Leading Australian executive career strategy firm, Directioneering, has today announced it has appointed two new career experts as directors in its Queensland and Western Australian offices. Mike Roddy has been appointed to head up Queensland, whilst David Stritch has been appointed to lead the Western Australian operation. Both will assist businesses with career transition, career coaching, and leadership coaching.

The decline in the commodities market affected both Queensland and Western Australia. Since, leading executives have faced a challenging and changing labour market.

Directioneering's new appointments will help to aid executives in managing their business and employees through this change, as well as driving growth for Directioneering in both states.

Queensland

Queensland experienced its golden jobs era in 2007/2008, where the unemployment rate was 3.3%. From 2009, the unemployment rate increased, peaking at 7.1% in October 2014. It's now back on the decline, as the state government continues to implement policies to help transition away from a commodity-focused labour market.

In 2017, Queensland saw its jobs market begin to make a recovery, with 93,100 jobs created. The unemployment rate also fell from 6.6% in February to 6% in December. This has led to a growth in confidence among workers, shown in the increase in the participation rate - from 65.8% in December 2017 to 66.3% in January 2018. The state is currently seeing its highest number of job vacancies since May 2012.

To aid executives, Directioneering has appointed Mike Roddy as Director of its Queensland office. Mike has over 18 years’ experience in the HR industry. He has specialised in recruitment, training and development, career transition, employer branding and best practice assessment methodology. His extensive knowledge of the labour markets in Queensland will help executives navigate the changing environment and give them the skills to lead their companies to success.

“Mike is an exceptional leader with a huge amount of experience in helping senior executives manage change within their organisations. His skills and knowledge of the labour market will provide huge value to organisations wanting to ensure long-term success,” said Heather Parkinson, CEO at Directioneering.

“He is a welcome addition to the team. We look forward to supporting him in building out our executive career programs in Queensland.”

Prior to Directioneering, Mike was the Managing Director at Recon Solutions, as well as a Director at Randstad.

Western Australia

Western Australia is only just seeing the impact of the decline of the commodities market. Its boom years were in 2006 - 2009, where the unemployment rate hit its lowest point of 2.3% (Oct 2008).

But, when the market shifted, Western Australia saw unemployment increase. It peaked at 6.7% in November 2016, the highest it’s been since January 2002. Job vacancies also decreased significantly during this period, halving in size between August 2012 and May 2016.

In 2017, Western Australia started seeing signs of recovery, with 33,705 jobs created. The unemployment rate also fell from 6.3% to 5.7%. Workers are now growing in confidence, with the participation rate increasing from 67.7% to 68.5%.

As the Western Australian market shifts, Directioneering has brought in Australian career management, psychological consulting and recruitment expert, David Stritch, as Director of its West Australian office.

With over 15 years’ experience, David is one of Australia’s foremost authorities on emotional intelligence. His experience covers psychometric testing, performance coaching, managing large outplacement and career management initiatives.

“David is exceptional in helping leaders manage their careers and learn the skills they need to navigate the huge change taking place in Western Australia. He is a great addition to the team and will help Western Australian leaders build teams to take advantage of future trends and new markets,” said Parkinson.

“We are looking forward to working with David to drive the business forward in Western Australia and help leaders achieve success in a complex market.”

Prior to Directioneering David was a Director at People Science, as well as leading the Hudson Talent Management business in WA.

For more information, visit www.directioneering.com.