Select won Seek's best small generalist recruiter award in 2009 and 2010, and moved up a division this year to win the medium generalist recruiter award last week, with the small generalist section won by another Dunedin company, Fluid Recruitment.
Select principal Karen Bardwell said while permanent and full-time job placements were down about 15% last financial year, more than 600 permanent positions were filled by Select's Dunedin and Christchurch offices.
Select staff are going to Ireland soon to recruit New Zealanders to return home and to recruit skilled tradespeople for the construction arena.
The company has planned a recruiting drive in Europe and Russia next year, targeting staff for civil infrastructure and mining.
Despite rising unemployment figures in New Zealand, Mrs Bardwell said the country was still generally suffering from a skills shortage which the rebuilding of Christchurch, once it began, would probably accentuate.
"Once reconstruction ramps up in Christchurch, we won't have the people in New Zealand for all the jobs," she said.
She expected further volatility in the employment sector during the year ahead, with unemployment and skills shortages producing "ripple effects".
