The Australian Institute of Management’s 2007 National Salary Survey shows that staff in Engineering/Science roles in large companies received a salary rise of 4.7% in 2006/2007, the top end of the scale compared to other areas.
In the grip of a sustained national skills shortage, Australia’s large companies are footing the bill for ever-increasing pay hikes, with annual salaries rising by 4.6% in the 2006/2007 year, up from 4.4 in the previous year and 4.0 in 2003/2004.
Large companies in the resource boom states of Western Australia and Queensland have been hardest hit with salary increases substantially outpacing the national average at 6.8 and 5.1 per cent respectively.
The top reason for staff resignations was to pursue career progression or promotion opportunities. “This raises the question of why organisations are not doing more to develop career pathways for their staff,” said Dr Jennifer Alexander, Chief Executive, AIM NSW/ACT.
“Employers still believe that the key to staff retention is improving pay and financial benefits, but this alone is clearly not solving the problem.
“More needs to be done on training and career development to convince staff that the organisation cares about and can meet their career aspirations. In the current climate, staff need to be assured that they have a future with the organisation,” said Dr Alexander.
However, the forecasts for next year are bleak with an expected pay rise of only 4.2 per cent in 2007/2008 for Engineering/Science — the lowest pay rise of all the job families.