Salary increases are one thing but is it progress?
I recently conducted a poll on LinkedIn which asked the question, “What does progression look like for engineers in 2022?”
Interestingly, 60% wanted a “pay increase”, with “managing a team” and “improved job title” coming in a distant second place at 20% each.
This made me think, how often do people have pay reviews, and when you have these reviews are you just receiving the cost-of-living increase or nothing at all?
The engineering sector is currently very busy and often working with much lower than optimal employee numbers due to current border closures. This has resulted in an often busy and stressful time for many engineering businesses.
But how up to date are businesses with current market salaries? With current inflation at 6%, young first home buyers finding it increasingly difficult to qualify for mortgages, and the growing pressure of long hours, is this creating pressure on salaries?
One thing I feel employers need to be cognizant of is that our highly experienced engineers who feel they aren’t getting ahead in NZ, will look at options offshore.
It’s easier to leave NZ currently, than it is to arrive.
This will be due to a number of factors, the main drivers being salary and promotion. If you have driven and committed Senior Engineers we must work to retain as many of these Engineers in NZ to assist with bringing the next generation through the ranks.
This is critical to our looming brain-drain to Australia and further field, as we know, NZ has always needed more engineers than we can train.
About Simone Storey
Simone is an experienced Recruitment Consultant who specialises in recruiting intermediate through to management level engineers particularly in the structural, civil, mechanical and fire sectors. These particular sectors provide unique recruitment challenges, something of which she is very familiar with.
Her background also brings a results oriented and people focussed perspective, along with a solid understanding of the needs of both employer and employee. Simone has a focus on building these relationships to add value for both candidate and employer alike, for her recruitment is not merely a transaction.