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Economies hit hardest by the euro crisis can expect only modest salary rises in 2013, while wages will rocket in Europe’s emerging markets, according to new research. The research conducted by global management consultancy Hay Group revealed that average pay rises across the region are set to remain subdued in 2013 (3.3% compared to 5.5% in 2012) as European countries continue to feel the effects of the euro crisis. However, a closer look reveals a ‘two-speed’ trend in Europe. Across Western Europe, many developed countries will only marginally increase pay next year. Of those that plan to increase pay, nearly two thirds will fall below the European average. The research, based on the salary expectations of more than 20,000 reward specialists in 69 countries worldwide, indicates that wage growth in the UK will be subdued at three per cent – the same as Germany. France’s wage growth will stand at 2.5%. Yet in Europe’s emerging countries, pay will climb significantly next year, with fast growing economies such as Ukraine (ten per cent), Russia (nine per cent), and Turkey (eight per cent) bucking the trend with inflated pay increases.
Banks have announced nearly 160,000 job cuts since early last year, according to Reuters. The analysis of job cuts announced by 29 major banks revealed that there were more redundancies in Europe than in Asia or the US. Many employees will leave the sector for good as redundancies outpace new hires by around two-to-one. Many firms will announce further cuts as the industry restructures, and the number does not include reports of 6,000 job cuts to come at German group Commerzbank. In October, UBS announced that it would be cutting 64,000 jobs globally by 2015, with 10,000 jobs to go in the UK. This year’s tax income from the banking industry in the UK could drop to around £40 billion, compared to £70 billion in 2007/08, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) think-tank.
Net migration into the UK has dropped by a quarter, driven mainly by a reduction in the number of international students and workers, according to latest official figures. In the year up to March 2012, the number of people entering the UK minus the total leaving was 183,000, compared to 240,000 the previous year, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Overall, 536,000 people arrived to live in the UK in the year to March – fewer than the 578,000 who immigrated in the previous 12-month period and the lowest total since 2004. The data revealed that there were 296,000 non-EU immigrants to the UK, a fall from 317,000, while 73,000 immigrants were returning British citizens, down from 92,000 the previous year. ONS said that the reduction in immigration was “largely due to fewer people arriving to study” – a total which dropped from 232,000 to 213,000 – although study continued to be the most common reason stated for a move to the UK, with a rise in students from China and Pakistan. The number of people arriving for work reasons also dropped to 177,000 from 194,000. Government changes to the migration system over the past two years have included a cap on working visas for non-EU nationals. Net migration figure were also affected by an increase in emigration – up to 353,000 from 336,000. Of these people, 127,000 left the UK to pursue a definite job offer, higher than 108,000 people who did so the previous year. Half of the movers in this category were British.
City of London bonuses are set to fall to their lowest level in over a decade, according to new statistics from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). The research states that London’s bonus pool for 2013 will come in at £1.585bn, down 64% on the £4.402bn for 2012. This is also down 86% compared to the bonus peak of £11.38bn in 2008. The CEBR believes firms are slashing bonuses to avoid a public backlash about large payouts. London has fallen to third place in the financial league table for City jobs, behind New York and Hong Kong.
The pay of company chief executives has risen by 12% in the last financial year and trebled over the past decade, according to the High Pay Centre. The rise is more than four times that of other workers, and comes following the banking crisis, recession and public anger over executive bonuses and remuneration. The High Pay Centre said that despite the government promising action, shareholders are struggling to reduce excessive payments.
MITIE Group Plc has been recognised as one of the top ten organisations for ethnicity in the workplace. Organised by Race for Opportunity and Opportunity Now, the race and gender campaigns from Business in the Community (BITC), the awards commended MITIE for several initiatives. These include programmes around recruitment and career progression, workplace policies and practices. The strategic outsourcing and energy services company was also identified for its work in the community and CEO Ruby McGregor Smith’s involvement in a mentoring circle for black, Asian and minority ethnic women. The unranked lists are a result of the UK’s most comprehensive Benchmarking Survey into how firms are performing on race and gender equality and diversity in the workplace.
