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that has been increasingly retooled as a dedicated recruitment platform. That has given employers, recruiters and candidates a new arena through which to connect, and it’s changed the game in the process.
Skype, FaceTime and the like have given employers a chance to interview people face to face no matter where they are in the world. This has obvious bene ts if interviewing someone overseas or in a di erent region.
We’re seeing businesses adopt new recruitment techniques through videos, social media (Facebook, Twitter) and mobile phone apps to target people. They can speci cally target the right person, and phone apps allow people to digest this information wherever they are. Broadly speaking, the recruitment process, no matter the industry, has bene ted from technological innovation.
Q. What about in terms of skill levels? At career level, what are the expectations? I think New Zealand construction profes- sionals have always been very well rounded in their skill set, thanks largely to the fact they tend to be exposed to a lot more at a very early stage in their careers. This is hugely bene cial further into your career, as employers place great value on broad experience across sectors and project types. The need for specialist skills, however, is increasing with the complexity and scale of projects.
Q. Anything else that’s particularly important?
New Zealand will undoubtedly continue to experience challenges around resource availability for the foreseeable future. It’s important that recruiters encourage employers and stakeholders to think outside the square and embrace the capabilities that the overseas market can bring to the country.
News
Risk awareness raises prices
The higher awareness of earthquake risks among residents in Christchurch has led to increased prices for houses on safer land, a study suggests.
ROYAL MELBOURNE Institute of Technology (RMIT) has investigated Christchurch’s property market before and after the 2011 disaster and residents’ perception of property risk associated with earthquakes.
Land hazard risk wasn’t considered
RMIT researcher Callum Logan said the data suggests that, before 2011, consumers barely took notice of land hazard risk in their house pricing decisions, despite available information. ‘On average, New Zealand experiences about 15,000 earthquakes every year, but most are too small to be felt. People tend to underrate the risks of earthquakes – more so than oods or
bush res – because they tend to be low-frequency events.’
Premium being paid for safer areas
After accounting for the traditional determinants of house prices, Logan’s results show that, after the 2011 earthquake, residents were paying 15–18% more for houses on safer land zones compared to riskier areas.
‘Usually after such events, house prices normally decline,’ he said. ‘Despite variations in prices across di erent land zones, the median house prices in Christchurch rose. This was likely due to a shortage of housing and red zoning of severely damaged land.’
More awareness of liquefaction risk
Logan will continue his research with Greater Christchurch residents to better understand their perception of property risk and liquefaction risk, where soil lique es due to extreme ground shaking.
Preliminary research in Quantifying changes in risk perception through house price di erentials following the catastrophic Canterbury earthquake shows there was no evidence consumers accounted for liquefaction risk in their pricing decisions before the earthquake.
‘How well aware residents were about liquefaction risk prior to the earthquakes is uncertain,’ he said. ‘We want to follow up how much knowledge residents now have of earthquakes and liquefaction and what makes some residents stay on risky land while others relocate.’
Aim to education about risk factors elsewhere
‘If we can understand why residents decide to purchase property in high-risk areas, authorities can better target information about risk to its residents in other cities with similar risk factors.’
Build 161 — August/September 2017 — 19