Employment recruitment agencies believe Bay of Plenty's current lack of skilled tradies is poised to burst into life, eyeing up Auckland residents making the move south as prime targets.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce's latest figures show more than 30 per cent of those seeking to employ skilled people are having difficulty finding suitable employees.

The Staffroom recruitment company consultant Jo Oxenham, behind an empty row of computer and internet docks. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dave Burnett says this lull might be proving a constraint for business growth in the Bay, with the specialised trade areas and Information and Communication Technology the big headaches.

He admits New Zealand might be paying the price following the Global Financial Crisis where people might have been unable to complete apprenticeships or were laid off.

The Staffroom recruitment company consultant Jo Oxenham says employers are struggling to secure qualified candidates with the desired certification, instead having to take on slightly less qualified candidates and up-skill.

At the same time current market conditions show high calibre candidates are choosing the Bay as their destination to continue their already established careers.

'This includes job seekers coming from other parts of the country with the more senior applicants mostly coming from overseas.”

Personnel Resources Tauranga director Ian Chitty says both the NZ and Bay economies are back in a growth phase.

As a result there are issues around finding the right 'qualified and capable”, particularly in engineering, accounting, and specialist areas including medical.

'So I would certainly say it's getting more difficult because our unemployment rate is getting lower.”

Ian's observation in the last three months mirrors Jo's suggestion of a transfer of people from outside the region, especially Auckland.

Dave is also confident the Bay will naturally pick up good people, not only due to the Auckland movement, but also the decline in Kiwis heading across to Australia to pursue job opportunities.

'I think we will see that [growth] and maybe not be affected as much other regions, because we are a growing region naturally in terms of what we offer.

'Having said that I don't think we can be complacent and expect everyone to come down to Tauranga. It requires a coordinated effort to address this issue form government through to local through to businesses.”

'Some of the net migration figures are at the highest ever and expected to hit 55,000 next year. Australia is not as attractive Kiwis and I think it will help the skills shortage.”