SA banks on the prowl for expatriates
If you are a South African banker with some years' experience and you are sitting in London, chances are not a week goes by without an interesting offer landing on your desk. Last year, as the crisis was biting and people were being laid off in the City, many South African expatriates chose to return to SA, even without jobs to go to, and start knocking on doors.
What a difference a year makes. The situation has changed, recruiters say, and now banks, especially South African ones, are actively looking for people with UK experience, who find themselves having the upper hand.
"Last year people went back, out of frustration with the market or because they had lost their jobs or missed South Africa," says Ian Woodthorpe, London-based director of GAP Placements, which has offices in the UK and SA.
"This year banks are saying we need you and the candidates' attitude is: come and find me, make me an offer I can't refuse, give me a parking place outside the front door and I'll be over. We have recently placed the finance director of an international bank, who ran their show from a Channel island and was persuaded to move back home."
South Africa's big four domestic banks are all hiring and "there is a huge demand for top quality people and product specialists, especially if they have Africa on their CVs," says Anton Apps, founder and Ceo of Anton Apps International Recruitment Specialists in Johannesburg. "Foreign exposure is highly regarded, so their first port of call is South Africans in the City or elsewhere abroad. The market is buoyant."
Top executives can demand top packages but for ordinary mortals realism is essential when it comes to remuneration, says Woodthorpe: "Salaries do not compare. People who earn, say, 100,000 in London will not earn 1m Rand in South Africa. It is likely to be 50-60% of a sterling salary but there are compensations, as the cost of living is much lower in South Africa and you will get a bigger house and sunnier weather. What is on offer is more job security and a better lifestyle."
