The top five professions this year

One of the winners of regulation of the financial services sector are people working in the compliance areas. The other winners are people who are involved in the evolving fintech space.

Wednesday, January 18th 2017, 7:24AM

The top five professions in New Zealand for 2017 are sales and marketing, commercial finance, IT (cloud, mobile, digital, e-commerce, cyber security), risk and compliance finance specialists, and in-house legal staff.

Recruitment agency Robert Walters says as businesses reshape to become digitally-savvy, these emerging and relatively new professions are becoming a vital part of operations: digital designers, data scientists, information security specialists, and commercial managers.

Head of Robert Walters New Zealand, Shay Peters, says that due to the persisting pressure of a shortage of candidates, salaries will increase for many professionals, leaving some in a powerful position to negotiate with the employers.

“In most professions, salaries went up in 2016, and we expect to see moderate increases again in 2017. Those professionals with skills in particularly high demand will receive substantial increase,” he says.

While the economy is performing well, companies expect the shortage of skilled candidates to hamper growth in 2017.

"Companies are being urged to put in place strong retention strategies to capture skilled professionals and ensure the growth of their businesses," he says.

In a survey many businesses have highlighted the persisting shortage of skilled candidates as a barrier to growth in 2017.

“Given the skills shortage has become increasingly apparent in the last 24 months, it is really starting to impact company’s and their ability to grow at the rate they feel they could if they had the right resources on board.

As salaries go up, employers need to ensure their employee salaries are in line with the market, says Peters.

“The survey shows that 61% of professionals will look to move jobs this year so a proactive approach to retention is key, and will prevent the need to make counter-offers in order to retain skilled employees.” he says.

While the job market is expected to remain buoyant, there may be some uncertainty towards the end of the year due to the general election.

The survey highlighted that skilled professionals will be highly sought after in accounting and finance, banking and financial services, business transformation, human resources, information technology, legal, procurement and supply chain, property and facilities management, sales and marketing, and business support.

As superannuation funds continue to grow, Robert Walters anticipates higher demand for professionals with fund management and fund administration expertise.

Digital transformation is at the forefront of business strategy and will continue to drive hiring demand, in the public and private sectors.

« Aegis loses $375 mill to new platform

LVR restrictions to be reviewed »

Special Offers