Tag Archives: Finance Jobs

Hays releases ‘The Oil and Gas Global Salary Guide 2012’

Hays has revealed UK oil and gas industry professionals are enjoying competitive wages according to ‘The Oil and Gas Global Salary Guide 2012’, which is based on data from over 14,000 respondents.

The Guide, produced by Hays Oil & Gas and leading jobsite Oil and Gas Job Search, shows that full time UK oil professionals enjoy average salaries of £55,850* per annum which is more than twice the national salary average of £26,244**.

The 2012 survey also demonstrates strong growth in salaries for imported labour. Expat labour can command average salaries of £51,890 per annum: up 6.8% on the previous year.

Contractor day rates for those working in the North Sea (including the UK, Scandinavia and the Netherlands) are amongst the most competitive worldwide. Experienced engineers and managers can expect average rates of £540 per day and, for director level contractors, this figure rises to around £900 per day.

Matt Underhill, Managing Director of Hays Oil & Gas commented: “Last year we reported a 30% rise in contractor wages for UK professionals. This was particularly encouraging for UK based oil and gas professionals as the rates are a good indicator of the state of the job market, being more reactive to short-term changes in demand for skills.”

Underhill continued: “The figures from the 2012 guide figures demonstrate that the UK oil and gas industry has maintained this recovery and day rates remain buoyant.”

Duncan Freer, Managing Director of Oil and Gas Job Search added: “Average oil and gas salaries in the UK are around 8% more than the worldwide average.

“Greater activity is scheduled for 2012 and beyond following a difficult period during the recession. Despite some forecasts many oil companies are continuing to invest in the North Sea so it is a time to look forward with confidence.”

The Salary Guide, which features data from over 50 countries, revealed that continuing global confidence is the central finding of the report. Over 30% of respondents expect salaries to go up by more than 10% in the next 12 months.

Employer confidence has also seen a large increase with 26.7% being extremely positive about the current market: up from just 9.7% in 2011. Three quarters of all employers expect staffing levels to increase in the next 12 months.

Matt Underhill, Managing Director of Hays Oil & Gas, commented: “The salaries, day rates and general sentiment in the guide reflect a strong and confident industry. There are now tremendous opportunities for new graduates and candidates with transferable skills to enter a buoyant and rewarding industry.”

Via EPR Network
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Hays And CBI Release Digital Report On Workplace Flexibility And Communication

Hays and CBI have called on the Government to fundamentally rethink its approach to employment law in order to bolster workplace flexibility and foster better employment relations.

Launching its first ever digital report Thinking Positive: the 21st century employment relationship, produced in collaboration with Hays, the CBI explores how the employment relationship has changed, becoming even more flexible.

The report includes video interviews with employees and staff on the benefits of good communication and flexibility, and looks at how this helped minimise private sector job losses during and post-recession.

Now the CBI says the Government should build on the success of workplace relations forged during the recession by embedding this flexible approach into future employment law and in its Employment Law Review. Rather than automatically opting for legislation, in most cases the Government should specify what it is trying to achieve and set out suggested processes in more flexible guidance or codes of practice. With much of the UK’s employment law coming from Europe, this approach should also be applied to EU directives.

So far, the Government has given some welcome signals on reducing regulation and is looking at ways of improving the tribunals system. But it has also introduced policies that have reduced flexibility, including abolishing the Default Retirement Age without addressing the need for employers to have protected conversations about retirement plans and failing to review the Agency Workers Directive, which has been gold plated to include extra process costs for employers, not required under European law.

John Cridland, CBI director-general, said: “Traditionally when making employment law governments have tried to specify every last detail of what should go on in the workplace.

“With a strong base of employment rights already in place, we simply don’t need the state telling us how to manage every aspect of basic human relations.

“The Government should adopt a simpler approach to future employment law, one which maximises choice for employers and staff and plays up the strengths of our flexible labour market.

“Good communication helped companies and employees work together to make difficult changes to working patterns to get through the recession. These lessons are particularly important now the public sector is facing similar challenges as a result of measures to cut the deficit.”

Commenting on the benefits of greater workplace flexibility for staff, Alistair Cox, chief executive of Hays plc, added: “Flexibility is a key ingredient in driving future economic growth in the UK. It is also a key aspect that more and more professionals look for in their lives and careers, particularly at a time when we want to encourage employers to invest and create more jobs, despite today’s economic uncertainty.”

Via EPR Network
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Reed Finance Shortlisted For CIMA’s Recruitment Consultancy Of The Year 2010 Award

Reed Finance have been shortlisted by CIMA (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) for their Recruitment Consultancy of the Year 2010 Award, which will be presented on 22 November 2010 at The Royal Lancaster Hotel in London.

