With the focus on African business sharpening all over the world, Global Career Company experts are increasingly being called to share insights on the human capital factors in play. On the 13th of September 2013, Charlotte Battaglia, Global Career Company’s Talent Acquisition Consultant gave an interview on French radio RFi regarding the opportunities, challenges and evolutions that accompany a professional move to Africa.

Charlotte first revealed that there were two types of companies that were now actively recruiting throughout the continent, multinationals that are currently expanding to Africa and developing companies looking to grow their teams. Furthermore, Charlotte added that the profiles most in demand included ones in finance, engineering, management and young graduates who can be trained to perfectly fit the companies they join.

According to Charlotte, candidates, two

groups comprise the bulk of the professional returnees to Africa. The first includes African nationals who completed degrees abroad and decided to return to their home countries to begin building their professional career. The second is made up of young graduate Africans who have lived abroad all of their lives and decided to return and rediscover the culture, lifestyle and professional opportunities now available on the continent their parents moved away from. Beyond this, Charlotte also touched on the motivations driving individuals to relocate to Africa, listing the difficulty of finding jobs with a clear development path, the growing unemployment throughout Europe and the appeal of Africa’s developing markets as the key motivators.

To conclude the interview, Charlotte spoke about the notable evolutions within Africa that have lead to the continent’s present competitive advantage in terms of luring, not only multinational companies, but high calibre talent as well. The fact that presently, all sectors are booming and recruiting throughout Africa whereas before the continent was mainly known for the energy sector has scored major attraction points with returning talent. Moreover, the opportunities present within many different industries has created a will, within the newer generation, to return to Africa and make use of the knowledge they have accumulated abroad to further drive the development of their countries and continent. Charlotte also emphasized that this same new generation of African talent has the power to break the stigma of failure historically associated with returning to the continent, as driving the development of the booming economy becomes a positive choice leading to successful stories.

To hear Charlotte’s full interview
click here.

News Release

Johannesburg as a diverse pool of talent

November 2011

More than 300 candidates came to the Recruitment Summit in Johannesburg, held on 11 – 13 November 2011. The 14 companies that attended were very impressed by the high quality of candidates in attendance: Halliburton, Baker Hughes, DOW, Worley Parsons, FMC Technologies, G4S, Safal, Oceaneering, IBM, Total, Rio Tinto, Cuango, Oracle, Catoca.

Our Careers in Africa team arrived from our headquarters in London on the Thursday, and associates from South Africa joined to prepare for the Summit. The Friday afternoon saw the candidates start to arrive at the venue, and one of our recruitment consultants ran an extensive training session. This consisted of a presentation, followed by an in-depth workshop on interview and networking technique, personal impact and CV writing skills. By Friday evening, the networking event was in full swing, with candidates meeting face to face with representatives from the company.

The Saturday was a busy day of interviews and presentations from the attending companies. They spoke for up to an hour on their operations, their recruitment practices, and why people should want to work for them. This gave invaluable advice to those that attended.

By Sunday, offers had been made to some lucky candidates, and more interviews took place, with the event finally wrapping up at Sunday lunchtime.

It was the third year in a row that we have hosted this event in Johannesburg; the next will take place 9 – 11 November 2012.

Visit our Careers in Africa Facebook page to view the pictures from the event.

News Release

Surge in demand for experienced African bankers

4 November 2010

International banks keen to expand their presence in Africa, like Standard Chartered and Barclays, are competing with South African banks for African candidates who combine knowledge of the continent’s markets with years of experience on Wall Street or in the City.

London tends to be the first port of call, says Njambi Ngunjiri, relationship manager at Global Careers Company (GCC), an international recruitment consultancy: “London is the place to find experienced candidates. Banks in Africa tend to do their graduate recruiting locally, but come here to look for critical and rare skills, people who have worked in the City for an average of seven years.”

A few days ago GCC held its tenth ‘Careers in Africa’ summit in London, the second this year due to demand: “There are growing career opportunities this year compared to 2009,” she says. “One notable change is that the Summit used to be focused on South Africa, Nigeria and Angola while now it has become much more of a Pan-African event. Countries like Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania or Uganda are coming to the fore.”

Banks like Standard Chartered, for example, attended the summit to find talent for their offices all over Africa, while South Africa’s First National Bank wanted IT banking experts for their global transactional services and Nigeria-based United Bank of Africa described it as a “must-attend event for recruiting top African talent”.

