Retrenched NSW government bureaucrats will look to federal and ACT public service employers for their next jobs as the state downsizes its bureaucracy staff numbers, a Canberra-based recruiter says.
The Berejiklian government's planned cuts to more than 2000 of its "back office" jobs will grow the talent pool as Canberra public sector employers look for high quality candidates, HorizonOne senior recruiter Andy Batstone said.
A buoyant ACT job market would attract public servants made redundant in NSW.
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"If you're looking for work it's a great place to be because there are options out there," he said.
"If you speak to anybody who's recruiting, no matter what area, they are saying it's hard to find the right talent in Canberra right now."
The ACT had become an easier sell for recruiters trying to draw talent from interstate compared to six years ago, as it matured and its lifestyle grew more attractive, Mr Batstone said.
Skills of retrenched public servants would transfer easily to federal and ACT government jobs.
While the South Australian government was also reducing its public service workforce, Canberra-based recruiters for ACT employers had sought candidates in the state for two years, where the job market had been slacker, he said.
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The NSW government is taking the razor to its bureaucracy as it looks to maintain a budget surplus and limit its expanding debt while fulfilling costly infrastructure promises after this year's state election.
Between 2000 and 3000 of its "back office" staff will go, however the government plans to grow frontline services in schools, hospitals and its police force.
Deputy Premier and member for Monaro John Barilaro has said the cuts would leave regional and rural areas untouched, falling only on Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.
Mr Barilaro has also urged federal government efforts to relocate Commonwealth public servants to regional areas to draw on Sydney and Melbourne instead of Canberra.
An approach to decentralisation focusing on Australia's largest two cities would be "purer", he said.
Canberra's workforce of public servants was already a decentralised model, providing employment for surrounding regional NSW towns.
Mr Barilaro said despite anti-Canberra rhetoric surrounding decentralisation, the city wasn't being overly targeted for public service job relocations.
"Often it's very easy to point to Canberra - 'Canberra-bashing' is the term - that seems to be the approach that underpins the rhetoric," he said.
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Doug Dingwall
Doug Dingwall is The Canberra Times' Public Service Editor. He writes about government and federal politics, and edits The Public Sector Informant. He has an interest in integrity and industrial relations. Previously he worked at The Examiner in Launceston, where he won a Tasmanian Human Rights Award in 2016 for his reporting. Contact him on doug.dingwall@canberratimes.com.au
Doug Dingwall is The Canberra Times' Public Service Editor. He writes about government and federal politics, and edits The Public Sector Informant. He has an interest in integrity and industrial relations. Previously he worked at The Examiner in Launceston, where he won a Tasmanian Human Rights Award in 2016 for his reporting. Contact him on doug.dingwall@canberratimes.com.au
