China wants SA skills

Johannesburg - Staffing agencies are evidently very busy recruiting South African managers to work in China.

Local personnel agencies claim that the Chinese recruiters are employing particularly aggressive tactics to sign up these managers.

They are offering outstanding remuneration packages and the preference is for experienced managers in the information technology and accounting industries.

South African managers who have already worked overseas for multinational companies are in particular demand.

Mindcor managing director Neil Maslen says he and his partners are aware of the activities of the Chinese. "We have had a lot to do with many international recruiters, but the Chinese are among the most aggressive we have ever come across."

The view is that South African managers who have already worked overseas will fit into the Chinese working environment very well.

Chinese businesses are only now really beginning to realise the value of marketing and brand-building. "They are especially looking for experienced marketing experts."

The Chinese recruiters generally exude optimism that the worst of the recession is over. The Chinese economy, they claim, is on the brink of the next growth phase but is experiencing an acute shortage of skilled and experienced managers.

South Africa is considered a desirable recruitment area with top-class managers who compare with the best in the world.

The Chinese are also recruiting in other developed countries where managers have lost their jobs in the recession as a consequence of the financial crisis.

"In many cases there is a preference for South African managers," Maslen says.

China International Intellectech, one of China's biggest recruitment agencies located in Shanghai, last year recommended 1 000 managers for jobs in China.

- Sake24.com

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