Introduction First off the bat, we would like to send out a massive congratulations to Adam Terrill and Rebecca Wardle who have recently launched Cogency, a climate focused planning and engagement consultancy. With over 30 years’ experience in Planning in Renewable Energy and Property sectors, we are incredibly excited to see how their journey unfolds given the current demand for specialists such as themselves. To our friends out there in the Development and Consultancy space, I’d recommend checking them out! The Energy industry is in full swing at the closing of FY22 and we are looking forward to yet another year of unparallel growth across residential, commercial, and utility-scale renewable projects. Most developers are in the early stages of investigating the feasibility of offshore wind while some are already in full swing. We have seen a number of new market entrants moving into Australia from Europe and Asia-Pacific, attempting to transfer their experience from offshore wind in Europe and UK whilst trying to come to grips with Australia’s “best business practices” and navigating key Australian stakeholder relationships. It's no secret that the demand for skilled employees with relevant experience with Australian Energy Projects, along with all other industries, is at an all-time high. The candidate market has picked up on that and are now pushing for additional incentives. Tips for Employee Retention A couple of quick tips we have seen to retain existing employees as well attracting new ones include: Most candidates with bonus incentive schemes are usually paid out towards the end of July or August. Either wait this out or offer a one-time sign-on bonus that can be extracted from another cost centre within your business. This also works to keep annual salaries within budget which remains attractive to the candidates.   If your company actively completes annual remuneration reviews, it is a step in the right direction. Rather than offering a competitive market salary straight off the bat, consider a lower salary with performance/remuneration reviews at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. Currently, we are seeing a lot of candidates being paid well above their true value. This is a great way of keeping industry salaries from seeing further growth because as we all know, it is not sustainable in the long term.   Manage the candidates’ expectations. We are seeing a lot of new employees’ fallout within the 3–6-month probationary period. Don’t bother selling the dream with unrealistic expectations if you cannot back it up day to day.   Ensure your HR Team and/or Line Managers spend plenty of time mapping out the position description. A good position description is between 2-4 pages, depending on the seniority of the position. The more information you have, the better. Consider adding an organisation chart, line operating budget/capital expenditure, past/current/future projects, and a section written by the Line/Hiring Manager to make the Job Description more personable.   Be sure to structure your interviews and keep communication at an all-time high, especially after the contracts have been signed.   Move fast to secure talent. Projections into the future With the term “recession” looming, it will be interesting to see how Australia will be affected. Projects still need to go ahead but I believe we will see a decline in salaries and contractor rates moving into the New Year. Any company that has paid multiple arms and legs for sub-par candidates may start implementing some form of cost-benefit analysis and further result in potential redundancies to ensure operations remain lean. The same goes for any projects that are put on hold due to a number of reasons such as grid connection issues with AEMO or a shortage and increase in costs of Battery & Solar raw materials. It will be interesting to see which new start-ups and overseas investors withdraw from the Australian market in the next 12 months due to these issues. This new financial year, there are two large industry events coming up nationally: Energy Next & Australian Clean Energy Summit (Location: Sydney from 19th & 20th July 2022) – Kicking off this week! Australia Wind Energy Conference (Location: Melbourne from 25th & 26th July 2022) Titan Team Updates Internally, I would like to give a warm welcome to our newest Titan Energy team member Dean Beuganey who will be supporting our clients with Project Delivery and Controls specialisations. He joins myself, Sophie Nicholls and Brendan Hor in the Brisbane office. Due to our team mantra being ‘quality over quantity’, we have had to turn down countless recruitment requests to ensure we are not over promising and under delivering to our existing and valued clients. Dean’s strategic entrance allows us to open more of the candidate market whilst remaining strictly within our core specialisations. If you would like to discuss the information featured or any other opportunities within the Energy/Renewable Energy space, then please reach out to Matt Hopping on (07) 3910 5507 or email requesting a call back.

