Kevin Leadingham

Kevin Leadingham, a Scottish-born recruitment specialist with 10 years at Tobostaff, paints a stark picture of NZ's construction brain drain. From graduates to senior professionals, the flow is one-directional: to Australia and the UK, lured by a 15-20% pay premium. With major projects ending or cancelled (3 Waters, Light Rail, CRL, NX2, Transmission Gully, Commercial Bay) and no clear next big project on the horizon, candidates are voting with their feet. Kevin critiques the Infrastructure Commission's pipeline dashboard as cluttered and hard to navigate, and calls on both companies and government to act: companies must build trust cultures so employees talk to managers before recruiters, and government must deliver a consistent pipeline independent of political cycles.

Key Topics Discussed

• Brain drain across the board. entry level to senior, all going to AU (Sydney/Brisbane) and UK
• 15-20% pay premium in Australia vs NZ for the same role
• Graduates asking about Australia before having any NZ work experience, Kevin presented to newly qualified students and the first question was about AU
• Project pipeline gap. 3 Waters cancelled, Light Rail cancelled, CRL ending, NX2 done, Transmission Gully done, Commercial Bay done. "Where is the next big project?"
• Infrastructure Commission pipeline dashboard. cluttered, completed projects still listed, hard to identify upcoming work in 15 minutes
• Company retention strategies. revisit pay rates, offer better benefits, build trust and open dialogue so employees talk to managers before recruiters
• Government responsibility. clear project timeframes, consistent pipeline regardless of political cycle
• Political campaigning on infrastructure is the problem, projects change with every election
• Kevin's first question when candidates want to leave: "Have you asked for that?" (pay rise, closer project, etc.)
• Pacificon referenced as cross-reference tool for infrastructure pipeline

Notable Quotes

"Where is the next big project?"

Kevin's first question when a candidate wants to leave: "Have you asked for that?"

Graduates asking "how do I get to Australia?" before they even have NZ work experience

Political parties campaigning on infrastructure projects is the problem

Guest Background

Kevin Leadingham is a Scottish-born recruitment specialist who has lived in NZ for 13 years and spent 10 years in construction recruitment at Tobostaff. He previously had a 3.5-year "sabbatical" from recruitment working at a market-leading pipelines manufacturer in civil infrastructure before returning to recruitment to be "closer to the action" of market trends.