As you may have seen in the local newspapers, CRS is still celebrating our 10th anniversary of service.
I have been particularly moved by the glowing testimonials we’ve received from candidates and clients and these are now published on both of our websites (see http://www.crsitjobs.com/Testimonials.htm for the I.T. recruitment reviews). Thank you all for your support and I am glad to have served you over the years.
Employee vs Employer Market
Are we in an Employee or Employer market right now in T&T? It depends on what industry we’re talking about.
There are some I.T. skills which are very hard to find e.g., I.T. Salespeople, Project Managers, Internet Security Specialists to name a few. Most other I.T. skills are readily available, and so I would say it’s still an Employer’s Market for I.T.
Employers usually have the luxury of being able to choose an I.T. employee from a selection available, and so personality and other soft skills are the main criteria to fit the team. Having said that, there has been a steady demand for good I.T. staff and this has caused salaries to rise in recent years.
Really good, experienced people in any discipline always command a premium rate because there are so few of them around. When employers cannot find the skills they need and they are desperate, then you will see tactics like poaching and counter-offers taking place to get/keep necessary skills to do the work.
Even when candidates really do not have the experience or depth of knowledge required, they may still be rare enough to find their salaries shoot up when they decide to test their marketability. I have heard of at least one case where an Oil & Gas Engineer went to his employers saying he’d got a job offer. They counter-offered and a battle took place over him.
When the dust settled, he was still in the same job at nearly double his original salary. The irony was that he wasn’t considered all that great at his job; it’s just that there wasn’t anybody out there to replace him.
It’s definitely an Employee’s Market right now for several disciplines within the Energy Sector in T&T, such as Civil/Structural Engineers, Process Engineers, QA/QC Specialists, Quantity Surveyors, Drillers and so on. Service companies are having a tough time finding resources at prices that they can afford after bidding for projects. Sometimes there is no other option but to bring in ex-pats at many times the cost of local employees.
The benefit of that, in theory, is that the experienced ex-pat can pass on his international expertise and knowledge to our locals.
There is a lot of good talent undergoing training within the Energy industry in T&T and one day, they will have that knowledge and experience to make them in demand internationally. They will be the ex-pats called in around the globe to help Oil & Gas companies get the job done and bring their locals up to a world-class standard. When that time comes, CRS will be in a position to help them find those lucrative jobs anywhere in the world. We have eyes on the world!
Tell Us What You Think
We would love to hear what you think of this issue of CRS News. And of course, if you have any suggestions for upcoming issues that you would like to share with us, please send those too.