Recruitment & Co December 2020

December 2020Â

M&A ACTIVITY IN 2021 Remuneration in 2021 Bumpy seas ahead!

Photograph by Francis Watson

Recruitment & Co Contents This issue we're celebrating the winners of the 2020 APSCo Awards for Excellence. Plus we look back at the year that was, and the year ahead.

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33 14 7 Connect with your representative

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SA Focus on the positives NSW Opportunity for growth Vic A return to normality Qld Open for business NSW The strain on medical Qld & WA The re-emergence ACT From the nation's capital

14 The 2020 Awards for Excellence wrap-up

27 Reflecting back on 2020 with Sunsuper's Brian Parker

31 Mergers and Acquisition activity in 2021

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Recruitment & Co is published by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies Australia (APSCo Australia).

Editorial submissions: carly@apscoau.org

Bumpy seas ahead - 2020 ANZ Recruitment Industry Remuneration

Advertising enquiries: paul@apscoau.org

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Membership enquiries: paul@apscoau.org

2020 through the eyes of a medical recruiter RECRUITMENT & CO | 3

www.apscoau.org

A MESSAGE FROM OUR MD

Welcome to Recruitment & Co Lesley Horsburgh APSCo Australia Managing Director

Welcome to Recruitment & Co; APSCo Australia’s new digital Member magazine. Delivered to you each quarter, Recruitment & Co aims to share industry insights, Member stories, expert editorials and columns and provide a mechanism to exchange key content to assist our Members in running their businesses. This is your vehicle, a platform for you to have a voice, raise awareness or share what matters to you most.

48 and finalists of In this launch edition we have dedicated some well-deserved space to the winners our 2020 Awards for Excellence, giving a deeper look behind the intention of the Awards, who our judges are and what they look for, along with some insights into the winning entries and the firms behind them.

This has without doubt been an unforgettable year. While we watched the impact of COVID-19 take hold, we debated the value of our Awards, the reality of asking firms to spend time in entering and the likelihood that we would get to celebrate in person. While it didn’t roll out quite how we first planned, we, like you quickly learned to adjust our thinking and adapt to the conditions.

We ploughed on with our intention to recognise the sheer excellence that is thread through our industry and we are incredibly pleased that we did.

We are now in planning for what we hope will be a more stable year ahead and intend to add more vigour to our 2021 offering, while continuing on with some of the great work we began in 2020. Our regional committees will expand across more States and our commitment to bring professionals across finance roles, in-house counsel and sector working groups will continue to evolve.

We look forward to seeing you all in person in 2021 and in the meantime wish you all a safe and happy holiday season.

LESLEY HORSBURGH APSCo Australia Managing Director RECRUITMENT & CO | 4

www.apscoau.org

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIR

Celebrating the innovators and leaders There are two camps that flourish when you’re living through a period of rapid change, as we are now. Firstly, there are the innovators - those that rise to the challenges and forge the path for those less certain to follow.

Then, we have the leaders that work with those in authority to ensure the interest of their people are being represented. This first issue of APSCo Magazine is dedicated to these people.

Stephen Smith Chair - APSCo Australia CEO/Co-Founder - Sirius People

Recruitment & Co celebrates the innovators and leaders of the recruitment industry, giving these varied voices a place to share how they’re driving the industry forward. I see it as a logical next step to further growing our community of thought leaders and recruitment trailblazers.

For me, it was little surprise that our Managing Director, Lesley Horsburgh, envisioned Recruitment & Co. Having spent many years in publishing for the recruitment industry it was a logical step in bringing the APSCo community a greater voice. Since Lesley first joined APSCo Australia a year ago, she has led the team to create a strong staple of content and resources for Members. I’m excited to see what our wider community will contribute to help all of us grow as recruitment innovators and leaders in our own right.

To start off this celebration of innovators and leaders in the Australian recruitment industry I would like to acknowledge the huge accomplishments many of our members have achieved in the face of the pandemic, not least the finalists and winners of this years’ Awards, detailed on pages 14-26. The awards and their winners really exemplify the way the recruitment industry has responded to the pandemic. I for one am very proud with the industry response.

I am also excited to announce our new board members 'Cilla Arnold, Melissa Occhipinti and Jayson Eichstadt Their fresh ideas and range of geographies and sectors are invaluable and provide a robust complement to the APSCo Board and ensure that we evolve our thinking as our membership continues to diversify.

In the meantime, I hope that you enjoy a much-deserved holiday break. Whether you are a business owner, senior executive, recruiter or support staff, your resilience, and perseverance this year have been an inspiration to many of us. I personally look forward to 2021 with optimism and genuine confidence as the economy strengthens and brings forth new opportunities for our businesses to continue providing better service to clients and candidates.

See you in 2021!

STEVE SMITH CEO Sirius People, APSCo Australia Chair RECRUITMENT & CO | 6

www.apscoau.org

CONNECT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

SA MARKET

Focus on the positives We all now know that COVID-19 is a destructive virus that has changed the world forever, and whilst it is easy to focus on the negatives, we've seen many positive outcomes arise from this period, writes Anthony Whyte.

COVID-19 has brought to the fore businesses that are robust; businesses that are change advocates; businesses that have leaders who have acted with speed and authority; businesses that walk the walk and have done everything in their power to look after their most vital asset, their ‘staff’; and finally, leaders who have pivoted, some due to self-preservation but others who have seen opportunity to reinvent themselves and their businesses to ensure survival.

Operating in a smaller state that doesn’t see huge variances between its highs and lows has provided me with a strong insight into how most industry sectors have behaved during 2020.

Both State and Federal Government departments have been proactive in maintaining staffing levels, with many increasing their head count, especially those

involved in the Health and Emergency Services sectors.

The defence sector is also well and truly alive, and we are seeing improved hiring demand in recent months.

Lot Fourteen (our Technology and Innovation Hub) also continues to go from strength to strength and now includes recent additions in the Cyber and Space sectors. We are all looking forward to seeing these sectors flourish in the years to come.

2021 will continue to offer up many challenges on both the home and business fronts, so it is important to remain focused, have a plan, prioritise what is important to you, and not be afraid to reach out for help if you are struggling. If there is one thing I know to be true, it is that you are not in this alone.

Anthony Whyte Vice-Chair - APSCo Australia General Manager - Talent International.

Tech touches all our lives daily and some people say it is now close to recession proof, hence a great industry to be working in during a pandemic.

