The recent earthquakes in Canterbury have posed all Cantabrians with a wide array of challenges. These challenges range from coping with the initial shock, devastation and loss to the subsequent disturbances to everyday life such as aftershocks, manoeuvring vehicles on our warped roads, disruption to essential services and the on-going psychological effects of living with a sense of  uncertainty and fear.

These recent events, compounded by the current financial climate have invoked Cantabrian’s characteristic resilience and strong sense of community, however, at the same time they have obligated us to re-examine or question previously held attitudes and the old motto ‘she’ll be right’, forcing us to plan ahead and come up with contingencies as we rebuild our city.

In these times of uncertainty, with many affected by the global economic downturn and instability in the markets, it was widely expected that there would be a significant fall in local employment as a result of the earthquakes. Recent evidence suggests, however, that this fall was much less than anticipated and there is some cause for optimism.

The most recent Household Labour Force Survey results show that in the last year to June, there was a modest fall in local employment (from 336,900 people to 324,600 people), a rise in unemployment (from 16,800 people to 19,800 people) and a fall in labour force participation (from 69.3% to 67.9%) in the same period. While on the surface these numbers may cause some concern, one must temper expectations to account for the far reaching consequences of the Canterbury earthquakes. Also, in comparison with national averages, Canterbury performs favourably in terms of having higher labour participation and employment rates, and lower unemployment rates.

One of New Zealand’s foremost internet job boards – Seek – recently announced in a media release that the number of new jobs advertised on seek had increased 21% nationwide, from January to July 2011. Seek General Manager Janet Faulding commented that “it is particularly good to see Canterbury forging ahead in terms of growth with 34% more jobs advertised in July, than in January this year”.

Jobs online includes both Seek and the other main internet job board – TradeMe – in their measurement of changes in job ads, and while the results are not as stark, they also conclude that vacancy growth is strongest in Canterbury. Fittingly, construction and engineering were the industries showing the strongest increase, up by around 25%.

The report showed that skilled vacancies were up by 12.6% between February and May 2011 and a staggering 46.5% from a year ago. Other areas showing a considerable increase in Canterbury are accounting, HR, legal, administration and IT.

This growth should be a cause for considerable optimism, especially for skilled job-seekers. It does however highlight a growing skills gap, with skilled labour becoming increasingly hard to find and the situation intensifying as economic growth accelerates. This problem has significant implications for businesses in both the attraction of quality candidates and retention of highly-valued staff. While this issue is not limited to the Canterbury region, it is an area of heightened concern and is likely to have a stronger impact due to the difficulty of attracting people to our region, and current outgoing migration trends.

Whether you are an employer, employee or seeking new roles, it makes sense to evaluate where you are now, determine where you want to go in the future and develop an appropriate contingency plan/strategy. Planning ahead now can only better prepare you for what the future may bring , not only helping you survive but potentially thrive in this ever-changing environment.

For employers, this may mean developing an attraction/retention strategy as a source for sustained competitive advantage.

For employees, this may involve confronting difficult questions such as “what will I do if my workplace is damaged beyond repair” and identifying potential opportunities or areas for development.

For job seekers, this is an opportunity to take the next step in your career and further your own personal development.

While Cantabrians have already displayed remarkable resilience, overcoming numerous challenges and day-to-day obstacles, it is no time to rest on our laurels.

As we begin the re-building of our city, now is the time both individually and collectively to take stock of where we are at, where we want to go, and how we are going to get there.