rates as both have decreased considerably," Hays said.
"Candidates are also looking outside the industry for opportunities where they can transfer their skills."
