Filling the Skilled Labour Shortage

Site WorkReady (SWR), a division of Site Group International and sister company of Site Skills Training, shares thought leadership content in the July/August 2019 issue of Pacific Powerboat. Read the full article below or access the magazine at  https://boatmags.com/digital-magazines/pacific-powerboat-july-august-2019/

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The New Zealand marine industry is on the crest of a wave with the boat building boom, and there is no sign of it slowing down anytime soon. With America’s Cup returning to Kiwi shores in 2021, the country needs all hands on deck to meet the ever-growing demand for New Zealand-made vessels.

While the industry is aggressive in attracting local staff, some boat builders’ resort to recruiting foreign skilled workers as a practical business solution to their interim production needs.

I am working for Site WorkReady (SWR) which delivers talent pooling for companies in need to fill specific gaps in their workforce. SWR is a subsidiary of Site Group International Limited, an ASX-listed company with expertise in education, training, and labour services.  Over the years, SWR has been successful in deploying thousands of highly qualified skilled workers to New Zealand and Australia. Key to our success is our desire to provide the best end-to-end resourcing support for our clients. You can say that we are a one-stop shop for easing workforce shortfalls. Strategically, we do this by working closely with our clients, assessing the full extent of their manpower needs.

SWR understands how labour intensive and frustrating the search for qualified staff can be. As such, we offer the Source-Train-Deploy approach to comprehensively match the labour requirements of our clients such as the New Zealand boat manufacturers.

Although client requirements vary case-by-case, SWR maintains the highest standards for candidate selection. We employ a wide range of sourcing methods and intensive screening process, which include English competency, theoretical and practical trade skills testing, verification of experience in the use of industrial equipment, and personality assessments. We deploy skilled workers from the Philippines, another country with a strong seafaring tradition. In cases where these workers need to acquire or be vetted for specialist or technical capabilities, SWR can facilitate their upskilling and gap-training through its training arm, Site Skills Training (RTO 32531).

Site Skills Training has a 300,000 sqm facility at Clark Freeport Zone, Philippines. It can accommodate the training and assessment of selected candidates for New Zealand and Australian qualification standards. For example, we can conduct the cross-skilling or verification of competency in welding of candidates for aluminium fabricator posts as well as Fibreglass and Composite materials.

Another reason why SWR remains competitive is our smooth visa processing assistance. Once the client has chosen the candidates, SWR will work with recognised assessment and migration authorities to secure the required job permits, language certifications, training accreditations, and medical clearances.

We take pride in the fact that we only deal through legal channels.  SWR does not take unwarranted shortcuts and does not engage in activities to obtain favourable treatment from any governing body. We follow immigration and compliance procedures, and this practice has built for us a reputation as a dependable resourcing partner throughout the years.

The quality of our sourced candidates can speak for our dedication and service. As we value the people we employ, we do not charge applicants any fee or recover costs from them. SWR believes that no qualified applicant should pay in order to secure work. We operate based on meritocracy and invest in individuals with great potential.

Though skill and job experience are paramount criteria, we know that other factors contribute to the recruitment and retention of an ideal candidate. SWR ensures that workers are ready to assimilate in their new working environment.  Pre-deployment, SWR orients them on relevant departure requirements, job safety protocols, and work culture.

As SWR Business Manager for New Zealand, I am honoured to be part of a company that connects world-class workers with rewarding work opportunities. I and the rest of the Site WorkReady team are on board, providing the best project resourcing solutions possible, to support New Zealand’s boat building and related industry.