Contracting opportunities continue to dominate permanent positions as they allow vital flexibility to both candidates and clients.

Hybrid working models are here to stay whether you like it or not. ZOOM, MS Teams, Skype have their place BUT nothing can replace face-toface meetings.

Our employees are our most vital assets, so we must look after them and be very cognisant of mental health issues.

Have the JobKeeper and JobSeeker initiatives created a false economy? We are about to find out.

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CONNECT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

TECNOLOGY & THE DIGITAL MARKET - NSW

Opportunity for growth Looking on the bright side, there’s some major growth opportunities for Australian business in 2021, particularly in the Tech and Digital space, says 'Cilla Arnold.

Gartner predicts that enterprise IT spending will increase across all industry sectors, particularly in sectors that have proven most COVID resilient including education, government, healthcare and utilities.

There’s some interesting strategic social and technology trends happening, that our new world recruiters are grappling with, including ‘Anywhere Operations’, AI + Internet of Everything (IoE) and Cyber security, to name a few.

Companies are challenged with maintaining performance, collaboration and culture, whilst individuals now have a choice of where they want to work and live, and that opens up regional NSW and Australia.

'Cilla Arnold Executive Director - Cox Purtell Director - APSCo Australia

Employees are demanding more flexibility and enhanced work processes that allow them to make better and faster business decisions, which in turn, improves their employee experience and that of their customer.

From a hiring perspective, the sheer volume of applicants in the marketplace will see an increase in the automation of the recruitment lifecycle and an uptake of more tools and technologies to assist with shortlist selection and constructive feedback to candidates.

In fact, we have found flexible working has become a candidate's primary concern followed by remuneration.

Finally, data professionals involved with technologies that connect individual’s data with their behaviours, and cyber careers concentrating on securely protecting digital assets will also continue to be in high demand.

Employee engagement and inclusion is paramount right now, with most people very open to discussing job opportunities. This means employers need to focus more on retention of their valued humans, their employer brand, their corporate contribution and the mental health and wellbeing of their staff.

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CONNECT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

VIC MARKET

A return to normality Victoria has been the hardest hit state in Australia this year, both economically and from strict lockdown rules enforced across the state for over six months. James Liley explains.

I am pleased to say that we are seeing signs of a return to normality across the state.

Many government initiatives have been implemented to restart the economy including green-lighting all spade ready infrastructure projects, investing in programs to get people back into work and providing grants to community and sports clubs across Victoria.

The sentiment across business leaders in Victoria is that 2021 will be a strong rebound year with many projects set for 2020 due to commence early 2021.

Melbourne is the nation’s sporting capital. and major events including the Australian Open and Australian Grand Prix are all confirmed to be going ahead in Q1 next year which is great news for Melbournians but also visitors to the state and businesses that rely on our tourism industry.

Offices can return at a 50% capacity and the CBD is already feeling busier.

They say that out of adversity comes opportunity, I believe this could be no truer than today.

James Liley Senior Vice-President - Frank Recruitment Group Director - APSCo Australia

We will never go back to being a 100% office based industry, we have proven that we can maintain productivity and relationships remotely.

While face to face interaction is one of the great elements of recruitment, the new flexibility offered by many employers will help to promote and create a more diverse and inclusive workforce across our industry.

Stronger bonds have been formed, we are more conscious of mental wellbeing than ever before and we value our team members and industry peers.

I am looking forward to 2021 and building on the main lesson from 2020, that we can achieve anything together.

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CONNECT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

QLD MARKET

Open for business Having spent just under 2 years working from our Sydney office, I relocated back home to Brisbane in late May, luckily able to move between the states in the small window that existed before fullscale hotel quarantine was required. By Stephen Veness.

The market in Queensland has remained fairly buoyant throughout 2020, all things considered. The fact that the health situation here has remained very well contained, has meant that movement of people, the ability to maintain some face to face interaction and the relative confidence in the market has meant things have remained fairly busy. The daily commute into the city has not been nearly as busy as it once was, but it is fair to say that Brisbane (and Queensland in general) are open for business and have been for several months!

That said, we did have one further hurdle to overcome late in the year with the inevitable impact of the State Election, held on October 31st. As the Group Manager of our Projects & Operations business, my focus is not only a Queensland one, but one that focuses on major Infrastructure, Utilities and Resources projects and operational assets around the country.

In many regards, this sector has seen a strong 2020 and the pipeline into 2021 is significant. Not only will the huge projects in Rail, Renewable Energy and Infrastructure continue to power forward, but the

Stephen Veness Director - APSCo Australia Group Manager - Projects & Operations Davidson

expected influx of government stimulus to support the national economic recovery will compound the situation.

In the markets in which I spend most of my time, the biggest challenges facing consultants remains that of candidate attraction and availability. Areas including Rail Signalling and Grid Connections in the Renewable Energy and Electricity space for example are exceptionally tight markets, with increasing demand and a relatively small talent pool.

In summary, 2020 has thrown some significant challenges to our industry, however there is an exceptionally bright future ahead. 2021 looks set to be a significant one in the markets noted above and for the Queensland market overall.

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CONNECT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

MEDICAL MARKET - NSW

The strain on medical

2020 has certainly challenged all recruitment businesses. The medical recruitment industry has not escaped tough trading conditions beginning with the bushfires in early January and February, to the onset of the COVID pandemic. By Jayson Eichstadt.

Many hospitals over prepared well at the onset of COVID for what many expected to place a drain on medical facilities and resources. The efficient way the Health Departments handled the initial wave presented a new challenge of over supply and most of the medical recruitment industry felt directly the strain of contract cancellations. Through the COVID period, the challenge firmly remained the ability to move key medical resources interstate with hard state border closures and many medical facilities left with significant gaps to fill. The Victoria lockdown further widened these gaps and was a very trying time for all Victorians.

Historically, the Australian medical recruitment market had relied on international doctors and nurses heading to Australia to work and locum which naturally, given the international border closures, further challenged recruitment businesses. The delays in college graduates has also had a direct impact on the provision of newly qualified professionals taking up roles.

As we start to emerge out of the COVID period and border restrictions are starting to ease, the ability to mobilise key medical resources will be important to regain the balance in the state based medical facilities.

MGG, as an Impellam company, was and remains one of the few organisations that made the decision not to reduce working hours or commissions of our consulting teams and through our business.

