Thursday, 10 February 2011 10:26
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On The Money

Continued improvement in the local oil and gas employment market is predicted by a leading Aberdeen recruitment company.

In its newly published north east Salary Guide, Thorpe Molloy Recruitment reports increased recruitment activity across its specialist divisions.

The guide provides information on basic salary levels for junior through to senior roles in the company’s specialist divisions of Executive, Accountancy and Finance, Human Resources, Office Personnel and the Legal profession.

Managing Director, Amanda McCulloch explains, “Our salary guide is a valuable tool for clients because it provides information which relates specifically to Aberdeen city and shire – information which isn’t readily available elsewhere. Often, local employers make salary decisions based on information from generic Scottish or UK wide salary data which does not reflect the local employment market. Our guide will help clients undertake salary benchmarking, resource planning and recruitment activities more effectively.”

“Through our placement activity we are witnessing business confidence return to the north east. Rising investment and activity by companies operating in the North Sea is increasing recruitment of support function personnel, causing, within our specific disciplines, skills shortages to emerge. For instance, in addition to the frequently reported skills shortage within specialist engineering roles, there is an increasing number of opportunities for qualified lawyers with upstream oil and gas experience and chartered accountants with operator specific skills such as joint venture and asset analysis accounting.”

“We are encouraged by findings in the AGCC Oil and Gas Survey, published in November 2010, that a significant proportion of companies anticipate increasing core and contract staff over the next 3 years and that new skills will mainly be acquired through recruitment.“

Bob Collier, Chief Executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, says the up to date local data provided by Thorpe Molloy Recruitment will be invaluable in considering the pay scales and terms and conditions offered by local companies.

“One of the key findings of our Oil and Gas Survey was that the signs of growth and optimism in the sector will come with the associated problems of skills shortages. While the industry sees this as a challenge rather than a crisis at this stage, the reality is that the main sources of recruitment continue to be other oil and gas companies in the UK, so companies wanting to attract and retain key personnel will have to be highly competitive in terms of salary and benefits.”

Amanda McCulloch said: “During 2009 many companies implemented pay freezes, but we are now aware of marginal pay increases across disciplines and, to assist with retention issues, companies are working to improve benefits such as introducing employee wellbeing schemes, flexible hours or performance related payments,” adds Amanda.

“Employers should be increasing their focus on employee retention as it is becoming a candidates’ market once more. During 2011, we also anticipate that employers will continue to view temporary staff as an effective resourcing option.”

 

 

On The Money

Continued improvement in the local oil and gas employment market is predicted by a leading Aberdeen recruitment company.

In its newly published north east Salary Guide, Thorpe Molloy Recruitment reports increased recruitment activity across its specialist divisions.

The guide provides information on basic salary levels for junior through to senior roles in the company’s specialist divisions of Executive, Accountancy and Finance, Human Resources, Office Personnel and the Legal profession.

Managing Director, Amanda McCulloch explains, “Our salary guide is a valuable tool for clients because it provides information which relates specifically to Aberdeen city and shire – information which isn’t readily available elsewhere. Often, local employers make salary decisions based on information from generic Scottish or UK wide salary data which does not reflect the local employment market. Our guide will help clients undertake salary benchmarking, resource planning and recruitment activities more effectively.”

“Through our placement activity we are witnessing business confidence return to the north east. Rising investment and activity by companies operating in the North Sea is increasing recruitment of support function personnel, causing, within our specific disciplines, skills shortages to emerge. For instance, in addition to the frequently reported skills shortage within specialist engineering roles, there is an increasing number of opportunities for qualified lawyers with upstream oil and gas experience and chartered accountants with operator specific skills such as joint venture and asset analysis accounting.”

“We are encouraged by findings in the AGCC Oil and Gas Survey, published in November 2010, that a significant proportion of companies anticipate increasing core and contract staff over the next 3 years and that new skills will mainly be acquired through recruitment.“

Bob Collier, Chief Executive at Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce, says the up to date local data provided by Thorpe Molloy Recruitment will be invaluable in considering the pay scales and terms and conditions offered by local companies.

“One of the key findings of our Oil and Gas Survey was that the signs of growth and optimism in the sector will come with the associated problems of skills shortages. While the industry sees this as a challenge rather than a crisis at this stage, the reality is that the main sources of recruitment continue to be other oil and gas companies in the UK, so companies wanting to attract and retain key personnel will have to be highly competitive in terms of salary and benefits.”

Amanda McCulloch said: “During 2009 many companies implemented pay freezes, but we are now aware of marginal pay increases across disciplines and, to assist with retention issues, companies are working to improve benefits such as introducing employee wellbeing schemes, flexible hours or performance related payments,” adds Amanda.

“Employers should be increasing their focus on employee retention as it is becoming a candidates’ market once more. During 2011, we also anticipate that employers will continue to view temporary staff as an effective resourcing option.”