Candidates are attracted by the prospects: “In the last few years candidates were keen to leave the UK because of the economic slowdown,” says Ngunjiri. “But now what drives them is the sheer wealth of career opportunities in Africa, the knowledge that things are really happening back home.”

While South Africans used to dominate high-level banking, candidates from other African countries are now increasingly competing for jobs – and getting them.

African bankers might also in many cases be more realistic in their pay and role expectations and therefore easier to hire than South African ones, says Veronique Parkin, partner at Heidrick & Struggles in Johannesburg: “We have found that several SA bankers in London have expectations in terms of a role in South Africa that does not match their experience and hence they find it more difficult to find opportunities.”

News Release

Tanzania’s banks expanding and seeking to recruit

10 June 2011

The International Monetary Fund has just upgraded its forecasts of growth in Tanzania’s economy, the second largest in East Africa, to 7.2% for 2012, up from 6% this year, while Standard Bank’s analysts are more optimistic and calculate GDP will rise by 7.6%.

East Africa’s second-biggest economy after Kenya still depends mainly on mining, tourism and agriculture but it is attracting considerable investor interest, especially in telecommunications, energy and financial services, while the banking sector is increasingly active and competitive.

Fast-growing banks desperately need talent. Like National Microfinance Bank (NMB), the largest bank in Tanzania by customer base and branch network, which was privatised in 2005 and listed in 2008 on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. The biggest shareholder is Holland’s Rabobank Group with a 34.9% stake. “Post privatisation instead of closing branches we started growing our branch network and now we have 140, more than twice the number of any other bank,” says Mark Wiessing, Ceo of NMB. “Our customer base has jumped from 600,000 to 1.4m in the past few years and today we are the largest ATM issuer in Tanzania with over 1.1m active cards.”

Kees Verbeek, chief commercial officer, says that “we are building an outward-looking, client-oriented bank and we need bright people, young enough to be energetic and enthusiastic, but ideally with at least three or four years’ experience working abroad. We need people in sales and operations as well as team and project management.”

Another bank seeking to expand is Exim Bank, founded in 1997, which has been growing fast and is now trying to establish itself as a regional player with a presence in the Comores and Djibouti.

“We are now waiting for approval from the Zambian authorities to establish a presence there as well,” says Dinesh Arora, general manager “We are the fastest-growing bank in Tanzania and have been the most innovative: we were the first to introduce credit cards, mobile ATMs and special financing schemes for women. Now we want to keep growing but we need people.”

Mr Arora is hoping to attract the Tanzanian diaspora: “We are keen to recruit people who have worked in the City, who come fully groomed and trained and with a high level of understanding. We offer exciting career prospects and a good quality of life. In Tanzania, the positives outweigh the negatives.” The bank, he says, needs 20 people in different areas, from risk management to operations and sales.

Both Verbeek and Arora have extended their search for talent to London through the Global Career Company network, hoping to attract some of the many expatriates working in the City. Strict visa regulations, they say, make it difficult to hire people who are not Tanzanian nationals.

News Release

Careers in Africa at Harvard Business School

March 2011

Over 900 business and community leaders, company executives, students and educators from around the world who are passionate about Africa congregated in Boston on 18 – 19 February for the 13th Annual Africa Business Conference hosted at Harvard Business School. The event which ran under the theme “Your African Legacy: Defining the Contribution of the Next Generation” provided a platform for discussion and debate on how those who are looking to engage with the continent can actively partake in the creation of an African legacy.

The conference organisers adapted a famous quote in order to get the point across; “a different Africa cannot be built by indifferent people”. This was a pertinent call for all conference participants to stay informed, be active in their quest for knowledge, maintain connections with and regularly visit the continent. They were also encouraged to engaging with Africa during the course of their careers. The Careers in Africa team was therefore at hand to speak to African graduates and professionals looking to launch their career back home.

Conference participants were remarkably bullish about their career prospects across Africa. A survey conducted by the Careers in Africa team reveals that 35% of respondents were looking to move back home in 2011 and a further 29% were looking to move within one to two years. When asked about the key drivers for looking to work in Africa, ‘opportunities to fast track my career’ was the leading response. ‘Africa’s growing economy’ was ranked second whilst ‘returning home to family’ and ‘the ability to apply international knowledge to local markets’ came joint third. Incidentally, ‘financial incentives’ and ‘giving back’ were ranked last.

These findings supported the notions of renewed interest in opportunities across the continent and a strong desire by African Diaspora to return home. The landscape is certainly changing across Africa; it is not only an emerging market, it is also gaining prominence as an employment centre location.

