AN employment exhibition company is taking the skills crisis message interstate to lure professionals to Queensland.

Queensland on Show general manager Robin Grundon says a surge in employment advertising has highlighted the need for businesses to be more strategic in combating the skills crisis.

He says the latest ANZ Bank Job Ads Survey shows competition for skilled workers is becoming even tighter, with the number of jobs advertised in newspapers and online up 40 per cent compared with the same period last year.

"Companies seeking skilled workers need to be looking at alternatives for finding scarce staff," says Mr Grundon.

"Those businesses that took part in our strategically directed skills shortages exhibition in Sydney last year made 1000 job offers to the highly targeted people who attended the expo."

Mr Grundon says Queensland energy corporation Energex has signed on with Queensland on Show for 2007 to recruit new employees at expos in Melbourne and Sydney later this year.

"Skilled workers are at a real premium in the Queensland market at the moment and Energex has made a creative and strategic decision to go looking for good employees in Australia's two largest employment markets - Melbourne and Sydney," he says.

"Energex is a welcome addition to the many other Queensland businesses, local councils and development groups who will exhibit down south. They will be a real drawcard for southerners interested in making the move north."

Queensland on Show is being held in partnership with the Queensland Government as part of its campaign to address the skills shortage. Deputy Premier Anna Bligh says the State has the best job creation rate in Australia and the exhibition will help employers source skilled workers.

"Queensland has billions of dollars of infrastructure and major projects under construction or planned in the next two decades," she says.

"We are generating more jobs than we can fill. We want skilled workers from Melbourne to come to Queensland."

Energex energy delivery general manager Bill Lyon says the company has grown by almost 100 employees in the past few years. He says extra staff are required to meet growing demand for electricity, with an average of 150 new homes and businesses connecting to Energex's south-east Queensland network each day.

"We have an extensive range of careers and professional development opportunities for people with a variety of backgrounds - from electrical tradespeople and engineers to administrators, technical specialists and other professionals," he says.

Queensland on Show will host two skills shortages exhibitions this year - in Melbourne (August) and Sydney (October).