Jayson Eichstadt Director - Specialist Staffing at Medacs Global Group Director - APSCo Australia

This has been widely appreciated by the clients and medical professionals we serve and had the express objective to maintain a class leading service, whilst providing a level of stability in a very change-driven year. In discussions with a number of medical professionals there is certainly a fatigue amongst healthcare professionals in general and we certainly salute those that have stepped forward and delivered amazing service through a very mentally tough period.

We continue to strategically support the State and Territory based hospitals system across Australia, to ensure we do our part in the provision of quality healthcare professionals. The medical recruitment industry has been impacted however it is widely recognized that it’s an important part we play in assisting medical facilities meet the level of care expected by the broader public.

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CONNECT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

QLD & WA MARKET

The re-emergence 2020 has certainly been a year that none of us would have ever expected – and the impacts of the global pandemic have been seen vastly across the employment market over the year, Melissa Occhipinti writes.

Now that we are operating at our new ‘COVID normal’, we are starting to see the job market re-emerge across the country.

According to Seek’s latest data (October 2020), although job ad volume is 11.7% lower than 12 months ago, we have seen an increase of 8.5% in national jobs advertised month-onmonth.

This is reflected in the Queensland market, where new job ads were up 1.5% year-on-year for the first time since the global pandemic began.

Queensland job ads also grew by 6.9% month-onmonth, demonstrating the resurgence of the employment market across the state. At Paxus, we have seen Developers, Business Analysts, Project Managers and Consultants in high demand in Queensland.

Western Australia has followed suit, with monthon-month job ads increasing by 5.9%, which is very encouraging news. At 18.4%, Western Australia has also had the second largest year-on-year increase in terms of job ad growth across the country, which is a strong indication that the Western Australian employment market is continuing to grow and stabilise. In terms of roles in demand, our Paxus Western Australian team have seen Desktop / PC Support, Developers, Business Analysts and Project Managers highly sought after.

Seek’s latest Employment Report identifies Trades and Services, followed by Healthcare and Medical, and Hospitality and Tourism as the industries contributing to the most job growth.

Melissa Occhipinti Regional Director Qld, WA and NZ - Paxus Director - APSCo Australia

There are actually more jobs in the Trades and Services, and Healthcare and Medical sectors than this time last year, with an increase of 16.2% and 2.7% in new job ads respectively.

This can likely be attributed to the increased need for healthcare and medical professionals/equipment due to COVID, and the increased need for Trades and Services following the lifting of restrictions across the country.

The Queensland market has followed the national trend, with Trades and Services, and Healthcare and Medical accounting for the most advertised jobs in Queensland across seek.com.au in December 2020. These two sectors are followed by Manufacturing, Transport and Logistics.

The employment market in Western Australia tells a similar story, with Trades and Services, Mining and Resources, and Healthcare and Medical currently accounting for the majority of jobs across the state.

This is also largely in line with the national trend.

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CONNECT WITH YOUR REPRESENTATIVE

ACT MARKET

From the Nation's Capital John McCluskey Director - APSCo Australia Managing Director - Whizdom Recruitment

It's been a year like no other. A real mixed bag. The same can be said for the recruitment market in Canberra during 2020. By John McCluskey and Laila BIllberg.

The early months of 2020 showed good signs of continued growth, and low unemployment figures. That suddenly all changed once the impacts of COVID-19 were realised during March.

Overnight many industries shutdown - with retail, hospitality and travel among the hardest hit. With lockdown in place, business scrambled with work from home plans and policies.

Those that could continue to operate put in plans to diversify.

With Canberra being the centre for the machine of government, recruitment in professional staffing (particularly ICT and Health) remained buoyant to service new government programs to support and manage COVID-19 and bushfire responses.

Security clearance for people in government remained the challenge as it always has been and continues to be. Speaking to most Canberra recruiters we saw an increase in temp and contingent labour requirements from both government and private clients in ICT, admin and medical. This demand is now just starting to ease back to normal patterns.

Canberra was very fortunate to get through the worst of COVID very quickly with low case numbers.

As we move now into December, the city of Canberra is buzzing. People are in the shops; and cafes and restaurants are full.

Laila Billberg Director - APSCo Australia General Manager - Ignite Services.

People are travelling to the coast and spending; and providing optimism for the South Coast that rely on the Canberra tourist. We are seeing strong demand still for ICT resources in cyber security. digital transformation, analytics, tech refreshers, Azure, AWS and system upgrades. Professional skills that are in continued demand are in the clinical fields, policy, program/project managers, web, content developers, UX/UI. COVID also drove demand for compliance, fraud assessment, call centre and program offices.

Much of the work in Canberra is contingent, usually 12 month contracts and many workers in existing work have been reluctant to move for other opportunities during the year.

So a quick plug for Canberra!

Thinking of a tree change? We still have a shortfall in skilled workers.

There are good opportunities available across the board.

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AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

RECOGNITION HAS NEVER BEEN MORE IMPORTANT In a year as turbulent as 2020, the need to highlight excellence has never been so significant. 9 categories were specifically created in this year's 2020 Awards for Excellence to acknowledge the exceptional circumstances of running a business during the pandemic, The companies recognised in APSCo Australia's Awards for Excellence worked hard throughout 2020 and represent the work that many in the recruitment industry have undertaken to keep employment in Australia moving forward,

when all seemed lost or just simply, too challenging.

These companies innovated, created, protected, improved, performed and gave back to the community, all while navigating the implications of a global pandemic and

ensuing economic recession.

APSCo received a record number of entries for the Awards during one of the toughest periods in recent business memory. It is a testament to APSCo’s Members and the wider recruitment industry.

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

AWARD CATEGORIES AND FINALISTS While the saying goes “there can only be one winner”, in a year as unique as 2020, the companies shortlisted as finalists in the recruitment industry’s Awards for Excellence represent a group of businesses who are all at the top of their game.

Best use of Digital sponsored by The Ayers Group · Halcyon Knights ManpowerGroup M&T Resources, and Precision Sourcing.

