Despite these concerns he is confident that recruiters are living in a golden age as far as the economy is concerned and says that times have never been better for the industry.

"Overall it's very buoyant and has been for several years now. Permanent recruitment is particularly strong with most of the major companies adopting a very confident outlook about jobs," he adds.

Chris Petras, a director at Sydney-based recruiters Rec2Rec, is predicting even stronger growth in the next 12 months and feels that skills shortages will bite even further.

"Most of the economists are talking about even stronger growth and more confidence in the next few years. There's still a shortage of talent for most skilled workers and indeed for recruiters themselves.

"Employers are still looking to recruit all types of staff and that has pushed up wages. One of the toughest sectors to find staff is construction and they are having to get lots of workers from overseas," he explains.

Similar conditions in the UK have been mitigated by a huge influx of workers from the EU but this is simply not an option in Australia, despite the recruitment market running so hot. Petras says there are lots of issues around getting working visas, and the process can be complex and drawn out.

"The new government has been making noises about visas and overseas workers but it's too early to tell which way they will go," he adds.

Just as in the UK, one major threat to the economy is the grim spectre of negative equity from the inflated housing market which could prove devastating. Property prices are key to the overall economy because they have been increasing so much in recent times.

Luckily for a lot of the British firms, and indeed individuals, Australia is in desperate need of skilled recruitment professionals, so that means many are making the move down under.

"There's a real shortage of good quality recruiters in Australia and I don't think agencies would hire so many foreign staff unless they had to," he says.

There's also been a rationalisation of the recruitment industry, with the big players buying up most of the smaller niche operators. This has led to a plethora of brands across Australia and lots of innovation to get a route to market.

Another key part of the market that recruiters have to deal with in Australia is the large number of transient jobs, largely held by backpackers from the UK. Savage says that immigration is a huge issue, with about 30% of the people on his books using temporary visas.

Ian Owen, a senior partner at UK-based recruitment firm BMS, opened the company's first overseas office in Sydney in October 2006. He says the Australian recruitment market is actually very similar to the UK and that's why so many recruiters have been going out there.

"Things are very buoyant at the moment and there's still a shortage of candidates, especially in technical areas.

"English is the first language and there are also a lot of similarities with the recruitment market in the UK. I think the UK operators have got much more experience of operating in an advanced market and can use all their skills to deliver excellent service in Australia."

Owen says that Invest Australia was a crucial source of advice on things like obtaining visas and the general business rules before opening the Sydney office. He now intends to recruit more consultants so he can expand operations to cover Melbourne later in the new year.

Stephen Hinch, chief marketing officer for Manpower in Australia, says that the market is still on the up and identifies IT, engineering and mining as the boom sectors.

"One of the key trends, of course, is the economy driving the labour market to absolute capacity. We are running at almost full employment, so candidate shortages are a major issue and getting worse.

"Australia's ongoing skills shortages also means that British professionals and tradespeople are in the enviable position of being in almost constant demand all over Australia," he says.

It seems that the Australian market has many of the hallmarks of Britain's, and ongoing growth means that recruitment specialists will be much in demand.

allied pickfords



Moving to Oz — fun facts



l Australia has more than 10,000 beaches

l Residents enjoy an average summer temperature of 30ºC

l Some of the most amazing national parks and wildlife are found down under

l Australia is the driest inhabited continent on earth

l From sharks to snakes the continent is home to more dangerous animals than almost anywhere else in the world