The major international freight forwarders in Europe are now taking a big interest in Africa, and are viewing SA as a prime recruitment centre for the top management of their African operations, according to Dr Lynn Ribton-Turner, MD of Ribton-Turner Recruitment. “I guess that’s because Europe is having a very sluggish recovery, but a lot of the developing countries in Africa are finding oil and gas in huge quantities, and continually developing their mining industries,” she told FTW. This, she added, makes them attractive targets for these multinationals. “They are therefore looking for senior managers with experience in dealing with African countries, and CEOs for placement in sub-Saharan Africa are now being found in South Africa.” On the local front, Ribton-Turner described the job market as “very buoyant for us in the first part of the year”, and this across the whole employment spectrum – from juniors to top-level. “There has been a lot of movement of top management in the freight industry, and individuals with multi-modal, operational and marketing skills are being keenly sought.” Kim Botti of Lee Botti & Associates confirmed this. “The last few months have seen a big shake-up within the clearing and forwarding industry in particular, with a number of senior management moves. “As expected, these changes had a ripple effect within the various organisations. Add the usual New Year business to this, and it has resulted in our offices nationally being very active, with jobs coming in.” Botti also noted the interesting appearance of the African element in the local job market. “Africa as a continent is creating exciting opportunities,” she told FTW. “We are seeing many companies growing and developing into this arena – and skilled and experienced staff are in demand.” There is also now a demand for intensive background checks of candidates. “The verification of candidates’ skills, coupled with the need now to do credit and criminal checks, has made for a very thorough process,” said Botti. “We have trained staff to handle this function. Also, a number of clients recruiting through their own means have made use of our facility to ensure their process is complete.”