News Release

Barclays and StanChart looking for African talent

20 May 2011

Africa is calling. As economic growth, foreign investments and trade links continue to grow, banks – both local and international – keep expanding and recruiting. The stumbling block is lack of local candidates with the relevant skills and some experience, so the banks come to London to try and lure African expatriates back with the offer of a job.

For this reason both Barclays and Standard Chartered had stalls at last weekend’s Careers in Africa summit at Canary Wharf in London, organised by the Global Careers Company (GCC), an international recruitment consultancy. “Due to the brain drain in the past finding good people in Africa has been a challenge, but now things are looking up,” says Shaun Limwatana, head of resources at Barclays Africa. “We are here to build up a talent pool, because we need people in all the ten African countries we are in. Bob Diamond has made Africa a focus so it is a big growth area for us.” Barclays interviewed over 60 candidates and is hoping to recruit at least fifteen.

Standard Chartered is on a similar quest: “We are here looking for talent, because in Africa it is very hard to get good people with international experience and exposure,” says Annie Kinuthia, area head of corporate affairs for East Africa at StanChart in Nairobi. “We are looking to recruit people in every country we are in across the Continent and in sectors across the board, from consumer banking to technology to corporate banking. We have 60 interviews lined up and we hope to hire at least four people.”

According to Rupert Adcock, managing director of GCC, “financial services are really taking off across the Continent, from retail to corporate banking to private equity to venture capital, so there is a strong pull for African expatriates with experience in the sector to go back and join these exciting markets where it’s all happening. They can secure a guaranteed job before they go back, and they leave the City knowing they might move to a smaller pond, but they’ll be big fishes.”

They do seem to be aware of this. A survey GCC conducted among the African diaspora at the

London summit shows that the key reason for returning to the Continent is ‘opportunities to fast track my career’, followed by ‘Africa’s growing economy’. “Africa is not seen as just going back home but as a great opportunity for a better career in an exciting growth environment,” says Limwatana.

For more information please visit www.careersinafrica.com.

News Release

Africa emerges as leading career destination

May 2011

• 20% increase in the number of roles and companies recruiting for Africa in Q1 2011
• 35% of respondents from the African Diaspora looking to move back home in 2011

With the global competitive landscape changing dramatically, Africa is now emerging as a leading employment centre location. Many firms operating across Africa are recruiting aggressively and the African job market in 2011 is looking robust with a significant increase in the number of jobs compared with the same time

last year.

Global Career Company, a leading London–based international recruitment consultancy best known for the Careers in Africa initiative, has reported a 20% increase in the number of roles and companies recruiting for Africa in Q1 2011 when contrasted

with similar data from the beginning of 2010. Demand for highly skilled professionals with a background in engineering, pharmaceuticals, mining, technology and manufacturing continues to be strong. Rupert Adcock, Managing Director of Global Career Company observes, ‘The African Renaissance is firmly afoot as displayed by the high economic growth across the continent. We have increased our client portfolio exponentially as companies seek talented graduates and professionals with the skills and expertise to enable them take advantage of these growth opportunities.’

The African Diaspora have taken note of this trend are voting with their feet. A

recent survey conducted by the Careers in Africa team reveals that 35% of respondents were looking to move back home in 2011 and a further 29% were looking to move within one to two years. When asked about the key drivers for looking to work in Africa, ‘opportunities to fast track my career’ was the leading response. ‘Africa’s growing economy’ was ranked second whilst ‘returning home to family’ and ‘the ability to apply international knowledge to local markets’ came joint third. Incidentally, ‘financial incentives’ and ‘giving back’ were ranked last.

The Careers in Africa Recruitment Summit hosted in London, the world’s largest African recruitment event, has had a record number of applications from candidates looking to return to Africa and start building their careers in what has proved to be the most resilient of regions during the global financial crisis. Rupert continues, ‘Careers in Africa continues to grow at an astonishing rate, we now have over 180,000 graduates and professionals in our global database, our website statistics are at an all time high with over 200,000 visits and over 1,000,000 page views per month.’ Participation at the Careers in Africa Recruitment Summit has been confirmed by leading employers from across Africa and there is a good mix of multinationals and African businesses. Barclays, Coca Cola Sabco, Diageo, GE, GlaxoSmithKline, Heineken, Henkel, Lafarge, Safal, Standard Chartered, Total, Unilever and Vale will be present. This list continues to grow.

