Kiwi recruitment firm to solve NZ digital skill shortage woes

The skill shortage in New Zealand's digital industry requires specialist attention.

That's the word from start up company FutureYou, which has launched in response to a need of a specialist recruitment firm in the digital media and advertising industry.

The company says the industry is flourishing, with advertising spend up a whopping 53% year over year in Q1 2015 (IAB NZ). However, it claims few people actually know what the industry does or what careers are available.

A search on seek.co.nz reveals that 34% of job ads in the advertising and marketing categories are digital related. FutureYou says companies are struggling to find digital people with the right skills and experience, which has lead to a significant talent-go-round within the industry.

 "Unfortunately many recruitment agencies have just been drift nets for CV's. Digital companies have basically had to do their own screening, profiling and evaluation and there's been little value added by their services," Michael Te Young, FutureYou founder, says.

"How are they supposed to find good candidates if they don't understand the roles? To understand digital you have to have done it," he says.

Te Young has worked in the digital space for more 17 years, having held senior roles across many facets of the industry. Most recently, he spent 7 years as a Digital Business Director at media agency OMD before becoming a consultant in June 2014. In that time he saw the need for a specialist that could work with digital businesses to develop people.

"Digital is a passion. I love the industry, and how fast it changes otherwise I wouldn't have been in it for so long," Te Young says. "I have a lot of close friends and colleagues here so it's a chance to work with them all. I don't want to be disconnected from digital but I figure if I treat FutureYou as a digital business and stay close to the industry then I'll still be digital.

Te Young is working alongside Erica Kroger who has extensive recruitment experience including eight years operating in ICT and sales and the last three years as a career consultant and coach advising people across all stages of their careers.

FutureYou specialises in digital media disciplines such as management, sales, planning, operations, programmatic, search, content, social, and technology. It can work alongside publishers, agencies, sales networks, suppliers and marketers alike.