Skills shortage in Sunshine State

Finance sector recruitment in Brisbane is suffering like the rest of the country, but certain jobs remain in demand.

Compliance, risk, actuarial, audit, IT, regional banking and agri-finance professionals are all comparatively difficult to find, according to Andrew Steele, general manager, people & performance services at Suncorp.

ìThe Brisbane-based candidate pool for specialised banking roles tends to be smaller because the relative scale of corporate head office operations in Brisbane is smaller. We often need to extend our reach to recruit for these roles, and advertise interstate and overseas,î says Steele.

Matthew Holmes, senior regional director at recruitment firm Hays, says Brisbane also suffers from a skills shortage in financial planning, insurance and superannuation.

ìWealth management is one of the key growth sectors, with financial planners and investment strategists in demand. But the large national banks are not recruiting as much in wealth management as they were last year. Smaller firms, often servicing rural areas in Queensland, are more active,î says Holmes.

Only about half the candidates in the Brisbane market are local Queenslanders, according to Holmes. Others come from elsewhere in Australia and overseas, especially the UK and South Africa.

Holmes adds that lifestyle is the main reason why bankers come to Brisbane. The average pay-gap between Brisbane and Sydney/Melbourne has declined recently and currently stands at about 10%.

Suncorpís Steele comments: ìBrisbane is now home to several major listed companies and offers challenging job opportunities to financial professionals. For these reasons, candidates who would once have only considered moving to Sydney or Melbourne are now attracted to Brisbane.î

The government's decision to provide a three-year unlimited guarantee on retail and wholesale deposits has boosted regional banks like Suncorp whose abilities to raise finance have been severely constrained by the credit crunch.

Suncorp stopped talking to potential buyers of its banking and wealth management businesses this week but remains open to proposals that are fair and realistic to shareholders. (The Australian)