Guest Comment: Why London still loves Antipodeans

Australians, New Zealanders and South Africans are still welcomed across London's financial institutions for temp and perm roles.

Why?

We hear lots of different reasons.

Antipodeans are technically strong: they have recognised qualifications from CA to CPA, backed up by university accountancy degrees. Meanwhile British ACAs do not need to take accounting at school or university, so they do not necessarily always understand what goes into a balance sheet i.e. what a debit is and what a credit is.

We are told that Antipodeans work hard and are naturally "can do". Antipodeans will take jobs when local talent is picky. British employees see temp work as a stop gap: if the right perm job comes along the temp job gets dropped without notice and the client is let down.

As temps, Antipodeans pick things up quickly. And as strong communicators, they integrate well within teams.

Antipodeans think differently about their careers. If they are here in London for a short period of time they want to earn as much as they can - money wise and in terms of experience.

If they stay, they work hard to succeed in a new environment.

Ironically, their visa situation and the fact they often take time off to travel is a positive thing for companies in London wanting temps. Employers get commitment to a temp assignment which local candidates usually don't want, plus a willingness to work long hours because Antipodeans need money to travel.

If the client needs a temp to get a project sorted or a backlog cleared, this means it gets done quicker - it's a win/win.

All of this has made Antipodean candidates pretty irresistible in London. At my firm we often identify potential temporary assignments for candidates before they have even landed on our shores.

Then the City of London is definitely becoming even more Antipodean, and the UK government should not try to restrict their entry.

Andrew Bath, Consultant , Poolia, London