The next Careers in Africa Recruitment Summit will be taking place on 13 – 15 May 2011. For more information please visit www.careersinafrica.com.

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.

News Release

Johannesburg Hailed as Hub for African Talent

August 2010

As the vuvuzelas are put away and stadiums have all cleared, South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2010 World Cup now passes into recent memory. The event was a spectacular success. Everything went according to plan; critics and naysayers were proved wrong and South Africa was favourably rebranded. Now that fans and footballers have returned home, what are the eyes of the world still seeing in South Africa?

The answer is talent! Europe and North America have always been traditional markets that attract talent away from the continent but South Africa’s relative economic prosperity and political stability have made it a new hub for African talent. South Africa is now established as a regional player in the international student marketplace by attracting as many as 20% of international students from Africa. This has been attributed to a strong marketing campaign, an abundance of highly regarded institutions like UCT, Wits and Stellenbosch, close proximity to home and low costs of living. These trends are the motivation for Global Career Company which decided to institute the Careers in Africa Recruitment Summits in Johannesburg, the commercial capital of South Africa.

Careers in Africa Recruitment Summits are normally held across Europe and North and South America with the aim of bringing the best internationally based African talent back to the continent. So why Johannesburg? The logic was simple. “We saw an opportunity to provide a South African based platform for multinational and regional companies who are struggling to find highly skilled workers for their operations in Africa,” explains Global Career Company Managing Director Rupert Adcock who founded the company in 2002. “Clients sometimes find it difficult to travel to our events in Europe even though they need to access a wider talent pool. So, we decided to provide them with access to a separate talent pool right here in South Africa. This is the first initiative of its kind in South Africa and our second event in Africa.”

Global Career Company, a London-based international recruitment consultancy, has been at the forefront of recruiting the cream of Africa’s professionals working abroad with an enviable track record spanning eight years of working with over 200 of Africa’s leading employers. This will be the second edition of the Careers in Africa Summit in Johannesburg. It takes place on 17 to 19 September 2010 and will be attended by up to 15 companies including Bateman Engineering, East African Breweries Limited, ENSA, Exim Bank, GE, Maersk, Rio Tinto and Vale.

To find out more about Careers in Africa visit www.careersinafrica.com

News Release

New Recruitment Summit for Francophone African Talents in Paris

June 2010

The place to be for any Francophone African talents last month was the Careers in Africa Summit in Paris, which took place 16-18 April. The reputation and success of the Careers in Africa Recruitment Summits throughout the world is unparalleled, however the launch of a new Summit was always a risky enterprise, especially in the current climate. However, the gamble taken by Global Career Company quickly paid off:

Rupert Adcock, Managing Director at Global Career Company says: “With companies starting to confirm their presence as early as last November, we knew immediately that the event would be a success. Multinationals and African companies alike were eager to meet with the talented pool of African candidates present at the Summit, to recruit and add value to their operations in Africa. They didn’t hesitate to bring in large delegations, involving Country Managers, HR Directors and Line Managers to prove they were serious about recruiting.”

Over the course of the week-end, there was no time for sightseeing, as delegates and candidates were busy attending company presentations, networking, exchanging CVs and business cards, and more importantly proceeding to scheduled and spontaneous interviews.

Over 20 companies recruited at the event, including the likes of G.E, Lafarge, Total, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Citibank, MTN, BGFI and many more. Over formal 500 interviews took place, all for opportunities in Francophone and North Africa.

The ECOWAS delegation, who interviewed over 85 candidates, was impressed by the level of expertise brought by the candidates and planned to take over 50% of them through to second stage interviews. Another great player in the African market, Orange, managed to interview candidates for 6 Francophone countries and multiple functional areas. Their HR Business Partner for Africa was very positive about the whole event: “I really enjoyed the Summit. Everything from organisation, welcome, contacts to interviews was managed professionally, efficiently and in a friendly manner. I would like to thank the Global Career Company team for such a great event!”

Sana Chakir, Recruitment Lead for Global Career Company explained: “Some candidates travelled a long way to attend the event… We were impressed by the motivation of some of them, who had to catch several flights and use various transportation modes to be there, despite the tough travel conditions that week-end. They visibly took this opportunity very seriously, which proves they are extremely determined to find their new career opportunity back in Africa.”

The Careers in Africa team is now getting ready for the next stops on its busy calendar of events: in London, New York, Johannesburg, Sao Paolo and Houston. They are also planning to renew the Paris experience next year, to help many more candidates find their dream job in Africa…