Reed Finance Divisional Director, Tim Vye, comments: “We were delighted to hear that we had been nominated for this award. In a marketplace of hundreds of financial recruitment agencies, it’s an achievement to have reached CIMA’s shortlist.

“The award judges look for evidence of commitment to the employability of CIMA members and the provision of career advice that goes beyond normal levels of service. This nomination is therefore testament to the excellent service offered by our consultants.”

CIMA is the world’s largest professional body of management accountants, and the CIMA qualification is one of the most sought-after financial qualifications by employers – due to their focus on producing commercial and forward-looking finance professionals and business leaders.

Via EPR Network
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Hays Reports Millions Being Spent On Coaching Without A Business Purpose

Hays Senior Finance reports that while multi-millions of pounds are spent on coaching across the UK, 15% of organisations admit they have absolutely no measurements in place to assess the impact of their programmes.

A new survey from Hays Senior Finance, working with expert coach/ mentors LeaderShape, shows that coaching is often undertaken without evaluating the return on investment. The survey also shows that 68% of businesses fail to use coaching directly to address corporate objectives and outcomes are often simply referenced at a personal level.

According to the data, the majority of coach-mentoring programmes are for individuals, with 72% deployed to develop individual talents or address personal worries.

Chris McCarthy, director at Hays Senior Finance, said: “In far too many cases companies are leaving it to individuals to set the framework for their own coaching or mentoring – with little or no reference to business needs. They then fail to check the standards of their programmes and show little concern for the outcomes. Support can be extremely effective when a professional starts a new role, but it is essential it is carried out in the right manner by people who understand the specific needs of these individuals.”

The survey showed that if a senior finance professional leaves within three months of starting a new role not only is there a financial cost, but it dampens staff morale. The vast majority of respondents (96%) agreed that these appointments would benefit from confidential support during this period.

One major concern revealed by the Hays Senior Finance/LeaderShape survey is the lack of ongoing professional development for providers. Internal coach-mentors are the preferred choice by those who use coaching, with 73% of companies using in-house support. However, 16% of coaches and 28% of mentors do not receive any training or support themselves, while companies describe 29% of team or group facilitators as untrained.

Chris Gulliver from LeaderShape commented: “This is a very expensive missed opportunity for UK Plc in fast-moving times. Increasing amounts of money are being spent on coaching as a universal panacea but many companies have no comprehensive overview or sense of purpose.

Via EPR Network
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Recession Has Created Demand For Generation R Employees

Joslin Rowe has revealed that the recession has created demand among companies for a new class of employee known as Generation R, with 68% of City employers recognising Generation R as an emerging labour market force.

Generation R is a term coined to describe those professionals who were retained during the recession, escaped redundancy, worked in far leaner teams and thus progressed faster than usual as they took on the work of more senior ex-colleagues.

According to research across 571 professional bankers, lawyers and accountants in London, 70% stepped up to the more technically demanding responsibilities that redundant colleagues left behind and 81% gained more experience and a wider skill set during the recession than at any time in the boom years. Now the recession has eased, 73% believe they are performing at a level above their current job title – and want recognition and reward for their achievements.

The Generation R trend has been identified by Joslin Rowe, the UK financial services recruitment agency of the world’s second largest HR and recruitment services group, Randstad. Joslin Rowe Managing Director, Tara Ricks, said: “Filled with confidence as to their own abilities and what they can offer, Generation R has high expectations as to what their next move should be. Some initial research we’ve conducted across our banking recruitment desks shows that many assistant vice president (AVP) level candidates feel they operated at a junior vice president (VP) level during the recession and therefore will only move on to a competitor, or stay at their current firm, in return for a VP title.”

City employers are also fast becoming aware of the Generation R phenomenon. Of the 163 surveyed, 70% agree that the employees they retained in the recession are more proficient and commercially aware thanks to their experiences over the last 18 months. 59% acknowledge they have discovered future ‘stars’, who weren’t apparent before the recession forced employers to give smaller teams increased responsibilities. Over a third of organisations (37%) also stated they feel pressure to progress their existing staff to the next level (title wise) faster than would usually be the case, because of their recent track record.

