Overseas temp staff make a comeback

Recruitment firms say they are hiring in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand to meet rising demand in London for temporary accountancy and operations staff in investment banks.

Oliver Harris, head of temporary staffing at the recruitment firm Robert Walters, said 150 newly qualified South African accountants had flown in this year after a recruitment campaign there by the firm aimed at financial controllers.

Susannah Gill, overseas liaison consultant at rival firm Badenoch & Clark, said the agency regularly looks for temporary staff in Australia and New Zealand.

In the past few years its focus has not been banking, but other divisions such as accountancy and legal. Now banking is at the forefront of its overseas recruiting efforts: 'Last year we were warning that the banking market was slow and discouraging people without any experience. This year we've been really pushing financial services: the opportunities are back.'

Nabiela Sadiq, managing director at Joslin Rowe, another agency, said she is planning a South African roadshow to rustle up overseas banking temps for next year: 'Overseas recruitment roadshows were common three of four years' ago, but they faded away during the downturn and are only now coming back.'

Sadiq said banks' demand for new temps has risen 200% compared to this time last year: 'The market turned very quickly and there is a shortage of skilled staff across all areas, including secretarial, banking operations and financial control.'

Harris said strong demand for temps is a reflection of market recovery and a need to hire staff quickly, plus uncertainty whether the upturn will endure: 'It's a nervous market. By hiring temps banks can gear up quickly, but they can also pull out quickly if markets collapse.'

Overseas staff fill many of the roles. Harris said over 60% of the staff for all temping jobs at banks on his books are from Australia or New Zealand. Like South Africans and other Commonwealth nationals they qualify for a working holiday visa. After rules were relaxed last year, this entitles them to work in the UK for up to two years.

Sadiq said South African accountants are particularly sought after by investment banks: 'They have a good work ethic and there is not much work at home.' However, banks' need for staff is such that she is also looking at applications from Poland and other new European Union countries: 'If Poles have the right qualifications and English language skills, we may consider them.'

Recruiters said banks' demand for temporary staff is bidding up pay across the board, particularly in areas such as financial control where there is a shortage of qualified accountants.

Andy Evans, associate director at Morgan McKinley, said accountants with two to three years' post qualification experience can now earn 35 to 40 an hour in roles such as product control. This compared to 30 an hour at the start of the year.