How one recruitment firm is getting ready for a wave of engineering talent
360HR Solutions prepares for next chapter of Illawarra’s workforce
Illawarra recruitment firm 360HR Solutions has opened a new office in Shellharbour and is preparing to recruit additional staff as the region braces for an influx of engineers entering the employment market.
The expansion comes as major industrial projects, including BlueScope’s $1.1 billion blast furnace No.6 reline project, begin to wind down over the coming months.
The shift is expected to release a significant number of engineering and construction professionals into the workforce, potentially reshaping the regional labour market.
Director Joanne Pelham said the decision to establish a Shellharbour base reflected how both the business and its workforce had evolved.
“The way we work has changed,” Ms Pelham said. “A lot of interviews now happen over Teams or Zoom, but people still want the option to meet face-to-face. This gives us that flexibility.”
360HR Solutions owns the new Shellharbour space, which was converted from a bare shell using local trades and a local designer.
The office operates alongside the company’s presence at the University of Wollongong Innovation Campus, enabling the business to work flexibly across the Illawarra.
The organisation specialises in recruitment across manufacturing, engineering, mining services, energy and technical operations, and worked with BlueScope as workforce requirements increased during the blast furnace reline project.
“We’re small, but we are growing,” Ms Pelham said. “In the next month, we’ll be looking for our next recruitment consultants, and we’ll also be looking for another payroll officer.”
The timing of the expansion coincides with the expected ramp-down of the BlueScope reline project from August.
“There will be a significant number of people hitting the market in a short space of time,” director Jonathan Pelham said.
“Engineers and construction professionals in particular.”
While a portion of the workforce is expected to retire after project completion, Mr Pelham said many others would seek new opportunities.
“If a young engineer has come off the reline after two or three years, they are very employable,” he said. “That experience makes them highly sought after.”
Mr Pelham, who has recently joined the board of industry group i3net, said the key challenge for the Illawarra would be retaining that talent locally, given the limited number of major projects on the immediate horizon.
“We’re about to go from being short of resources and experience to probably having an excess,” he said. “How, as a region, do we protect that workforce and keep it here while we’re waiting for the next wave of projects?”
He said some workers would inevitably move interstate or into fly-in-fly-out roles, but believed there remained an opportunity for local businesses and government to plan ahead and secure skilled talent.
Ms Pelham added that 360HR Solutions was well-positioned to support both workers and employers during the transition and encouraged anyone concerned to get in touch to discuss their options.
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