Best approach to Health & Wellbeing sponsored by Sunsuper

Best response to the Pandemic (WHS) sponsored by WorkPro

Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year sponsored by SEEK

Caring For You Nursing Agency Launch Recruitment ManpowerGroup, and Ozstaff Best response to the Pandemic (Innovation) sponsored by Entity Solutions Blueprint Medical M&T Resources Ozstaff, and Peoplebank

Allegis Global Solutions Chandler Macleod Precision Sourcing, and Whizdom Recruitment

Driftwood Group Effective People, and Launch Recruitment Candidate Experience sponsored by CareerOne Keane Consulting Lloyd Connect The Nudge Group Whizdom Recruitment Zeep

The MD’s Recognition Award Benjamin Lepke Christie Blake Col Levander Haylee Burley James Purtell Jodi-Lynne Duyster Kate Weston Matthew Lumb Stephanie Mataia Terrence Pillay Tracee Rowe Bianca Witkin Most Improved of the Pandemic, sponsored by Staffing Industry Metrics Blueprint Medical, and 1Medical Best Performer of the Pandemic, sponsored by Staffing Industry Metrics Citrus Group Clarrow, and Whizdom Recruitment

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

WITH THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS Central to APSCo’s Awards for Excellence is the support of recruitment industry service providers who commit to the industry Awards via sponsorship.

Industry specialists in the provision of taxation, accounting and financial reporting services, Sovereign Private, were Major Sponsor of the 2020 APSCo Awards for Excellence. Having been part of the industry for over six years, the company sees 2020 as the “ultimate test of a business’s resilience.”

“Excellence is not only just about having a strong contracting book, which is still incredibly important, but it is also about how the leadership team responded to the challenges the year presented,” says Managing Director, Paul Masters.

Ultimately though, “excellence is reflected in the business’s ability to rapidly adapt to change and swift financial recovery.”

“This year presents a great opportunity to recognise the recruitment agencies that have risen above and beyond the challenges that COVID-19 has thrown their way, says ‘Best response to the Pandemic – Innovation’ sponsor, Entity Solutions.

“Businesses large and small have had to transform the way they work overnight to deliver to their candidates, employees, clients and partners.”

According to ‘Candidate Experience’ sponsor CareerOne, “there has never been a more important time to recognise and reward excellence than against the unprecedented adversity we faced in 2020.

It is for this reason we define excellence as not only leadingthe-way and striving forward, but also helping your community along the way.”

WorkPro, sponsor of ‘Best response to the 2020 pandemic – WHS’, agree that it’s never been a more important time to recognise excellence in the industry.

“While excellence usually means to go ‘above and beyond’, this year it’s about celebrating those who not only moved their organisation forward during a health crisis, but did so while maintaining their compliance standards and delivering on their duty of care to all staff,” says WorkPro founder, Tania Evans. “Doing the right thing and keeping up obligations to ensure team members feel safe, supported and well-trained throughout a time of change is what excellence looks like in 2020.”

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

‘Best use of Digital’ sponsor, The Ayers Group, realize that 2020 has been a tough year for everyone, however “Good people, with good values and excellence, will always shine through, even in the toughest of times,” says Managing Director Colin Cuthbert.

Excellence underpins the culture at Sunsuper, this year’s sponsor of the ‘Best approach to Health & Wellbeing’.

Sunsuper’s Stephen McKay, Head of Relationship Management, Corporate and Institutional, says the company are “pleased to support commitment to excellence in the recruitment industry, particularly during such a difficult and challenging year.”

'CSR Initiative of the Year’ sponsor, SEEK, say, “it’s great to be able to recognise the hard work and achievement within the industry.”

The resilience that we have seen across many individuals and agencies throughout this period is clearly evident, and we at SEEK want to acknowledge and congratulate the industry for adapting and demonstrating resilience during a very challenging year in 2020,” says SEEK’s Con Marchesan, Head of Recruitment Industry Segment.

Staffing Industry Metrics are both managing and sponsoring the financial data-driven Award categories of ‘Best Performer of the Pandemic’ and ‘Most Improved of the Pandemic’.

With so much disruption and negativity attached to the year, Managing Director Nigel Harse says there’s “no room for tall poppy syndrome” and “we should find new ways to celebrate and reveal what can still be achieved during these challenging times.”

“There has never been a better time to let financial data reveal the impact of instantly changed market and working conditions on businesses,” he says.

“Their (companies) own results will show the effect of different strategies used to change and drive the business curve.”

Benchmarking key financial metrics from the previous six months objectively identified the Award winners in these categories.

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

AWARD JUDGES In 2020, the process of securing a robust panel of expertise began to build what will become the foundations for the ongoing success of APSCo's Awards for Excellence - The Judges!

Representing a crosssection of the business community – some have rich knowledge and history of the Australian recruitment industry, while others who have a niche area of specialisation pertinent to the awards categories for entry, provide the perfect complement.

supporting the mental wellbeing of their employees. She is key to determining the category finalists and winners of the health and wellbeing award in particular.

Rachel Bowes Head of Crisis Services and Quality - Lifeline Australia

Brianna has been integral in developing and facilitating a range of bespoke workforce education projects and training courses which ultimately drive improved productivity, cultural, financial and most importantly people outcomes for organisations.

Rachel has spent over 20 years working in public, private, and not for profit mental health services in the United Kingdom and Australia and has professional and postgraduate qualifications in Mental Health Nursing and Counselling. Rachel first began working with APSCo as a panellist early in the year, discussing the escalating issue of mental health and the role that employers can play in

Brianna Cattanach National Education and Training Services Lead Gallagher

As a regular adviser to APSCo Members and a speaker in several of the Association’s events she was a natural fit to join the judges and lead the outcome of the WHS category in particular.

Justin Falk CEO, Co-Founder - TalentVine With a background in employer branding and online assessments in both the United Kingdom and Australia, Justin is passionate about the role that technology can play in benefitting the recruitment industry. He was an obvious fit for the APSCo judging panel, giving the breadth of technical insight that would benefit the digital category along with extensive knowledge of the recruitment market.

Nigel Harse Managing Director - Staffing Industry Metrics Highly regarded and widely sought after for his knowledge, unwavering passion, and innovation, Nigel is a 40-year veteran of the recruitment industry and a regular commentator and adviser to the APSCo Membership. In 2003, he founded RIBreport, which provided the answers with a monthly-unbiased perspective on the health of staffing and recruitment firms.

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Brianna Cattanach

Rod Hore

Nigel Harse

Rachel Bowes

Greg Muller

Nigel takes great pride in now taking this model online and vastly expanding the offering to staffing and recruitment firms across the globe as Staffing Industry Metrics.

Like Nigel Harse, Rod is highly regarded inside the APSCo membership and produces the annual ANZ Recruitment Remuneration Report alongside Nigel and Staffing Industry Metrics.

Rod Hore Director - HHMC Global

Greg Muller Co-Founder - The United Project

Rod is a 35-year veteran of Australian and international IT and corporate advisory organisations.

