Africa buoys local job market

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.”