Relocation consultants bringing foreign talent into the Australian labour market are enjoying a boom as they work to fill the skills gaps in the economy.
While profiting from labour needs in the mining, construction and finance sectors, executive relocation firms are also benefiting from a sluggish relocations market globally.
“We’ve got consultants in Australia, Asia, South Africa and the UK, and compared with what’s happening in the UK, where relocation has dropped off considerably, we are seeing that a lot of people are coming through in Australia and the industry is thriving,” says Kathy Nunn, director of Elite Executive Services.
“There’s a lot more demand for relocation services here than other parts of the world.
Certainly, years ago we would have had a lot more volume going into the UK from various places, but that’s virtually dried up,” Nunn says.
Foreign professionals are coming to Australia from Britain, Europe, South Africa, the US and New Zealand.
Insiders report the boom for the industry began back in 2006 and slowed a little during the global financial crisis with the economic downturn and delaying of some mining projects in Australia.
“The busiest period for us was just prior to the GFC, but we have certainly seen Australia is
committed to bringing as many talented people across to keep everything going,” Nunn says. “I think it’s going to [get busier still].
“With regard to mining and construction in Queensland and WA, there will be a need to have
more people coming over to support this industry, I think it’s going to be increasingly busy.”
Expectations of a relocation package have changed over the past 10 years and Nunn reports many professionals require a great deal of hand-holding before taking a foreign posting.
“Before somebody will take a job they want to know they will be looked after, and that involves having a specialist help them with schooling, finding a house, networking, helping their spouse find a job, and linking them with their hobbies and interests,” she says.
“The vacancy rate for rental properties in Australia is also very low and people are aware of
this and need support in finding a home.”
The increased workload in relocating executives is translating to skills shortages within the relocations business and Nunn reports a large increase in consultants working for the company in the past few years, with its expansion into all capital cities plus regional offices in Cairns, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast.
Nunn’s firm is not the only one hiring more relocation consultants. Damon Stynes, director of Professional Relocations, says his firm is also looking to hire specialised relocations staff.
“We’re scrambling around for a couple of fairly senior people, those who have had the experience of dealing with people at this senior level, executives who are fairly time-poor, and are able to understand the issues facing a senior executive and their family when they
move,” Stynes says.
Professional Relocations also focuses on relocating Australians overseas, and reports that steady numbers of Australians are leaving for markets such as mining jobs in Texas.
“Going to the States has picked up in the last 18 months because more Australian companies are looking at some reasonably good buying opportunities there on a corporate front,” Stynes says.
“Equally the cost of moving the employees has become a bit more acceptable because the wage pressure is obviously off in the States and the housing pressure is off.”
The high Australian dollar also has an impact on the relocations industry, when companies design salary packages either in Australian dollars or the local currency, and can affect Australian expatriates who are looking for the right opportunity to come home.
“There are fairly significant implications for those Australians who have been working overseas building up this nest egg that was going to set them up for life in the value of the Australian dollar, and relative to the US [dollar] that’s taken a massive turn, so they’ve blown up to 20 per cent of their nest egg,” Stynes says.
Mike Filipovic, chief executive of relocations firm Sirva, has seen several cases where Australian expatriates were caught out during GFC-related downturns in the economy of their host country.
“We’ve seen instances, and these are quite sad, of people who sold up their houses and left in 2005, converted in a very weak dollar to a very strong US dollar, worked over there, bought a house, then house prices collapsed; they’ve now lost money on their house, lost their job and are coming back into a very strong Australian economy and property market,” Filipovic says.
Sirva is also experiencing high demand for its services; it increases its staff for the peak relocations season between November and February, which coincides with the summer break in the Australian school year. There’s also increased demand for services in June and July, during the northern hemisphere school break.
While many customers are seeking foreign talent for the mining industry and related services,
Sirva also finds a lot of its work involves moving Australians between states and different mining jobs within a state.
Aside from these sectors, Filipovic reports there is also some two-way expatriate traffic involving professionals in the finance and IT industries, with Australians still taking up positions in the Asia-Pacific, although he feels this part of the business has declined.
“While there are some companies sending them, overall the total population of expats has declined, which makes sense,” he says. “When you look at what’s happening around the world, with a high Australian dollar, high unemployment in the UK, Europe and the US and weak
currencies over there, it makes Australian expatriates very expensive overseas.”
By most accounts, the outlook for the industry continues to be rosy.
“All the indications from our client base are that they’ve got some fairly aggressive expansion plans, so we expect our work to continue,” Filipovic says.
Article from The Australian, August 2011.