The glass ceiling continues to exist, with only six per cent of managing directors in the City of London being women. This is according to new research from Astbury Marsden of 1,200 employees, which also indicates that commodity trading and corporate stockbroking were among the least gender diverse sectors of financial services. Up to nine out of ten senior posts in those sectors are held by men. But the research found that some financial services businesses had a high proportion of senior female employees. Women workers generally worked shorter hours, due to childcare commitments. Over half (56%) of men in City jobs work more than 45 hours a week, compared to 41% of women. The findings follow recent research from the Chartered Management Institute, which suggests that the average female executive suffers a lifetime earnings gap of £423,390 when compared to a male worker with an identical career path.
Employees in the UK are missing out on the right training and guidance required for their role, according to new research. The study from business performance consultants Lane4 reveals that nearly nine in ten (86%) of British workers surveyed do not receive the training and guidance needed for their job. As a result, almost of a third (32%) of respondents are keeping an eye out for new job opportunities, suggesting that lack of instruction is causing job dissatisfaction. Workers in Northern Ireland suffer the most due to poor communication, with 45% of employees saying that they are not informed sufficiently about what is going on.
Diversity and inclusion is becoming increasingly important to UK employers but HR can still do more to emphasise the business case, advises new research from the CIPD and Bernard Hodes Group. Seven out of ten of the HR and diversity professionals surveyed said that diversity issues were discussed at board level in their organisation, while 64 per cent reported that senior directors either took overall responsibility for the strategy or acted as diversity champions. Of the 370 respondents canvassed for the report, ‘Diversity and inclusion – fringe or fundamental?’, 83 per cent confirmed that their organisation had an articulated strategy, written policy or set of guidelines relating to diversity and inclusion. But only 40 per cent stated that their organisation used key performance indicators to measure the strategy’s success – mainly through demographic data and employee survey results. The research also found that the scope of diversity strategies was far reaching, with bullying and harassment (87 per cent), interview and assessment (82 per cent) and candidate attraction (76 per cent) the most common areas covered. But few respondents reported that their organisation had launched or delivered diversity and inclusion projects around talent and career management (34 per cent) or reward and recognition (21 per cent).
EDF Energy has been awarded for its efforts in promoting a diverse and inclusive workforce culture at the Diversity Works for London Gold Standard. The company joins BT, the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and PwC as one of four organisations with the nationwide award. Over the past two years, EDF’s Diversity & Inclusion Team have worked with colleagues across the business to ensure the business has the correct practices and measures to promote equality, diversity and inclusion.
Those with high-level talent and reward responsibilities are most likely to see global mobility as just administrative. Strategic Minds, Deloitte’s latest annual survey of almost 200 HR, talent and global mobility professionals from companies around the world, has found that the perception of global mobility varies among those in HR business roles and those with the power to elevate it. The former believe that global mobility is a purely strategic function (42%), however those with the power to make it strategic see global mobility as purely administrative (42%). On average less than 30% are using mobility to completely address the top three strategies that are thought to be most supported by global mobility – emerging geographical markets (100%), increasing globalisation (99%) and increasing competition (98%). According to Rob Hodkinson, global mobility transformation practice leader at Deloitte, organisations clearly recognise the need for a global, mobile workforce to support their business strategies. However, despite a keen awareness of worldwide mobility issues, there seems to be little impetus to make the relevant improvements.
Female middle managers are experiencing a high level of frustration caused by a lack of opportunity and clarity of their career path, according to new research. The study from Everywoman, in conjunction with Alexander Mann Solutions, suggests that while 81% of female middle managers feel lack of progression is a problem, only 62% of HR leaders agreed. In addition, HR leaders believe 35% of female middle managers want to be promoted in the next two years. But 56% of female respondents said they wanted a promotion in that timeframe. The study also indicates that only 11% of female middle managers describe themselves as ‘extremely satisfied’ in their job. 43% of the female respondents felt they were likely to leave their current employer in the next two years. The Focus on the Pipeline: Engaging the full potential of female middle managers report gathered responses from 400 female middle managers and 200 senior HR leaders from SMEs and corporates across a range of sectors.
