SUMMARY

Recruitment across permanent roles remained fairly steady again over the last quarter, with higher than normal growth in January, which is typically a quieter month in the recruitment market.
Majority of hires were in junior to mid level roles across all sectors, with a decline in new hires at the senior end of the market.
In demand skills of note includes sustainability and we have noticed a real increase in demand for these skills across both perm and contracting roles over the last 6+ months.
Contracting remains strong, although our overall contractor numbers have decreased slightly over the quarter, following several successive periods of growth.
There are several reasons for this, including an increase in the number of contractors moving into perm roles with our clients and a slight slowdown of contractors being engaged for large uplift projects as we move towards the end of the financial year.
We expect a similar scale up of contractor resources to support FY 24/25 initiatives in the second half of the year.
With more than 28 yrs’ procurement and supply chain experience, including HO roles with George Weston Foods, one of ANZ’s largest food manufacturers, we are delighted to spend some time with Kathy Kaderavek this month.
Training and Qualifications – we look at some of the more common qualifications across the sector, as well as some new and emerging skills.

MARKET UPDATE

Recruitment across permanent roles remained fairly steady for us again over the quarter, with higher than normal growth in January, which is typically a quieter month in the recruitment market. The majority of hires were in junior to mid level roles across all sectors, with a decline in new hires at the senior end of the market.

In demand skills of note includes sustainability and, whilst not a new concept across the procurement and supply chain sector, we have noticed a real increase in demand for these skills across both perm and contracting roles over the last 6+ months, across most of the major sectors.

Our overall contractor numbers decreased slightly over the quarter, following several successive periods of growth. There are a range of reasons for this, including:

An increase in our contractors moving into permanent roles with our clients. With unemployment rates remaining low again over the quarter, and with a general shortage of talent across the procurement and supply chain sector, converting contractors to permanent positions has been a successful recruitment strategy for many clients for over 12 months now.
With new budgets in place, and a range of strategic uplift plans to deliver over the financial year, we saw a really high increase in contractor engagements to support these initiatives from July to December. Additional contractors have been engaged over the last quarter to support many of these strategies, but not at the same volume as we saw over the second half of 2023.

More broadly, there has also been a real focus by certain government agencies to reduce large contractor spends, resulting in the conversion of some contractors to permanent roles or reducing the number of contract extensions for longer term contractors (some may have had their contract extended multiple times over several years).

We are still seeing a range of really talented candidates who are in permanent roles but are happy to consider contract positions. Again, there are a range of factors that may influence these candidates to consider contract roles, including genuine opportunities to further their careers, increased short term financial benefits and the flexibility that comes with contract roles, which really suits certain candidates at different times in their careers.

SPOTLIGHT

We had the privilege of spending some time with Kathy Kaderavek this month.

Kathy has more than 28 years’ of procurement and supply chain experience, including Group Procurement Manager and Head of Procurement roles with George Weston Foods, one of ANZ’s largest food manufacturers.

Kathy has been Head of Transformation Change and Procurement for Mauri (a division of George Weston Foods) for nearly five years where she has led the management, coordination and delivery of high value, complex projects, along with existing Head of Procurement responsibilities.

Q. How did you get into procurement?

When I took on my first procurement role at BOC Gases, I saw it as another step towards gaining broad business knowledge before transitioning to another field. However, the diversity and complexity of all my procurement roles have led me to stay in this profession for most of my career.

Q. What is the best part of your role?

By far, it’s the diversity! I get exposure to all parts of the business, and my work/week will always be different. I can be working on a multifaceted negotiation strategy, providing leadership for complex projects, providing input on business strategy and execution plans, or connecting with the procurement team for coaching and development. In doing this, I link in with different internal and external stakeholders and procurement team members, which is also a big part of what I enjoy.

