Almost two-thirds of Australian companies indicate they would consider hiring overseas staff to overcome skills shortages. The Australian Institute of Management's (AIM) National Salary Survey 2011 surveyed 506 large companies throughout Australia, covering over 250 job roles. Around half of the respondents reported difficulties in recruiting staff due to skills shortages. In order to help retain staff, the vast majority (92%) of large companies paid salary increases in the 2010/11 year for at least some employees. The average pay increase for staff who received pay rises was 4%, higher than the average last year (3.7%).

AIM's NSW/ACT chief executive, David Wakeley, said there was a risk of a wages blow-out, with employers finding it hard to keep good staff without offering big wage hikes.

"For the past few years, it has really been an employer's market, but that is changing," he said.

"Many staff who stayed put during the downturn are now on the hunt for new opportunities and bigger pay packets.

"Many employers will have big cost pressures, so savvier employers are seeking creative ways to motivate people, without offering big salary hikes."

Vivienne Gayton, HR manager at mining services contractor Mastermyne, told Human Capital that wage hikes are not the solution to plugging the skills gap. "Mastermyne believes the practise of increasing pay rates to secure personnel is only inflating wages beyond unjustifiable levels, jeopardizing the long-term international competitiveness of the industry and creating unmaintainable rotation of the same pool of labour," she said. "We've chosen instead to implement a mix of strategies to increase the pool of labour - one strategy being international recruitment." But Gayton was quick to point out the challenges associated with international recruitment. "[It] is hard work," she said. "We're still evolving our processes to support the on-boarding of international employees."

The AIM survey revealed that companies are investing in a renewed effort to train and develop existing employees, with 63% having a formal training policy and more than half of those surveyed having a set training budget.

Mastermyne have even designed and constructed a purpose built underground training complex in Mackay city, said Gayton. Referred to as Myne Start Training Complex, it provides a controlled and consistent pathway for inexperienced personnel to gain a level of understanding of the underground mining environment, its distinctive hazards, safety requirements and associated control processes; all the while accelerating them into productive work in a far reduced timeframe, when compared to traditional training methods. In order to help attract and retain employees, large companies are also becoming more flexible, with a greater proportion of companies in the 2011 survey offering flexible work arrangements across all job levels.