Interestingly, 53% of hiring managers admitted they have a preference at CV stage towards candidates who were retained during the recession as opposed to those who were made redundant. Tara Ricks believes this has more to do with the high demand for Generation R CVs than any negative reflection on candidates who were made redundant:

“It’s not that losing your job in the recession is seen as a stigma rather that being retained during the worst economic downturn in modern history carries so much kudos. Employers only have to look internally at the people they retained to know they possess a unique set of skills, so it’s only natural to want to entice the same Generation R population from their competitors. It’s almost a form of Guerrilla warfare – as companies start to focus all their efforts on attracting and retaining the very best Generation R employees.”

Via EPR Network
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Nearly Three Quarters of Finance Professionals Say They Will Look for A New Job In 2010

Levels of optimism are much higher than six months ago among finance professionals and their employers, according to the 2010 Reed Accountancy & Reed Finance Salary and Benefits Guide – which polled over 200,000 jobseekers and 40,000 employers in a wide range of sectors across the UK.

With 59% of employers optimistic about improving trading conditions and 71% of individuals saying they intend to look for a new finance job in 2010, retention of key finance staff will be a challenge across the public sector, private sector and also within accountancy firms this year.

Despite last year’s much-publicised pay cuts and pay freezes, the majority of finance professionals reported receiving slight pay increases (1.5 to 2.5% on average). Pay rates in the public sector rose by the most (between 2.5 and 3%). The recession created increased demand for more specialist finance roles – in particular within audit, recovery, restructuring and change management.

2010 – A year of change

Even though 43% of individuals said they felt secure within their current position, with growing levels of confidence there is likely to be a rise in the movement of finance professionals between organisations throughout 2010. The survey uncovered notable discrepancies between the perceptions of employers and employees: 71% of employers said they believed their employees were loyal to their organisation. Meanwhile, while only 25% of employees felt that they are rewarded adequately in their current role – suggesting that pay rates will become an increasingly important factor in a ‘war for talent retention’ in the coming year. Financial analysis, financial risk management and compliance will continue to be key skills in demand during 2010, while aspiring jobseekers will be attracted to perceived fast-growth sectors such as energy (from nuclear to renewables), digital technology and online media.

Reed Finance Director Tim Vye commented: “With the UK emerging steadily out of recession and a general election before the summer, 2010 may be an uncertain year for some employers. However, recruiting and retaining the best finance talent will be a priority as the job market moves away from being employer-driven. “2010 will also mean fresh changes for finance professionals in all market sectors. 64% of respondents in our survey said the role of the accountant has changed significantly over recent years, with a far greater need for people skills, strategic thinking and commercial acumen.”

Recruitment within Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) has shown encouraging increases recently. Many employers are increasingly looking for finance professionals with ‘future boardroom potential’.

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Joslin Rowe Reveals Annual Scottish Financial Services Prospect Survey Results

Joslin Rowe has revealed the results of its annual survey covering employment prospects for the financial services sector in Scotland. These latest figures show that more than half (52%) of Scotland’s financial service firms which responded to the labour market survey intended to increase their headcount in 2010 by up to 10%.

The 68 financial institutions, employing over 17,000 people in Scotland between them, contributed to research during November & December 2009, designed to gauge perceptions amongst some of the most influential employers in the sector. The majority of firms (73%) described their company’s overall level of business confidence for 2010 as ‘optimistic’ or ‘very optimistic’ whilst 24% had neutral feelings about the future. Importantly, just 3% were pessimistic (compared with 19% pre-credit crunch).

The annual study, which has run since the Millennium, was conducted by Joslin Rowe Scotland, the financial services recruitment specialist and supported by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Financial Enterprise.

Margaret Dyer, director, Joslin Rowe Scotland pointed out: “As recruiters for the financial services sector, we received a first hand insight into the fall out that followed first the credit crunch, and then the official recession. At one point, as our research reveals, job volumes in Scotland’s financial services sector were an incredible 93% down on 2008 levels*. Whilst there’s no doubt that there are now far more job opportunities in the market as we head into 2010, job seeker movement amongst talented professionals remains muted. People are adopting a ‘better the devil you know’ career plan through fear of a double dip recession. The recession hangover means even firms with strong employer brands are struggling to entice the best recruits from their competitors.”

Jim Watson, senior director, Financial Services, Scottish Enterprise said: “Regardless of the short-term impacts of the current economic conditions, the industry requires a dynamic and skilled workforce that can support the transition currently taking place within the industry and ensure Scotland is well placed to capitalise on new opportunities when they emerge. The newly formed financial services Skills Gateway is an excellent example of the type of initiative that we all need to support if we are to develop this highly skilled workforce for the future. This type of collaborative approach is vital if we are to ensure Scotland can retain its international stature as one of the leading financial services locations in the world.”

Via EPR Network
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