Skills shortage hits Bay of Plenty councils despite workplace incentives

Some councils are offering five weeks of annual leave, income protection insurance or the ability to bring pets to work as they struggle to fill vacancies.

Tauranga City Council corporate services general manager Alastair McNeil said it was up against “big global companies paying foreign dollars” for highly skilled staff.

It had 45 vacancies and its engineering and digital specialist roles were the most challenging to fill.

“They often require highly skilled technical ability and we’re grappling with a massive skills shortage in New Zealand. Aggravating the skills shortage is the fact most companies offer flexible working as standard now, which means people can continue living where they are and work for big companies in the main centres, or even overseas without having to relocate.”

Skilled people frequently sought high pay overseas, and often these skills could not be filled using the New Zealand market, he said.

The rising cost of living and a shortage of housing were contributing to the challenge.

McNeil said it was looking for people with a wide range of experience levels and skills who wanted “to get stuck in and make a difference”.

“When people start a career with us, they are often surprised at the breadth of work we do. We have a variety of roles available where people can work on exciting projects like the redevelopment of the civic precinct, the transformation of our waterfront, planning for new housing and upgrading our transport system. Our people work hard to make Tauranga better and put the community at the heart of everything we do.”

Its pay grades ranged from $55,500 to $236,000 and there was a variety of incentives and staff benefits, including five weeks’ annual leave, flexible work-from-home options, life insurance and learning development opportunities.

Bay of Plenty Regional Council people and leadership director Karen Aspey. Photo / Supplied

Bay of Plenty Regional Council people and leadership general manager Karen Aspey said the region was experiencing significant population growth.

“With that comes a range of big, complex challenges we need to solve in both the spatial planning and transport space.”

Of its 35 vacancies, three roles in transport and three in spatial planning were created roles to ensure it had the right capacity and capability in the right places.

“Some specialist roles such as transport and planning which are sometimes filled from overseas labour pools have been impacted (their advertising durations have been prolonged) due to border closures and the associated decrease in immigration movements. More recently, the competition has increased on a national level for these roles and there is also a lot of work going on in New Zealand in these spaces, and we are aware we are competing against other organisations as we seek to attract and recruit in this space.”

Aspey said the council had a great workplace culture.

“We know this through our standout survey results with the vast majority of staff agreeing that Toi Moana is a ‘Great place to work’. People also come here to be a great leader and (for) the investment we make to support them to develop and grow.

“Our people are deeply connected to their mahi and our organisation’s purpose.”

Some of its staff incentives include life and income protection insurance, discounted health insurance, a hybrid and flexible work environment and a sick leave bank option.

The regional council uses strategic pay grades from grade six to 28, with midpoints from $49,941 to $267,672.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council head of people and capability Darren Crowe said from time to time it experienced delays in finding the right candidate for senior leadership and/or technical specialist roles.

It had 30 vacancies and was actively recruiting for 20, while 10 were on hold and/or under review. A roading engineer vacancy had proved difficult to fill.

“The role requires a unique combination of highly technical expertise and relationship management skills.”

Cowe said its staff took pride in the work they did for “our communities and work hard for each other”.

Alastair McNeil, General Manager: Corporate Services, Tauranga City Council. Photo / Alex Cairns

“We recognise the contribution each other makes and enjoy celebrating our successes. We believe this is reflected in the many external accolades we receive.”

Benefits of working at Western Bay Council included five weeks’ annual leave, subsidised medical insurance, assistance to relocate to the area, flexible work arrangements and a pet-friendly work environment.

Crowe said it worked closely with its external remuneration advisers to ensure remuneration remained competitive in the marketplace for comparable organisations.

The Western Bay council pays a living wage as its minimum level of remuneration.

Rotorua Lakes Council organisational enablement deputy chief executive Thomas Collé said the tight labour market had resulted in fewer applicants for roles and the Accredited Employer Work Visa requirements limited its ability to hire from overseas due to the conditions migrants needed to meet.

He said not being able to fill vacancies could impact service delivery.

“As we have fewer staff to carry out the work that can cause delays, or additional cost if we need to get the work done via consultants.”

Rotorua Lakes Council currently had 67 vacancies, including permanent full-time, permanent part-time and fixed-term roles.

The vacancies include policy planners, accountants, administrators and Safe City Guardians, and its consenting/planning, engineering and IT roles were extremely hard to fill.

Pay bands for its current vacancies ranged from $54,330 to $150,515.