AMP Capital’s Botany Town Centre mall is to hold its first job fair as 40 of its retailers hunt for staff.
Retailers and suppilers at the mall are looking to fill full-time, part-time and summer casual roles.
It comes as what retail commentator Greg Harford calls an “incredibly difficult time” for employers seeking to fill roles – with job fairs being further down the list of common recruitment tools.
“It’s incredibly difficult finding retail staff at the present time. There is a significant shortage of talent, and there are thousands of vacancies at the moment. The reality is that there are not enough people available in New Zealand to fill all the available roles,” he said.
Kerrie Hughes centre manager said the event will run from 5.30-8.30pm today.
“The International College of NZ will also have a representative available to offer advice and training courses for those who would like further training before seeking employment, or to offer interview tips.
"The job fair is an excellent way to support both the centre retailers and community, especially in the lead up to Christmas.
"Anyone who wishes to attend may bring copies of their CV and may carry out an express interview with a potential employer, or leave their details to be contacted later.”
Harford says job fairs are uncommon in today’s employment market.
“Retailers will typically advertise via their websites, TradeMe and Seek, but are increasingly putting signs in windows; and looking to build a pipeline of talent through the education system. Job fairs are less common, but may grow in popularity if successful.”
Harford is the head of Retail New Zealand and says there are “systemic shortages in the labour market “.
"There just aren’t enough people here to fill roles, but there are also problems with perceptions of retail. Many people don’t realise that retail workers can build great careers in retail, be very well remunerated, and go onto amazing leadership roles, specialised roles in marketing, social media, e-commerce, logistics, IT, international procurement and all sorts of other things.”
Harford says fear of crime and abuse is also a factor in retail staff shortages.
“There are real concerns about safety and wellbeing that retail employers are trying to resolve. Ram raids and smash and grabs have led to some staff feeling insecure and are making it harder to attract and retain team members. At the same time, we have seen a significant rise in abuse of and aggression towards retail workers from members of the public. Retail NZ is encouraging everyone to shop nice and remember that retail workers are people too."
He says retailers need to be quite innovative to attract and retain great staff.
“However, the fundamental problem is that there are just not enough workers here in New Zealand, and we need incentives for New Zealanders to stay here, and an immigration system that truly makes it easy for people to come here.”
SHARE ME