According to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR), the large number of LNG projects under construction, continuing population growth, and a shift towards lower-carbon sources of energy are expected to significantly increase employment in the gas supply industry in the coming years.

As the industry continues its strong growth, employers commonly have difficulty recruiting suitable staff, particularly engineers.

A much higher proportion of employers in the gas supply industry reported recruitment difficulty (82 per cent) compared with all industries (64 per cent), as can be seen in Table 1.

Despite the widespread recruitment difficulty, a relatively low proportion of employers in the gas supply industry employed an apprentice or trainee (34 per cent), compared with all industries (54 per cent).

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Employers in the industry expect their recruitment difficulties to continue, with 64 per cent expecting to experience recruitment difficulty in the 12 months following the survey, compared with 45 per cent for all industries.

Staff retention issues and strategies

One quarter (26 per cent) of surveyed employers in the gas supply industry reported that staff retention was a problem. This proportion was similar to employers in all industries surveyed to June 2011 (25 per cent). However, a higher proportion of employers in the gas supply industry had strategies in place to address their retention issues (77 per cent compared with 67 per cent).

The most common retention strategy was increased remuneration such as wages and bonuses (65 per cent) followed by providing development and training (59 per cent), offering flexible working hours, and providing a good working environment (both 35 per cent).

Recruitment difficulty

More than half (57 per cent) of employers surveyed reported difficulty in their most recent recruitment round, with 65 per cent of these employers reporting that it was difficult to find people with the necessary skills. More than one third (35 per cent) of these employers had difficulty recruiting due to the tight labour market or not enough applicants, and 25 per cent stated the nature of the work made recruitment difficult.

The most common reasons for applicant unsuitability were insufficient experience to perform the duties of the job (67 per cent), followed by insufficient qualifications or training (46 per cent), poor attitude or insufficient work readiness skills (19 per cent) and the applicant being from overseas or interstate (19 per cent).

Future challenges

A higher proportion of employers surveyed in the gas supply industry expected to experience business challenges in the 12 months following the survey, compared with all employers surveyed to June 2011 (74 per cent compared with 57 per cent).

More than two fifths (42 per cent) of employers considered skill shortages and/or recruitment difficulties to be a challenge. This was followed by changes in the structure of the market (31 per cent) and handling increased business activity (25 per cent).