His executive-level credentials traverse many segments of the staffing and recruitment industry and include corporate advisory assignments, mergers and acquisitions mandates, and C-level advisory to multinational and other public and private organizations. Rod founded HHMC to provide local industry acumen and global knowledge to Asia Pacific recruitment agencies.

Greg is a business leader and entrepreneur committed to the development and commercialization of responsible, ethical, and sustainable innovation and technology. Greg’s current role is with The United Project, a charitable foundation uniting the world's workplaces to improve mental health and prevent suicides.

All registration sales of APSCo’s mental health awareness event Head-tohead held in April this year

Justin Falk

David Wolstenholme

were donated to The United Project, with Greg offering insights as a panellist.

David Wolstenholme Founder - brandmebetter David Wolstenholme is a coach, consultant, and trainer whose sole purpose is to help more recruiters to define, build their personal brands, and drive business results.

David’s diagnostic BUILD programs, interactive workshops, and one-on-one coaching has built a loyal client base and brand ambassadors across four continents.

David began working APSCo in 2020.

with

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THE 2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE WINNERS Click on the badge to view the category announcement video.

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

WHAT SETS OUR WINNERS APART?

Allegis Global Solutions were the winner of the Health and Wellbeing Award, sponsored by Sunsuper.

Global talent solutions provider Allegis Global Solutions (AGS) expanded its initiatives and offerings to cover areas such as emotional, physical and nutritional, financial, and even the intellectual wellbeing of its employees.

A key element of these initiatives was the creation of a resource-rich library with programs and tools designed to educate, support, and inspire employees to pursue and live a healthy and balanced life.

“This win is a recognition of the remarkable dedication of our People Strategy, Talent Development and Employee Resource Groups teams that provided the tools to educate, empower and

support our people as we continue to navigate through these challenging times. I am proud of everything that they have done for the company, clients and, most importantly, for their teams”, said Vice President of AGS APAC Sarah Wong.

“The resilience and fortitude of our people were why we managed to overcome this challenging year.

By focusing on the wellbeing of our employees, and ensuring they have access to the resource library designed to support them across key areas including emotional, physical and nutritional, financial and intellectual wellbeing, our employees are empowered and inspired to excel at work, and in their personal lives. Such activity led to a 29% decrease in attrition (year-on-year basis) and helped fill 94% of open roles at AGS locations around the world."

Zeep Medical were the winner of the Candidate Experience category, sponsored by CareerOne. Candidate experience is at the centre of everything that Zeep, a recruiter for locum and permanent doctors, does. The company provides end-to-end service for candidates, handling doctors’ travel, car hire and accommodation.

With most hospitals not taking doctors from other states, Zeep had to pivot quickly and find and relocate doctors within states. With the assistance of service providers, the company also created bespoke medical recruitment software for supplying doctors in Australia.

"The Zeep team live and breathe customer service.

To be formally recognised by APSCo as the 2020 winner re-affirms the incredible hard work that the whole team tirelessly focus on," says Managing Director, Robin Jerome.

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

By focussing on Customer Service, we assured that Zeep were first in most doctors and hospitals minds when it came to working with a medical recruitment Agency.

Creating and retaining this loyalty contributed to our success through the challenges of 2020."

BluePrint Medical were the winner of the Best response to the Pandemic (Innovation), sponsored by Entity Solutions.

BluePrint Medical responded to the impacts of border closures and flight cancellations, reduced demand, and a restricted candidate pool of doctors, with a proactive approach to communicating with clients and bringing vulnerable doctors home from interstate.

"It (the Award) is a timely boost and means we are

heading in the right direction.

Since our pandemic response plans were set out, the BluePrint Medical team have gone above and beyond to best serve their doctors and health services. As the country begins to open back up, and we see light at the end of the tunnel, this award allows our team to look back positively on a challenging, characterbuilding year. We are a young business and to be winning awards this early bodes well for an exciting future ahead," says Director, Oliver Hastie.

According to Oliver, A combination of business planning and teamwork were crucial to the team's success this year.

"In our first year (2019) we were conservative, taking the time to save for 6 months buffer of running costs and start allocating

for organic growth in 2020.

When March changed the business and working landscape, this buffer gave us the time to evaluate the threats, change our processes, and best respond.

Our staff were incredible at adapting their practices and implementing new strategies, supporting their doctors and each other. We were also able to add new staff who believed in the business and continued to spur us on."

Driftwood Group were the winner of the Corporate Social Responsibility category, sponsored by SEEK. In a bid to help people have a career of their dreams, Driftwood Group’s Yvonne Kelly and Alex Kelly started a new career coaching arm Glow Up Careers. The company launched a new accreditation program and rebranded the division on World Refugee Day 2019. It teaches coaches and leaders how the job market works and provides a framework with tools, templates, and workbooks to support them in delivering effective career coaching RECRUITMENT & CO | 22

2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

focused on the job outcome the individual wants. The business now has 90 coaches who have completed an accreditation and who have each undertaken a practice session with a refugee.

"This award means so much to us. Winning the award gives us a greater opportunity to provide career coaching and outplacement to corporate businesses through our social enterprise, Glow Up Careers – and allows us to expand the work we do with refugees and new migrants.

Extra media coverage through this award helps us achieve our mission of enabling everyone to have the career of their dreams no matter who you are or where you are from.

Winning also shows our coaches that if you set goals and work towards them, you can achieve great things, says Director, Yvonne Kelly.

Haylee Burley, Contractor Care Manager at Whizdom Recruitment was the winner of the Managing Director's Recognition Award, for an individual who has risen above and beyond for the good of the recruitment industry during 2020.

"Just being nominated for this award was the highlight of my career, and to win the MD’s Recognition Award is overwhelmingly special for so many reasons," says Haylee.

"I am so proud to be part of a team that focuses so much on the wellbeing of our contractors and each other. For me to have the opportunity to implement a program that provides support in such key areas as work life balance, health nd wellbeing with the support and understanding of the entire Whizdom team is absolutely incredible."

"2020 has been a huge challenge for everyone, with the bush fires and the outbreak of COVID-19, we recognised early on that we needed to maintain regular contact with all of our contractors."

"In the first wave of the lockdown it was important to contact each of our contractors and remind them of WHS responsibilities, options for connections i.e. email, text, zoom (whatever it took to stay connected with them), and the many different support options available through our Contractor Care Program - should they need it.

Already having our Contractor Care Program, WHS Management System and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) in place for our entire workforce was key, and above all else being committed to ensure we maintain connections, check in on each other, and be compassionate to everyone we interact with."