The professional services firm has been named as one of the UK’s most admired employers for its approach to Diversity & Inclusiveness. The report, released by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development (CIPD) and Bernard Hodes, was based on a survey of over 300 companies and analysed D&I practices across a range of industries. Survey respondents were asked to name organisations that they considered to be leading the field in this area. Ernst & Young topped the list, followed by BT, IBM, Barclays and Sodexho.
Only 57% of Generation Y workers in the UK intend to remain in their current role for two years, new global research suggests. The report by Ashridge Business School indicates managers’ concerns over retaining Generation Y workers. Frequent job changes and lack of life skills mean that managers are concerned that future leaders lack the experience to enable them to judge risk and make effective decisions. The study of 2,900 managers and graduates draws comparisons between Generation Y and managers in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, India, Malaysia and China. It reveals that Generation Y graduates are similar across the world, but it is the gulf between them and their managers that differs. There is often puzzlement on both sides, who view the world of work through different lenses. Although managers admire the intelligence and energy of young professionals, they dislike graduates’ pursuit of fame and recognition, self-focus, over-confidence and lack of teamwork and respect. A mismatch in expectations was evident as graduates’ highest expectations were responsibility, progression and challenging work where they can make changes. Meanwhile, managers expect graduates to have excellent skills, teamwork and adaptation to the organisation.
Nominations are now being accepted for the Wise Women Awards which recognises the achievements of Christian women from African and African-Caribbean communities, (but not exclusively), in the church and wider society. The public are invited to nominate Christian women who they feel are worthy of an award. A total of nine awards are open to public nomination in the following categories, business, overseas mission, music, media, leadership, youth, community, over 60s and life transformation. Nominations close on February 4, 2012 and the winners in each category will be decided by a panel of judges comprised of women from a wide range backgrounds and Christian traditions. The Wise Women Awards, is jointly organised by women's ministry Wisdom for Women International (W4WI) and Keep The Faith magazine. The Wise Women Awards is the brainchild of Pastor Marjorie Esomowei, founder of W4WI and co-pastor of Triumphant Church International (TCI) based in Tottenham, north London. She founded the awards in 2005 to pay tribute to the major yet unrecognised role women often play within the church, as well as in the wider society. For more information visit www.wisewomenawards.org
Cape Town was voted the favourite city worldwide from 17,000 readers of British news site the Telegraph, while South Africa was rated third favourite country worldwide in the 2012 Telegraph Travel Awards. The list of winners places Cape Town in top spot ahead of Vancouver and New York on Telegraph readers' list of best cities to visit. When it came to countries as tourist destinations, South Africa came third after New Zealand and the Maldives. Cape Town is no stranger to travel accolades. A frequent winner in the "Africa's Leading Destination" category of the World Travel Awards, Cape Town was displaced this year by the ancient medina of Marrakech in Morocco - but still took the vote as Africa's leading beach destination. Overall, South Africa enjoyed a big share of the spoils in the 2012 World Travel Awards for Africa, winning 32 awards out of a total 57 categories, including leading African airport, beach destination, family resort, city hotel, conference venue, safari lodge and spa resort. According to Statistics South Africa, total tourist arrivals to South Africa grew by 10.5% for the first six months of 2012, more than double the global average of 5% for the same period. The country experienced particularly strong growth in overseas tourist arrivals, recording 17.1% growth in arrivals from outside the African continent, with 1.16-million overseas travellers entering the country in the first six months of 2012, compared to 0.99-million for the corresponding period in 2011.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest-growing mobile market in the world and with transparent regulation and the necessary spectrum allocations, the mobile industry could fuel the growth of 14.9-million new jobs in the region between 2015 and 2020, according to a GSMA report. The GSMA, which represents mobile operators worldwide, on Tuesday released its "Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory" report, based on research from Deloitte and offering a comprehensive evaluation of the region's mobile industry and its socio-economic impact. According to the report, sub-Saharan Africa's mobile market has enjoyed a prodigious average annual growth rate of 44 percent since 2000, which has seen mobile connections surging to 475-million, compared to just 12.3-million fixed line connections, representing the highest proportion of mobile versus fixed line connections in the world. This growth has delivered huge economic benefits, the report states, directly contributing US$32-billion, or 4.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), to the sub-Saharan African economy. Approximately 3.5-million full-time jobs are attributed to the region's mobile industry, which has also spurred a wave of technology and content innovation, according to the report.
