Expatriate workers from Britain are helping to ease the skills shortage in Australia, according to research by headhunters Jon Michel Executive Search and Kinsey Allen International.
Expatriate workers from Britain are helping to ease the skills shortage in Australia, according to research by headhunters Jon Michel Executive Search and Kinsey Allen International.
The report states that during the first quarter of this year, the number of financial services roles filled by British workers increased by four percentage points compared with the same period in 2008.
Far from coming to an end, the recruiters expect this rise to continue. In 2008, the financial services sector in New South Wales and Victoria employed approximately 46,500 British professionals (19 per cent of the total).
This is likely to increase to 69,250 by the end of this year, reflecting the growth of the industry as a whole, as well as an improved supply of UK candidates, the report says.
More opportunities in Melbourne and Sydney financial centres, along with the strong overall performance during the GFC, were cited as key reasons why Brits continued to flow into Australia.
Louise Langridge, joint managing director at recruiter Morgan McKinley, commented: “It’s due to a combination of the increase in number and variety of opportunities in the Australian market, as well as Sydney now being a more established international financial services hub.”
Heading the type of jobs are being filled by Brits are risk and compliance; accounting and finance; project and strategy; and investment banking and capital markets.
“Accounting and product control are two functions where there is currently significant demand in Sydney for professionals from the UK. This is not only due to the shortage of local talent, but also some institutions are actively seeking those with larger-market experience gained in the UK,” said Langridge.