Introduction​First off the bat, we would like to send out a massive congratulations to Adam Terrill and Rebecca Wardle who have recently launched Cogency, a climate focused planning and engagement consultancy. With over 30 years’ experience of Planning in Renewable Energy and Property sectors, we are incredibly excited to see how their journey unfolds given the current demand for specialists such as themselves. To our friends out there in the Development and Consultancy space, I’d recommend checking them out!The Energy industry is in full swing at the closing of FY22 and we are looking forward to yet another year of unparallel growth across residential, commercial, and utility scale renewable projects. Most developers are in the early stages of investigating the feasibility of offshore wind while some are already in full swing. We have seen a number of new market entrants moving into Australia from Europe and Asia-Pacific, attempting to transfer their experience from offshore wind in Europe and UK whilst trying to come to grips with Australia’s “best business practices” and navigating key Australian stakeholder relationships.  It's no secret that the demand for skilled employees with relevant experience with Australian Energy Projects, along with all other industries, is at an all-time high. The candidate market has picked up on that and are now pushing for additional incentives.Tips for Employee RetentionA couple of quick tips we have seen to retain existing employees as well attracting new ones include: 1.      Most candidates with bonus incentive schemes are usually paid out towards the end of July or August. Either wait this out or offer a one-time sign-on bonus that can be extracted from another cost centre within your business. This also works to keep annual salaries within budget which remains attractive to the candidates. 2.      If your company actively completes annual remuneration reviews, it is a step in the right direction. Rather than offering a competitive market salary straight off the bat, consider a lower salary with performance/remuneration reviews at 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. Currently, we are seeing a lot of candidates being paid well above their true value. This is a great way of keeping industry salaries from seeing further growth because as we all know, it is not sustainable in the long term.3.      Manage the candidates’ expectations. We are seeing a lot of new employees’ fallout within the 3–6-month probationary period. Don’t bother selling the dream with unrealistic expectations if you cannot back it up day to day.4.      Ensure your HR Team and/or Line Managers spend plenty of time mapping out the position description. A good position description is between 2-4 pages, depending on the seniority of the position. The more information you have, the better. Consider adding an organisation chart, line operating budget/capital expenditure, past/current/future projects, and a section written by the Line/Hiring Manager to make the Job Description more personable. 5.      Be sure to structure your interviews and keep communication at an all-time high, especially after the contracts have been signed.6.      Move fast to secure talent.Projections into the FutureWith the term “recession” looming, it will be interesting to see how Australia will be affected. Projects still need to go ahead but I believe we will see a decline in salaries and contractor rates moving into the New Year. Any company that has paid multiple arms and legs for sub-par candidates may start implementing some form of cost-benefit analysis and further result in potential redundancies to ensure operations remain lean. The same goes for any projects that are put on hold due to a number of reasons such as grid connection issues with AEMO or a shortage and increase in costs of Battery & Solar raw materials. It will be interesting to see which new start-ups and overseas investors withdraw from the Australian market in the next 12 months due to these issues. This new financial year, there are two large industry events coming up nationally:1. Energy Next & Australian Clean Energy Summit (Location: Sydney from 19th & 20th July 2022)2. Australia Wind Energy Conference (Location: Melbourne from 25th & 26th July 2022)Titan Team UpdatesInternally, I would like to give a warm welcome to our newest Titan Energy team member Dean Beuganey who will be supporting our clients with Project Delivery and Controls specialisations. He joins myself, Sophie Nicholls and Brendan Hor in the Brisbane office. Due to our team mantra being ‘quality over quantity’, we have had to turn down countless recruitment requests to ensure we are not over promising and under-delivering to our existing and valued clients. Dean’s strategic entrance allows us to open more of the candidate market whilst remaining strictly within our core specialisations.If you would like to discuss the information featured or any other opportunities within the Energy/Renewable Energy space, then please reach out to Matt Hopping on (07) 3910 5507 or email requesting a call back.