Michigan State University researchers will use a $7.8 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help eight African nations improve their sustainable farming methods. The grant, from the Gates Foundation Global Development Program, will be used to help guide policymaking efforts to intensify farming methods that meet agricultural needs while improving environmental quality in Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Ethiopia and Tanzania. During the next four years, the team will work with 10 African universities, institutes and government ministries to promote effective government strategies that help African farmers become more productive and food secure. The team also will build the capacity of national policy institutes to guide and support their own countries’ agriculture ministries and eventually accept and manage international grants. The grant builds upon MSU’s longstanding commitment to this region and stands as a tribute to the legacy of the MSU researchers who pioneered efforts such as these. In 2008, MSU used a $4 million Gates Foundation grant to analyze the region’s agricultural marketing and trade systems to provide guidance to governments in the region on strategies to raise agricultural productivity and create more efficient, sustainable markets for small farmers.
Ireland's Mainstream Renewable Power has announced that it is starting construction on solar and wind power projects in South Africa, in a €500-million (about R5.5-billion) investment under a government programme that has ushered in the country's first large-scale renewable energy projects. The Dublin-based company is one of 28 independent power producers that signed contracts with the South African government last week, in the first round of a programme that will see an initial 1 400 megawatts of renewable energy being added to South Africa's energy mix, while bringing an estimated R47-billion in new investment into the country. Mainstream Renewable Power and its partners will build a 138 MW wind farm in Jeffreys Bay in the Eastern Cape, and two 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) parks in the Northern Cape - one near De Aar and one at Droogfontein near Kimberley. All three projects are scheduled to be fully operational by mid-2014. According to Mainstream, the projects are expected to generate hundreds of jobs during construction and, once operational, the project revenues are expected to benefit local communities through socio-economic and enterprise development.
Research In Motion (RIM), the maker of BlackBerry smartphones and tablets, has announced the opening of its second BlackBerry apps lab in South Africa. The new lab is based in Cape Town and follows on the launch of the BlackBerry apps lab at the University of Pretoria in May 2012. According to RIM, the aim of the BlackBerry apps labs is to help accelerate mobile application development in South Africa, thereby creating new economic opportunities and jobs in the mobile space, and to support the larger context and objectives of the South African Department of Communications' eSkills Institute. The labs provide local developers, including students, start-ups, entrepreneurs and others with access to resources in development, marketing, sales and training to help them expand their ideas and business opportunities. RIM will work with developers at the Cape Town lab to create local and regionally relevant applications for BlackBerry smartphones and the BlackBerry PlayBook, as well as for devices running the upcoming BlackBerry 10 platform. The initiative is expected to help create locally relevant apps, new skills and job opportunities for graduates, and new revenue streams for developers. According to RIM, the BlackBerry apps labs form part of an Africa developer programme that includes facilities in Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt.
South Africa's Coega industrial development zone (IDZ) raked in R4.1-billion in new investments in 2011-12, exceeding its targeted number of new investors, the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) said in its annual report. The Coega IDZ is located adjacent South Africa's new deep-water Port of Ngqura, near Port Elizabeth, which falls under the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality. The CDC, tasked with attracting investors and tenants to the IDZ and the Nelson Mandela Bay Logistics Park, has signed 36 lease agreements with investors since its inception. The IDZ and logistics park had 21 operating investors as of 2011-12. The CDC's revenue totalled R579-million for 2011-12 (compared to R773-million in 2010-11), while total assets as of 31 March 2012 were R3.88-billion (R3.7-billion in 2010-11). 8,898 jobs have been created in the course of the financial year, made up of 7,258 jobs in provincial and IDZ construction activities, and 1,640 direct operational jobs in IDZ and logistics park investment projects. The CDC had also stimulated growth for small businesses in the Eastern Cape, which had benefited from a 31% overall share of the company's procurement.
