Posts by admin
AI might speed things up but it won’t shake hands
2025 has been the year of smarter, faster, everything. AI tools, automation, dashboards - you name it, every industry is chasing efficiency, and recruitment’s no different. I’ve read the same articles everyone else has. Big global firms are using AI to write job ads in a few minutes, analyse hiring trends, and process thousands of CVs at a time. Their line is that AI isn’t here to replace humans, just to “make humans better at being human.” I get the appeal. Done well, AI can absolutely tidy up parts of the job process that take time. The admin, the drafts, [...]
Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi: What’s being built and why it matters
Te Awa Kairangi / Hutt River runs through the middle of the valley and the lives of the people who call this place home. It shapes the land, provides water, and gives the community a space to walk, cycle, fish and unwind. But it also has a long history of flooding and as storms and extreme weather become more common, the risks to homes, businesses and infrastructure have been increasing. Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi is a major, multi-year programme designed to change that. It brings together mana whenua, regional and local government, and national transport agencies to [...]
Fixing recruitment’s reputation starts with us.
“Let’s call it what it is,” says Ailsa Atkins, co-owner of Key Skills Recruitment. “The recruitment industry’s reputation is in rough shape.” She says too many job seekers still feel ghosted, unheard, or treated like numbers and that’s on the industry. “If we want people to trust us, we have to earn it,” she says. “Not by saying the right things, but by doing them, consistently and visibly.” Ailsa says recruitment has lost sight of its most important part - people. “We’ve all seen it,” she says. “The missed calls, the shortcuts, the people left hanging. That’s what’s damaged our [...]
Construction’s next chapter is looking up.
At first glance, New Zealand’s latest Building Construction Report looks a bit grim. Revenue across the sector dropped 5% year-on-year (from $99 billion to $94 billion), and around 70% of that went straight to suppliers. Margins remain tight, and if you strip out price rises and population growth, the volume of building work is sitting at its lowest level since 2019. But those are last year’s numbers, not a forecast and there are already signs that the slowdown is starting to bottom out. Green lights are flickering on. Stats NZ recorded a 5.3% rise in new dwellings consented in July [...]
BBQs, banter, and a 15-year partnership.
For almost 15 years, J&D McLennan Engineers and Key Skills Recruitment have worked side-by-side, building strong teams and even stronger relationships across Wellington’s manufacturing and engineering sectors. To celebrate the partnership and check out J&D’s brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, the Key Skills crew recently headed to Lower Hutt to fire up the BBQ and put on lunch for the team. It was a great afternoon with good food, plenty of banter, and a reminder that the best partnerships are built on people, not just paperwork. Family-owned and operated since the 1940s, J&D McLennan has become a quiet legend of New Zealand [...]
Malcolm gets Key Skilled!
Malcolm joined Key Skills back in January 2025, referred by his proud grandfather after making the move from Australia to New Zealand (bucking the current trend of Kiwis heading the other way). From day one, he impressed everyone, earning rave reviews on his very first assignment for being a quick learner and a hard worker. It wasn’t long before he found his forever home at Masterpet, where he continued to prove his worth every day. After just six months, Malcolm’s dedication paid off and he’s now officially a permanent team member! Stories like Malcolm’s are what Key Skills is all [...]
