Operations employees who are being axed at the big four should widen their job search beyond banking.

ANZ’s redundancies have so far generated most of the headlines. “Australian-based technology, retail, business banking, SME and institutional roles are set to be trimmed in 2012. Some roles will be offshored to Asia where the bank can decrease costs and participate in economies of higher growth,” says Luke Heath, chief executive of Chandler Heath Executive Recruitment.

However, the outlook for retrenched staff is not as bad as you may think, and Heath is confident that they will have other opportunities in financial services. “If they have strong customer service and attention to detail, they can look at broader finance roles, including the insurance industry,” he adds.

John Coles, chief executive of Executive Group International, agrees that insurance could prove an alternative for back-office staff, as could the booming pharmaceutical and resource industries.

“It’s fair to expect that the resources sector in Queensland and Western Australia will be looking to soak up the right recruits with support and operational experience,” says Coles.

Some roles are safe

It does not appear that redundancies at ANZ and Westpac will affect operational roles at the banks’ wealth management arms, OnePath and BT respectively, says Andrew McKissock, manager, wealth management division, Porterallen.

However, wealth businesses will consider costs carefully and will only recruit business-critical roles for now, he says.

“It is hopeful that opportunities will pick up in the second half of this year, as a result of MySuper and Future of Financial Advice being confirmed, along with any consequent legislative changes that need to be implemented,” adds McKissock.