Employment Relations - Essay Example

This shortage can be short term or long term, although it depends on the lengthy of the deficit. Due to its current state of deficiency of skilled labour, many immigrants shift to New Zealand to seize the employment opportunities (Palffy, 2008). Adversely, the country may have many skilled labourers who are not willing to fill the available vacancies. This investigative paper will seek to discover the causes of inadequate skilled labour supply in New Zealand. It will also suggest possible control measures that can correct the situation in New Zealand’s labour market.

Causes of skills shortage in New Zealand Skills shortages can vary from their nature to the cause. Genuine skills shortage occurs when an employer finds it difficult to get enough skilled job seekers to fill the vacancies available in the organization. For example, if there are tailors to fill vacancies in a textile company but only very few tailors with these skills are unemployed and looking for a job. Recruitment and retention difficulties also cause skill shortage. This is whereby a skilled job seeker is available, but chooses not to work due to the unfavorable working conditions and low wages.

In New Zealand, there exist several causes for the shortages (OECD, 2008). However, the commonest include global labour market, which happens when people with the necessary skills move from New Zealand to other countries. They may migrate due to change of citizenship or carry on other personal interests. Low and inflexible wages is also a contributor to the shortage. This is because when wages are low, and employers are not willing to increase it, job seekers may decide not to look for a job since there is no motivating reward (Sunley, Martin, & Nativel, 2011).

Cohem & Zaidi (2002) argue that technological changes and development also pose a threat to the labor market. When technology advance, initially a few people have the advanced skills. Additionally, it is natural that people resist change. Therefore, very few people will be willing to train with the new technology. Growth of the economy is another contributing factor to skills shortage. This is because when economy grows, new opportunities are evident and the country may suffer from short-term lack of skills.

Ageing population cause shortage since when people with the necessary skills retire from their work, a gap is present. The employers will need to train other employees in order to feel the gap. Low skilled workforce is another challenge to labour market (Palffy, 2008). This is because if the employees posses only the basics of a job requirement, they may not be able to perform an advanced job requirement, therefore, making themselves obsolete from time to time. Labour market barriers also contribute to skills shortage.

This may occur when a job vacancy specifies other requirements for the potential employee rather than the skill. The vacancy may state specific age, height, or even knowledge of a specific geographical region. Consequently, even if an individual has all the necessary skills but lacks any of the additional condition, does not meet job expectations. This is a challenge since there may be very few people with both the conditions and the skills (Bruk et al., 2012). Poor management and leadership in organizations in New Zealand have discouraged job seekers from working in some firms.

Even if one has the necessary skills, may not be willing to work in an organization with