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

ManpowerGroup Australia were the winner of Best use of Digital.

To increase the awareness and appeal of a naval career, this APSCo Australia Member decided to provide potential candidates an insight into the life of a submariner. It launched the 2020 National Submarine Tour and Competition through an online gaming experience and promoted it through social media. Online gaming allowed the recruitment team to attract the right audience while promoting the benefits of a ‘submariner career’ and challenging misconceptions.

"Recruitment marketing is a specialised profession. It’s very rare for our team to be recognised for this," says Leanne Hayter - General Manager, Attraction at Defence Force Recruiting.

"Winning the APSCo award for Best Use of Digital has

given ManpowerGroup an excellent platform to showcase and share our expertise and successes for our clients, in both a recruitment and marketing capacity."

"Any form of recognition is great for a business to receive, but particularly an award like this which is based on actual financial performance," says 1Medical Director, Ryan Kevelighan.

According to Leanne, the companies candidate centric approach was key to their success.

"1Medical greatly value APSCo’s involvement in the industry and to win an award in conjunction with APSCo and industry titan Nigel Harse is a real achievement for the business."

"By placing the candidate at the centre of everything you do, the passion and commitment of our employees shone through. It enabled ManpowerGroup to adapt with agility and continue to drive results during unprecedented times."

1Medical were the winner of the Most Improved during the Pandemic, acknowledging the firm that made the best progress in Q3 (July to September) when compared to Q2 (April to June).

"The healthcare sector saw significant disruption but as our team are highly experienced they quickly adapted to the changing market conditions and were able to continue placing doctors across the country.

We took action to mitigate cancellations quickly and leveraged opportunities as they were presented in the changing market meaning we managed to continue to grow across the year despite all the drama."

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2020 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE

Whizdom Recruitment were named Best Performer during the 2020 Pandemic, acknowledging the firm that recorded the best performance from April to September 2020.

"This was a great reward for our whole team that acknowledged the collective achievement across all areas of our business," says Managing Director, John McCluskey.

"Rarely do internal achievements, effort and work get recognized externally, so we were very stoked to be first nominated, and extremely excited to be announced as winners of the category. I was very proud for the whole team knowing how hard our staff worked under what was a stressful period for many."

"For Whizdom, we were very fortunate to have

systems in place to support remote working. We have provided the opportunity for our staff to work from anywhere for over 10 years, so technically we were largely unaffected by COVID shutdowns and it was mostly business as usual from a technical point of view which allowed us to continue to support client requests while many scrambled with work from home policies and system updates.

Launch Recruitment were the winner of Best response to the Pandemic (WHS), sponsored by WorkPro. At the onset of the pandemic, Launch Recruitment appointed a COVID-19 response team that categorised responses into three key areas: mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, and the safety/prevention of potential contagion. As the

pandemic situation continued to evolve, so did their responses in all three focus areas targeting staff, customers, and the community.

"The Launch management team have always strived to give the consultants and our contractors the best possible experience not just in workplace safety but also in L&D, engagement, and purpose. This foundation guided our COVID response team in how to care and protect our staff and contractors through the pandemic. The whole person was considered, their physical and mental wellbeing," says Marketing Manger, Amanda Sekulovska.

A combination of experienced leaders, excellent planning, a supportive, dedicated and resilient team, a focus on putting relationships first, and the ongoing management of the health and wellbeing of staff and contractors, enabled Launch Recruitment to continue to succeed during 2020.

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ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Reflecting back on 2020 with Sunsuper’s Chief Economist, Brian Parker.

This article has been prepared and issued by Sunsuper Pty Ltd, (ABN 88 010 720 840, AFSL No. 228975) the trustee and issuer of the Sunsuper Superannuation Fund (ABN 98 503 137 921, USI 98 503 137 921 001). It contains general advice and does not take into account the investment objectives, financial situation or needs of any particular individual. You should consider if the advice is appropriate to your own circumstances before acting on it. Outcomes are not guaranteed. Past performance is not a reliable indication of future performance. Sunsuper employees provide advice as representatives of Sunsuper Financial Services Pty Ltd (ABN 50 087 154 818 AFSL No. 227867) which is wholly owned by the Sunsuper Superannuation Fund. Visit sunsuper.com.au or call 13 11 84 for a copy of the PDS.

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ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

With 2021 just around the corner, we took time out to speak to Brian Parker, Sunsuper’s Chief Economist to get his thoughts on the recent 'Australian Job index' statistics, what Sunsuper’s approach has been to investments during COVID-19 and the year that was 2020.

states. However, the total number of opportunities in NSW is still down 35.6% year-on-year.

“Victoria, surprisingly, showed an improvement since June, particularly in contingent work.

After recording solid gains in May, June and July, renewed lockdowns resulted in a sharp fall in the number of opportunities in August before a partial recovery in September.

“If we look over the crisis to date, the 'job index' data suggest the ACT and Tasmania have fared best in a labour market sense. Tasmania is the only state where the total number of opportunities is back above pre-COVID levels and in the ACT the number of opportunities has risen to be just 10% below pre-COVID levels.”

In the recent Sunsuper 'Australian Job index', the number of contingent (temporary, contract or casual) job opportunities had risen by 19.5% over the September quarter and contingent jobs, as a percentage of total employment vacancies, is at a record high. Why is that the case and what about from a regional or state-by-state perspective?

“Yes, although we’ve seen a strong recovery in permanent job opportunities last quarter, rising around 12.6%, the stronger recovery was actually in contingent work, which rose nearly 20%.

The ratio of contingent job advertisements as a percentage of total advertisements is now 33.2%, the highest in the history of the Sunsuper Australian job index, which is probably not a great surprise, given you’d expect employers to have a preference towards flexible staffing arrangements in uncertain times.

“From a regional perspective, the strongest jump in job opportunities were in the ACT (+30.7%) and then NSW which saw a solid 25.3% jump in opportunities, with those gains more evenly divided among permanent and contingent opportunities than in other

Were there any other stand-out performers in the last report?

“The other strongest performing occupational group was professionals, rising a massive 25.3% in the last three months.

"The professional occupational group represents the highest volume of job advertisements of all occupational groups. “There was enormous variation in the movement in job vacancies by occupational group in the September quarter.

"Both manager and clerical roles grew well above the national norm, 12% and 14% respectively, but this recovery is from a low base, and both remain 42% lower than a year ago.

