‘Thinking differently’ in the war on talent

While recruitment may feel a little bit easier than during post-pandemic, organisations are still struggling to fill roles with talent that “does not exist”.

Validating ‘that industry feeling’

Senior strategic advisor at Indeed, Lauren Anderson (pictured), said that roles such as occupational therapy often elicit a “groan” from hiring teams due to the difficulty in filling the role, as they are aware that this puts tension on the end client as well as the business.

Based on Indeed research on “Australia’s hardest-to-fill jobs in 2025”, healthcare remained the most “talent-starved” sector. Anderson noted that qualifications and experience played a significant role in reducing the talent pool for certain roles.

Anderson said that Indeed’s findings validate concerns and feelings that hiring teams are feeling right now.

“It is hard, but it’s not just you or your business or your department. These roles are difficult regardless of where you sit right now,” she said.

The market: A perfect storm

Anderson believes the current recruitment landscape is a “perfect storm of difficulty”.

For Anderson, factors such as the “true skills gap”, along with external factors such as the aging population, add to these difficulties.

There is a particular tension point as more people are required to enter industries such as aged care, Anderson said, and industries are losing “a lot of incredible talent” as they are reaching retirement age or scaling back on their hours to spend time with their families.

For trades such as boiler makers and field services technicians – which are a part of Indeed’s hardest-to-fill list – there is a certain amount of educational qualifications required to get in, significantly reducing the talent pool, she found.

“I think [one] of the biggest challenges is the demand is continuing to outpace the supply. So the number of people entering these fields or graduating with these professions, it’s not keeping pace with the societal demands that we have right now, and healthcare is a great example of that,” she said.

“Whilst people are still entering, qualifying, and joining these industries, they’re not joining at the pace that our society needs right now, and that’s leading to these longer lead times,” Anderson said.

Skills-first approach

Sally McKibbin, career expert at Indeed, said: “A skills-first approach to hiring is a win-win. It fosters a more inclusive and dynamic workforce and creates opportunities for people who possess immense potential but may not have had access to higher education.”

“By paying greater attention to practical experience and growth potential, businesses can access a wider pool of talented individuals who are able to hit the ground running.”

In the same vein, Anderson urged that employers “really understand” what is desired when asking for experience, and that it is up to HR departments to work with hiring managers or leadership to better understand what sort of skills the organisation is looking for.

“Are we looking for a demonstrated skill? Or a situation that you’ve navigated or an environment that you’ve worked in? Because when we say broad blanket statements like ‘you need three years’ experience’, [it] doesn’t really tell us what experiences we would have liked you [sic] to have had within that time,” Anderson said.

Advocating for workers

“Retail is a really interesting one, we have a skills shortage in assistant managers and managers – there is some huge opportunity there to build pipeline internally within a business, so you’re not having to go to the market as often and look for those people,” Anderson said.

In revolving industries such as retail, with high talent attraction but low retention, Anderson suggested building a culture that makes career progression an option.

In contrast with the US, where retail is seen as a “fruitful career option”, she noted that a retail job in Australia is seen as an entry-level role, or one to work in while studying.

As a result, companies need to show that retail can be a lifelong career by revealing the many different roles that can be taken on in the business, she said.

Based on a study conducted by Indeed last year, 76 per cent of employers said they “changed or plan to change their learning and development programs to help new hires acquire necessary skills while on the job”.

While 79 per cent of jobseekers were found to report that learning and development opportunities were important when applying for roles, even when the job’s salary is less competitive.

Anderson advised organisations to think about how they can nurture existing talent who show loyalty to the company.

Employees with a passion and interests are “excellent candidates” to send on a career progression pipeline, “rather than just hoping that the industry will take a turn in the next couple of years, which could happen but is definitely not a guarantee,” she explained.

“[The] voice of the employees into business [is] where we can be really trusted advisers in this space because no one is closer to a large cohort of employees than an HR professional, and no one is closer to the candidate experience than a talent acquisition professional,” she said.