We checked - it’s not all bad out there.
Construction’s stabilising, Malcolm’s winning, and we brought sausages.
Hello from Ailsa & Beccy
This issue of Hire Wire is all about good news and great people.
Construction’s turning a corner, confidence is returning, and we’re seeing more clients planning ahead for 2026 builds. It’s a welcome shift and one that’s already creating opportunities for skilled workers.
We’ve got plenty of good news on the people front, too.
Malcolm, who joined us earlier this year, has officially been ‘Key Skilled’, landing a permanent role after impressing everyone on-site.
We also celebrated 15 years of partnership with J&D McLennan Engineers - a third-generation Wellington success story building world-class air bridges for airports across Australasia (and yes, we brought the BBQ).
And to round things out, Ailsa’s shared some thoughts on how the recruitment industry can lift its game and rebuild trust where it matters most, one worker, one client, one job at a time.
In this issue:
• Construction’s turning a corner
• Malcolm gets ‘Key Skilled’
• BBQs, banter, and a 15-year partnership
• Fixing recruitment’s reputation starts with us
Thanks for backing us - and for backing local.
Got something to add? A trend you’re seeing on site or in the office? We’d love to hear it. Send it through to wellingtonhirewire@substack.com.
Construction’s next chapter is looking up.
At first glance, the latest Building Construction Report looks bleak. Revenue dropped 5% year-on-year, and margins are tight, but those are last year’s numbers, not a forecast.
Green lights are starting to flick on. Stats NZ recorded a 5.3% lift in new dwellings consented in July 2025 and another 5.8% in August, the first annual rise since 2022. It’s not a boom, but it’s a clear shift in direction.
Confidence is improving, too. The Reserve Bank’s October rate cut to 2.5% and the easing of LVR rules from December will make finance more accessible, giving housing demand a boost.
When momentum returns, the pressure point won’t be materials, it’ll be people. Skilled, site-ready teams will be what keeps projects moving.
The groundwork for a rebound is already there.
Now’s the time to reconnect with great workers, keep crews close, and be ready when the phones start ringing again.
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 about - connecting good people with good opportunities, and helping workers turn short-term gigs into long-term careers.
We’re absolutely stoked for you, Malcolm - you’ve earned it.
Read more about Malcolm’s story here
BBQs, banter, and a 15-year partnership.
For almost 15 years, J&D McLennan and Key Skills Recruitment have worked side-by-side, building teams and creating opportunities across Wellington.
To celebrate the long-running partnership, the Key Skills crew recently headed to J&D’s new state-of-the-art facility in Lower Hutt to fire up the BBQ and shout lunch for the team. It was a great afternoon with good food, good laughs, and a reminder that the best partnerships are built on people, not just paperwork.
Founded in the 1940s, J&D McLennan is a family-owned engineering firm best known for its world-class air bridges - the raised tunnels connecting airport terminals to aircraft. They’ve built nearly 300 of them since 1974, including every one in use in New Zealand, as well as bridges for clients across Australia and the Pacific. Their workmanship is known worldwide, even achieving a world-first when one of their bridges connected both decks of an Airbus A380 in Melbourne.
These days, the third generation of McLennans is carrying on that legacy, leading a team that balances innovation, precision, and a true Kiwi spirit.
For Key Skills, it has been a privilege to support that team over the years, from welders and machinists to engineers and office staff, and to see J&D continue to grow from strength to strength.
Fifteen years in, the banter’s still good, the BBQs even better, and we’re proud to call J&D McLennan part of the Key Skills family.
Read more about J&D McLennan here.
Fixing recruitment’s reputation starts with us.
“Let’s call it what it is,” says Ailsa Atkins, co-owner of Key Skills Recruitment. “Recruitment’s reputation is rough. Too many job seekers still feel ghosted or treated like numbers, and that’s on us.”
Ailsa believes if the industry wants to rebuild trust, it has to start with action. “We have to earn it not by saying the right things, but by doing them, consistently and visibly.”
She says accountability should run both ways. “Recruiters already sign the RCSA Code of Professional Conduct, but what if clients had to meet that same standard before hiring through us? Imagine if every business that used a recruiter had to sign up to the same code and could only engage with recruiters who are audited and approved to meet it. We’d clean up the supply chain fast.”
She points to the construction sector’s Tōtika framework as a model. “Tōtika lifted health and safety standards by making everyone from suppliers to contractors meet the same bar. Recruitment could do the same.”
On immigration, Ailsa doesn’t mince her words. “The Accredited Employer Work Visa was meant to stop exploitation, but the red tape now punishes good operators. Ethical employers are weighed down by bureaucracy while high-volume importers thrive.”
For Ailsa, the fix is simple but not easy. “Recruitment doesn’t need better marketing,” she says. “It needs better behaviour. Because we’re the bridge between people and opportunity and it’s time to rebuild trust, one worker, one client, one job at a time.”
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