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over the course of this year and we don’t invest money based on our own, or anyone else’s shortterm economic or market forecasts. The post COVID economic recovery is ongoing and is likely to be gradual with wide variation in the strength of recovery across countries and industries.

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

"A sustained economic recovery is going to need the virus to be contained and the ongoing support of macro policymakers (particularly governments).

Sunsuper 'Australian Job Index' “It’s also worth noting that those occupations showing the higher levels of growth, notably managers, professionals and clerical and administration, have all seen larger increases for contingent vacancies than permanent opportunities.

“But the standout industry for the quarter is clearly education and training, where the number of opportunities rose by a staggering 51.6%, albeit off a low base."

Looking back on 2020 and with 2021 around the corner, how are things looking from an investment perspective?

“While there has been a recovery underway in both the Australian and global economies, the outbreak in Victoria and now across much of Europe and North America highlight just how reliant that recovery is on virus containment. Even though vaccines are likely

to become available over the coming months, widespread distribution, even in advanced economies will take considerable time.

"Certainly, financial markets have been looking through a lot of the negative news on renewed outbreaks.

"Share markets have recovered a good deal of lost ground since the end of March and we’ve seen some good gains in the period following the US election result.

Consequently, investment returns have also improved after what was a very weak March quarter for superannuation fund members.”

What do you think is likely to happen from here?

“We have no way of knowing with any certainty how the COVID-19 outbreak will evolve from here, or how the economy and financial markets will evolve

“We remain of the view that shares offer very attractive value relative to bonds and cash where future returns are likely to be very low. Within our shares exposure both Sunsuper and our international share managers continue to favour European over US shares on relative valuation grounds.

"Sunsuper continues to hold a significant allocation to alternative asset classes, particularly the key unlisted asset classes – property, infrastructure, private equity and private credit. From here we expect these assets to deliver strong, long-term returns, above those of the traditional asset classes, while reducing our members exposure to share market volatility.”

What strategies have you enlisted in 2020 during COVID19?

“We’ve certainly been able to take advantage of some opportunities – in share markets and in credit markets that have emerged as a result of the crisis.

And our purchases of Australian and international shares and non-government securities

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

View Brian’s latest Market Watch update above or go to sunsuper.com.au/market-watch

during the worst of the COVID-19 crisis have generated meaningful gains for members.

"However, we’ve also faced a significant increase in demands for liquidity from our members; initially from members moving into cash at the height of the crisis and then from the Government’s Early Release of Superannuation program.

And all the while, we’ve been able to maintain a strong underlying liquidity position in the fund.

“More recently, we’ve also increased our exposure to foreign currencies. This step does not necessarily reflect an expectation of a decline in the Australian dollar.

Given the long-standing tendency of the Australian

dollar to fall sharply during times of market stress, a higher allocation to foreign currency is a means of providing additional protection to our diversified portfolios in the event of a further major share market correction.”

Is there more information available on Sunsuper investment options and where can people tap into this information?

“There are a number of Sunsuper investment options that give exposure to a diversified range of asset classes, including both public market and unlisted investments.

Sunsuper offers members a range of 20 investment options to allow you to tailor your investments to your needs.

“There is plenty of info on the Sunsuper website – or you can call one of our team, if you like speaking to a real person. We also provide Market Watch updates, record podcasts and provide member seminars, so you’ll never run short of ways to access the information you need."

For a copy of the Sunsuper 'Australian Job index', visit sunsuper.com.au/australianjobin dex or contact Sunsuper on 13 11 84 between 8.00am to 6.30pm (AEST) Monday to Friday or visit sunsuper.com.au/choose

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Merger & Acquisition activity ANZ Recruitment industry merger and acquisition activity in 2020 has fallen from its very strong levels and is likely to see a substantial rebound in the coming year, according to HHMC Global's Richard Hayward.

predict how any recruitment agency in any sector or geography is performing. Many agencies have not been able to forecast business performance with certainty, and forecasting is a precursor to the confidence required to make forward decisions such as growth, restructuring, funding and equity transactions.

The international market will also have changes from previous years.

This year there have been more buyers in the market than sellers. Deals have been done, but we have encountered a number of misconceptions.

Some buyers expected there to be acquisition bargains in the market, but few recruitment agency owners had to sell “no matter what the circumstances”.

Most recruitment leaders have taken the actions needed to protect their business this year and are anticipating revenue and profit growth in 2021. And we should not forget that 2020 has still been positive for a percentage of recruitment agencies.

The transactions that have happened tended to be struck at EBITDA multiples similar to those of previous years, however, transaction structures often reflected the uncertainty of forecasts and hence were weighted more on reducing buyer risk.

2021 will be interesting. We believe equity transactions will increase in volume as the year continues, but patience may be required from both buyers and sellers. There are so many variations in the market now that will take time to be resolved and to settle – it continues to be difficult to

Each country is dealing with 2020 in different ways and continuing international travel restrictions dampen global business activity. However, as business travel between countries starts to re-open, there are also new opportunities for the recruitment industry, such as Australia’s pending Free Trade Agreement with the UK. Australia and New Zealand will continue to be a positive investment target for the recruitment industry.

HHMC Global firmly believe that recruitment agency owners can be confident that in 2021 strong buyer demand will continue.

Valuations should hold. Deal structures are likely to benefit all parties by being reliant on forward performance in a growing market.

Owners looking to take advantage of this positive market do need to prepare well.

Successful sales processes do not happen without appropriate preparation of the business and its operation.

To find out more, https://hhmc.com.au

visit

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Bumpy seas ahead

a continuing impact, combining with improving business confidence.

The 2020 ANZ Recruitment Industry Remuneration dashboard and report are essential business assets for recruitment agencies entering a growing market in the new year writes Nigel Harse and Rod Hore.

How prepared are recruitment agencies for this industry growth?

Staffing Industry Metrics data shows that the average cost of employing staff in a recruitment agency still accounts for 50% to 55% of Gross Profit. This is a stubbornly high percentage and risky situation for many recruitment agencies.

The 2020 ANZ Recruitment Industry Remuneration dashboard and report are essential business assets for recruitment agencies entering a growing market in the new year.

Staffing Industry Metrics and HHMC Global have recently completed the third Remuneration Survey.

Salary plus superannuation for the core consultant roles in a recruitment agency have grown 6% in the year ending 30th June. The impact of business changes from March onwards have not been enough to reduce the full-year impact of rising staff costs.

