Absa Capital has "big recruitment plans for 2010"

Absa Capital is determined to take on its rivals and focus on boosting business in South Africa and in other African countries, says new chief executive Stephen van Coller: "There's still a big gap between us and Standard Bank in terms of just size across sub-Saharan Africa. I would love to get another 50 to 60% revenue growth in the next three years." To do this, Absa Group's investment banking arm is actively recruiting in South Africa and other countries.

"Absa Capital has big recruitment plans for 2010," says Claire Harding, head of recruitment and human resources. "We are a growing organisation in the build phase of our development cycle, which means that we are constantly looking for talent across the business. In 2006 and 2007 we focused on growing our front office, revenue generating business, in 2008 and 2009 on the infrastructure teams like IT and product control to support the front office initiatives. In 2010 we will focus our energies on further development of our existing businesses as well as new strategic ventures."

At home Absa Capital tries to find locally based South Africans, but it is also keen to attract expatriates: "We welcome the opportunity to attract SA talent with international skills and experience, we call it brain gain," says Ms Harding. Also when recruiting in sub-Saharan Africa Absa Capital's approach is to look for local talent first, she says: "The best individuals are usually based in-country as they have the technical skill set as well as local knowledge and established networks. However, in line with our Africa strategy, we also endeavour to bring Africans based offshore back to the continent. Our message is clear: 'When you want to come home, phone Absa Capital first'."

The close relationship between Absa and Barclays, which has a majority stake in the South African bank, works in the recruiting process too: "As with most of our business initiatives, we leverage off Barclays Capital in terms of experience and knowledge," says Ms Harding. "We utilize BarCap preferred vendors for offshore recruitment efforts as well as getting relevant BarCap line managers involved in the selection process for senior hires." Maria Ramos, Absa Group Ceo, has just been appointed to the Barclays Group Executive Committee.