Q. What opportunities do you see for the sector over the next 12 months?

Two areas to call out:

ESG is an essential area of business focus, positioning companies as an employer of choice and becoming a significant consumer and investor driver. Procurement is well positioned to play a more active role in ESG, not just adhering to regulatory compliance but shaping ESG strategy and using market connections to introduce more innovative circular business models.
Many aspects of AI can benefit procurement; there is so much to learn in this area. From my experience, using AI to identify and leverage rapidly changing market conditions is a key area of opportunity, and we’re in the early stages of exploring this for freight.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?

I would recommend taking up mentoring opportunities earlier in my career. I’ve tapped into this more over the past 5+ years. I value greater self-awareness, broader business knowledge and the long-term connections I’ve developed from mentoring. I hope I’ve also been able to share knowledge that benefited my mentors. I’ve now stepped up to provide mentoring support to others in procurement and other fields, which is hugely rewarding.

Q. From your experience, what advice would you give to procurement candidates wanting to progress to a Head of Procurement or director-level role?

While technical skills such as knowledge of procurement practices and categories, industry knowledge, and the ability to lead / coach negotiation are important, take the time to develop your people skills. These will be central to your success in a HOP/director-level role. Building trusting internal and external connections supports strong business and supplier collaboration and informed decision-making. This all leads to better business outcomes and great job satisfaction for you!

Q. What does life look like for you outside of work?

I’m a very active person with a huge focus on fitness. This includes boxing, Pilates, weight training, and swimming, as well as monthly surf life-saving patrols. I have four children, a mix of high school and early university years; they’re great humans I love spending time with!

A FEW MOVERS IN THE MARKET

Congratulations to everyone who moved into new roles over the quarter, including:

Jonathon Llewellyn who joined Lion as Chief Procurement Officer.
Christopher Errington, who moved from Glad Group to a new role with BIC Services as Chief Commercial Officer.
Shane Lamont who joined O’Connor Marsden and Associates as Partner – Procurement and Supply Chain.
Cynthia Chung who moved from Nando’s to Vicinity Centres as Head of Procurement.
Nikolas Edgerley who joined AGL as Head of Sourcing – Infrastructure.

MARKET OBSERVATIONS – TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Our clients often ask us what other qualifications they could consider as part of their hiring processes. Unfortunately it is often not a straightforward answer and really depends on many factors, including role/function (e.g. Contract Manager v Supply Chain Analyst), the seniority of the role (junior entry level role v senior procurement manager) and specific role attributes (e.g. data analytics, contract review/negotiation, P2P implementations etc.).

However, as a starting point, it is worth noting that the vast majority of senior candidates are at least degree qualified, dropping very slightly at manager levels (but still a high percentage). Whilst there are exceptions, such as strong candidates with additional skills, experience and qualifications, it generally can be a barrier to career progression without one.

CIPS/MCIPS is a popular qualification at senior and management levels, but CA qualifications, Diplomas/Advanced Dips, and MBAs/Masters also score highly, especially at the senior end of the market, and are often combined with industry specific disciplines (e.g. procurement, logistics or supply chain). Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), Six Sigma, Project Management (various) are just some examples of other common qualifications that can help to enhance certain role based skills.

Ongoing training and development does not always need to involve a commitment to lengthy, multi-year courses and there are a large number of shorter courses that can also add real value, but may be overlooked on a CV. For example, there are a range of great, shorter form project or contract management and negotiation courses, data analytics and shorter management and leadership courses, all of which can provide real value to a candidates development, as well as tangible benefits and outcomes to their employer.

The opportunity to develop knowledge and skills in specific areas is often the primary driver when taking on extra studies. However, it is also a great way to network amongst your peers, especially during in-person, face to face training environments, and I have seen numerous examples of connections moving roles through connections made during further studies.

Finally, an acknowledgement that it can be challenging to complete these courses and often involves balancing busy work/life schedules with lengthy periods of extra study, coursework and exams. However, after all of the hard work to achieve the qualification, please do remember to update your CV and professional profiles, or you can risk missing out on your next role.

Thank you once again for your continued support and we look forward to speaking to you very soon.

Ilsa and the team.