By contrast, poor preCOVID trading conditions, combined with pandemic issues in the April to June quarter, has seen bonus and commission payments plummet, falling 22% from the previous year.

2021 is expected to be a year of growth for the recruitment industry across Australia and New Zealand, with SIA forecasting a strong return from the drop in 2020, but not right back to the levels enjoyed in 2019. Suppressed sectors (eg. hospitality) are expected to return and government initiatives (eg. infrastructure) should have

The Remuneration Report shows there is very little change in the way consultants work is structured, how consultants are paid and managed. This is despite some pandemic-related adjustments, such as greater flexibility for working from home.

Recruitment agency owners need to manage the next phase of headcount growth very carefully to ensure longterm cost structures are sustainable. Don’t undo all the positive strategic work undertaken during this most complex year!

Recruitment agencies can still participate in the live Remuneration Survey – it’s free to participate this year. Those who provide data get their personal dashboard showing their data against the 53 job functions in the industry, viewable in many ways, as well as the written report. If you don’t provide data, you can buy the report. Contact us to see if you are eligible for a discount.

Nigel Harse, nigel@staffingindustrymetrics.com Rod Hore, rod.hore@hhmc.com.au RECRUITMENT & CO | 28

International talent DESIGN

Australia is making plans to start accepting international workers with the skills Australia requires, Pendragon's John Glover writes.

The good news is that both the government and the travel industry are working towards returning flights and international movement between countries as soon as possible with some new travel rules. It may be quicker than we think, even without a vaccine.

NSW is already suggesting one-third of the accommodation for quarantine is to be used for international talent coming in on a visa, such as the 482 TSS visa.

The international authority, IATA, is suggesting travel should start ASAP, even without a vaccine and possibly with no quarantine.

Etihad are already using facial and heat recognition systems at airports and will possibly roll this out to their global check-ins, plus they are offering COVID travel insurance.

The travel industry is talking about a Global Health Travel Passport, consisting of a clean bill of health. Perhaps future travel will be the healthiest travel we will ever experience?

Australia is looking to start the intake of international students by February 2021 and looking to follow that up with international talent freely coming in. There will be a quarantine to start with, however, there are

however, there are moves to remove that requirement and replace it with a health passport idea, as mentioned earlier.

There is also now a bipartisan approach to bringing working holiday visa holders onshore.

They are looking to change some of the rules so rural areas can have the workforce they require, plus any of the urgent skilled occupations required in Australia could come in under this visa and swap. The parliamentary committee stated that ‘It was crucial the program stay in place given the fall in immigration because of the pandemic but also to fill gaps in the labour market."

During the current Covid-19 pandemic, working visa applications are being processed as per usual.

Whatever happens, there are still ways to argue that the international skilled person is required in Australia by asking for a travel exemption request.

These are slowly being issued and not just for the Priority Migration Skilled Occupation List (PMSOL).

The effect of the new PMSOL list is that select occupations are receiving priority allocation (we are seeing these applications processed within 1 week). This does not exclude the requirement for candidates to do 2 weeks of mandatory quarantine upon arrival at this moment in time.

If you would like to know the latest re: sponsoring international skilled talent into Australia, please contact Pendragon for the latest advice or visa options for potential candidates. Email info@pendragon.net.au or book an appointment.

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2020 through the eyes of a medical recruiter 2020 started out like any other year before the madness o March descended upon us. At that stage no one truly knew what would unfold, especially in the recruitment space. 1Medical's Ryan Kevelighan explains.

contracts back in their home states and did a fantastic job with this. Due to this excellent work from our team we were lucky not to see any downturn in revenue and were able to focus on damage limitation.

In this period the market demand increased as COVID-19 action plans were launched by hospitals and COVID clinics popped up, however we simply did not have the ability to get doctors to work as they were committing to permanent posts and declining locum engagements.

The international permanent doctor pipeline slowed down and doctors that were previously signed to start became at risk. The availability of a flight to Australia became an obstacle with ongoing limited air travel options.

The international borders were closed and shortly afterwards the various states and territories started to follow suit. At 1Medical we have a large amount of interstate activity, with doctors being flown to work locations away from their home state being common practice.

April and May

Both doctors and hospitals were concerned they would not be able to come or that they could not commit to the 14-day isolation requirements.

On the upside, some doctors took on extra locum work away from home as their preference was to commit to their current locations, as opposed to being at home and unable to work.

We began to see cancellations of locum contracts from both clients and doctors alike as both started cancelling contracts that involved interstate travel and understandably so.

Across this period the 1Medical team worked from home as we adhered to the advised work from home directive. In this period the team worked exceptionally hard to re-book the cancelled doctors into

June and July Fortunately, the expected wave of infections never transpired in Australia, and the usage of hospital services declined.

Hospitals started to offload much of their surge supply of locum doctors as the initial concerns subsided. This meant we experienced further cancellations and an overall drop in locum demand.

The outbreak of Covid-19 in Victoria led to a significant upswing in the focus on WHS/OHS across the market.

Every day we saw continual updates from clients regarding the protocols for working in a frontline Covid-19 environment.

RECRUITMENT & COÂ |Â 30

Union activity also increased with a push towards paid pandemic leave applying to causal doctors which was another challenge faced by the sector.

Had this been implemented, there would have had to have been material change to the locum doctor models in operation across the Australian healthcare onhire market and it would have led to a significant risk in the locum doctor supply chain.

Despite the challenges in the market we made the commercial decision to continue with our internal hiring plans as we felt it necessary to continue to build for the future.

August onwards Locum demand and permanent activity began to return to usual levels.

In some areas the demand has also now increased due to variety of factors. The usual cohort of UK and Irish junior and middle grade doctors have not arrived in Australia this year, but existing ones have also not made the return journey to their homelands.

Many Australian junior doctors that might have moved overseas to Europe or the USA/Canada for a working holiday/overseas training have not been able to.

Many Australian based doctors have taken up training posts in permanent position to get some security for the coming years as they wait to see what a post Covid-19 world looks like.

The market is candidate short, suffers from a skill set unbalance and is governed by a fragmented healthcare staffing system.

We are however grateful and appreciate that many other sectors in the wider recruitment industry have had a far more challenging year.

Looking ahead to a positive 2021, 1Medical is seeking to expand its service offering to further assist doctors and hospitals alike, across both locum and permanent placements, while also bringing more cost savings and efficiencies to the healthcare system.

At 1Medical we feel fortunate to work in the medical sector, but it is not without its challenges.

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