Careers in Africa London: Ten Summits On…

News Release

Careers in Africa London: Ten Summits On…

October 2010

When Global Career Company (GCC) launched its first Careers in Africa Summit in London 2003, the world was a slightly different place. South Africa had just successfully hosted the first Cricket World Cup on African soil, the global economy was just starting to recover from the slowdown caused by 9/11 and multinationals were just starting to look at the African Diaspora as an additional talent pool for their African operations. Seven years and ten London Summits later, South Africa now celebrates hosting the World Cup smoothly, the global economy is recovering from another downturn and African graduates and professionals residing outside of the continent are now firmly recognised as a quality source of talent for employers across Africa.

The Careers in Africa series of Recruitment Summits evolved from an idea to create a platform which enabled multinational and regional companies to connect with the finest internationally based African talent available. The inaugural Summit was held in May 2003 where 14

companies including Coca-Cola, Lafarge and Shell congregated in London to interview and network with African graduates and professionals. Since then, the Summits have spread to Brussels, Houston, Johannesburg, Lisbon, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Washington D.C. Now, as GCC prepares to host the tenth London Summit in October, the Summits are regularly attended by 30 companies including Barclays, Chevron, Ericsson, GE and Siemens. The cohort of companies attending the Summits has also transformed. Whilst the early editions of these events were frequented by multinationals, at least 50% of the companies currently participating are indigenous African firms. The candidate pool has grown exponentially and there are now over

100,000 African professionals within the Careers in Africa global network.

What has changed over these last ten London Summits? Rupert Adcock, Managing Director of Global Career Company, explains how the age and experience of the average candidate has matured. “Graduates who we first contacted in 2002, have now become experienced managers and professionals and have already become leaders in their field. Global Career Company was with them at the beginning of their careers, and we’re still with them as they enter their mid-careers. In many cases our candidates become our clients and continue to act as our ambassadors across Africa.”

HR Directors agree that looking to London provides solutions to their staffing challenges. “The Summit is a tapestry of finely woven activities culminating in 2 days of interviews. It reflects excellence borne out of experience and continuous improvement,” says the Chief HR Officer at Etisalat. The Head of Human Capital at the United Bank of Africa

describes Careers in Africa London as “a must-attend event for any organisation interested in recruiting top African talent”.

The next Careers in Africa Recruitment Summit will be taking place on 29 to 31 October 2010. For more information please visit www.careersinafrica.com.