Labour markets globally continue to be heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, with workforce shortages across almost all countries and industries. With increasing demands on organisations to source talent, the role of career professionals is now more important than ever as a critical conduit between emerging workers and businesses.
Using data to cast light on emerging employee demands
Lightcast’s labour market data sheds light on some important emerging themes and changes, particularly around employee demands, where we see a notable lift in job postings offering benefits, flexible working, sign-on bonuses and work-from-home options. Companies and organisations are having to adjust their methodology to attract talent, and it appears to be an optimum time for workers entering the workforce, as businesses fight to attract the best candidates available.
Insight is key to understanding the rapidly changing workforce
Research from The University of Melbourne found that almost 70% of Australians who have been working from home because of Covid-19 would like to continue doing so. Employees therefore need to identify if they are willing to work in an office-based structure, or find opportunities with more flexibility.
In this unprecedented time, emerging workers may, with the right information at hand, be able to secure a role that they would not have been previously able to, and it is also becoming clear that many employers are now preparing to accept workers with less experience, and with lower qualification requirements. This means more jobs will be available to employees entering the workforce, particularly those that historically required three or more years’ experience.
Another fascinating finding in our data is a clear increase in demand for IT skills, even in sectors ordinarily considered to non-technical, such as Construction. Undoubtedly, we have all become more familiar with tools like Zoom and Teams in the last three years, but as workforces become increasingly global and disparate, productivity tools such as Microsoft Office Suite, CRMs etc are becoming part of the fabric of business operations.
Helping emerging workers understand the labour market
So what does this mean for career professionals? Assisting emerging workers in understanding the labour market allows them to prepare accordingly by identifying any skills gaps they have, including ensuring they are tech-ready, and addressing this by offering or sourcing short courses. Data-driven decisions enable both professionals and workers to see what organisations are looking for and offering, allowing the adjustment of the emerging workers’ approach in order to maximise their opportunities.
The Great Reshuffle Australia dashboard
To help drive this understanding, we’ve created The Great Reshuffle Australia Dashboard – an interactive tool which draws on over 1.5 million unique job postings to provide data-driven insights into how the Australian market is reacting to the current tightness of labour supply. With both a high level view of employer hiring activity, including the increased prevalence of benefits such as flexible-working policies and signup bonuses, along with specific focus on four key sectors, the dashboard is a must-see for any careers professional who wants to be informed about the state of the job market.
You can check out The Great Reshuffle by clicking the button below.