Engineering Innovations Saving Our Planet: The Sustainable Solution of Superwhite PaintAt Titan Recruitment, we know the importance of staying on top of developments in your industry. Across all the industries that Titan works with, environmentally sustainable solutions are in high demand. They can emerge where you least expect them. We need out-of-the-box, innovative thinking in the engineering and technology sectors to help secure the future of our planet.We want to find ways to maintain our quality of life, but bring down our energy and natural resources usage. It is estimated that global energy usage will increase by 90% by 2050. This is a scary thought, considering where we are in 2020 is already completely unsustainable.The solutions do not need to be all encompassing radical overhauls. Changing small details to be more sustainable, can make a big difference. These small changes amount to a large improvement in energy sustainability.A prime example of this, is a cool, innovative new paint coming out of Indiana, USA. Cool being the operative word. Researchers at Purdue University took the idea of painting roofs white in hot climates, to a whole new level.Materials engineer Xiulin Ruan and his colleagues took this simple idea, and transformed it into something ground breaking. They created a superwhite paint, that actively cools buildings in high temperature climates.The superwhite painting can coat an entire building. It is so extremely reflective that it has the power to cool the air surrounding the layer of paint. Even in direct, hot sunlight. It radiates heat away from the building, cooling the surface by nearly 2 degrees Celsius. In addition, the new superwhite paint is cheaper and easier to apply that any ever made before.In testing the superwhite paint in the USA, they have found that a typical home could save up to $50 a month on air conditioning/ cooling measures costs. Therefore, homes all across the world would reduce the amount of energy used in hot months. This could be ground-breaking in countries with high population and large infrastructure, such as China.This a common, easy to implement material. Yet it is completely transforming the way we think about construction of future homes and commercial buildings.It is simple, sustainable solutions such as these that make the future of engineering so exciting. These ideas don’t come from nowhere. They come from hard work, by talented people, working in great teams. Titan Recruitment wants to help you find your team. We help talent find it’s perfect place in the industry. You can get to work on reaching these incredible solutions to environmental sustainability. For more information on the recruitment services that we offer, please see our Services webpage, or give us a call on +61 8 6467 0600. 

Mining ramps up in Western AustraliaWith key announcements from the world’s biggest miners committing a combined $9.5 billion to iron ore projects in Western Australia, does this signal the start of the next jobs boom?Managing Director of Titan Recruitment, Craig Van Heurck said ‘we are feeling the start of an upward trend as we are seeing increased client demand for key personnel as these projects start to ramp up’.If you’ve missed what the fuss is all about, the three projects that you must be across if you are looking for engineering and technology career opportunities are:Fortescue Metals Group - EliwanaThe first of the announcements came in May when FMG announced board approval had been granted for an estimated               US $1.2 billion development of its Eliwana mine and rail project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.Fortescue’s Chief Executive Officer, Elizabeth Gaines said ‘the Eliwana Project will build on Fortescue’s development and construction capability, utilising the latest technology, autonomous trucks and design efficiency while redeploying existing assets to this world leading development.’Construction commencement is pending and consists of a new mine, ore processing facility and 143km rail would create up to 1,900 jobs for its construction phase.BHP - South FlankBHP has approved US $2.9 billion for its South Flank project located in the central Pilbara which will completely replace the production from its Yandi mine which has reached the end of its lifecycle.The South Flank project will encompass substantial mine development including construction of a crushing and screening plant, an overland conveyor system, stockyard and rail loading facilities. Mine construction is already underway and is set to create around 2,500 jobs.Rio Tinto - KoodaideriThe world’s second largest iron ore miner, Rio Tinto, announced its plans to start developing its Koodaideri iron ore mine also located in Western Australia’s Pilbara, and touted as one of the world’s most technologically advanced.The initial work on key infrastructure is expected to commence in 2019 subject to final funding approval later this year. According to Rio Tinto, Koodaideri will be its first intelligent mine incorporating the latest in high-tech advances in the industry and utilising an increased level of automation and robotics.The project will create over 2,000 jobs during construction.With these announcements comes the charge for people, and Titan Recruitment is currently working with several clients in tackling their human resource needs across engineering and design through to project administration.Team Leader of our Resources & Energy division, Anthony Blair, says ‘Miners are preparing to gear up for the first phase of construction which will require mechanical, electrical and structural engineers. Project control type positions, within the cost control and planning disciplines, are also in the mix.‘Likewise for administration professionals, with the pace picking up for project administrators, secretaries and document controllers to support the project teams as they expand in size’.With reports that these new mines are amongst the most innovative in the world with increased automation and robotics, some industry experts are anticipating the emergence of job roles that did not previously exist.‘From a technology perspective with the convergence of IT/OT there will likely be several traditional IT positions reclassified due to the advancement of intelligent technology. An example would be a digital applications data architect which has evolved from the adoption of large-scale data and analytics’, explains Mr Blair.For any jobseeker who has had their sights set on entering the mining industry, now is a good time to weigh up the opportunities and connect with experienced recruitment professionals who can provide the knowledge and advice to get your foot in the door.Mr Van Heurck said ‘the big producer effect is only the start, and the flow on benefits to other businesses who are directly or indirectly involved in mining means it’s good for people, jobs and the Western Australian economy’.