Helios Investment Partners has purchased 29.4% of Eland Oil and Gas, a West- Africa focused oil and gas exploration company. The deal has been structured through the investor’s holding company, Helios Natural Resources. Helios’ capital injection has supported Eland’s listing on the London Stock Exchange. Eland raised £118 million on the initial public offering (IPO), giving the company an initial market value of £135 million. Eland had two rounds of pre-IPO financing which in total raised £105 million. Other investors in the company include Solstice International Investments, the vehicle of billionaire Alshair Fiyaz which acquired a 10.1% stake. UK-based asset manager, Artemis Investment Management owns 3.9%, while Richard Griffiths, a UK-based financier holds 10.1%. Headquartered in Aberdeen, Scotland, Eland is a West Africa-focused resources company, whose primary business is to identify and acquire interests in oil and gas assets. Created in 2010, the company’s initial focus is on Nigeria’s Niger Delta region where it plans to develop and bring acquired oil and gas assets into production.
Schulze Global Investments has received $15m from the CDC Group, for its Ethiopia-focused Schulze Global Ethiopia Growth and Transformation Fund I. The CDC Group is a cornerstone investor in the vehicle that is seeking $100milllion at final close. The fund becomes the first-ever global fund focused on Ethiopia, and is set to benefit from the country’s burgeoning economy. Ethiopia has the second largest population in Africa after Nigeria. The country has a total landmass of 1.14m square kilometres and a population of approximately 85 million people. Ethiopia also has the fastest growing non-energy-based economy on the continent, with an average annual real GDP growth of over 10% since 2006 years. Foreign direct investments (FDI) in Ethiopia have grown from just $0.17m in 1991 to $221m in 2009. The generalist fund will primarily target small and medium enterprises, making equity investments into a number of sectors, with particular interest in agro-processing, industrials and manufacturing. The fund will invest $1m to $10m per deal, with a strategy to target SMEs that have the potential to become industry leaders in Ethiopia. Schulze Global is an emerging markets private equity firm founded by Gabriel Schulze and the Schulze family.
According to a new report released by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/Aids (UNAids), South Africa has cut the rate of new HIV infections by 41% since 2001, with a drop of at least 50,000 in the last two years. The report found that these dramatic improvements were brought about by increasing domestic public investment in combating HIV/Aids to US$1.9-billion in 2011 – a five-fold increase since 2006. South Africa has scaled up its provision of state-sponsored antiretroviral therapy by 75% in the last two years, ensuring that 1.7-million people had access to the life-saving treatment. The country has slashed the number of Aids-related deaths by 100,000 since 2005 – showing that antiretroviral therapy has emerged as a powerful force for saving lives. The area where the country had made perhaps the most progress, according to the UNAids report, was in reducing new HIV infections in children, with the number of children newly infected with HIV falling by at least 40% between 2009 and 2011. UNAids also found that these improvements in HIV prevention and treatment were echoed across sub-Saharan Africa, the part of the world most affected by HIV. Since 2001, rates of new HIV infections have been cut by 73% in Malawi, 71% in Botswana, 68% in Namibia, 58% in Zambia, 50% in Zimbabwe and 41% in Swaziland. At the same time, sub-Saharan Africa has reduced its Aids-related deaths by one-third in the last six years and increased the number of people on antiretroviral treatment by 59% in the last two years alone. Impressive gains were also made in cutting deaths from tuberculosis in people living with HIV, the report found, with TB-related Aids deaths in sub-Saharan Africa falling by 28% in the last two years. The latest data from countries in sub-Saharan Africa and around the world “tell a story of clear success”, with record numbers of lives being saved in the past six years, and more than half a million fewer people dying from Aids-related illnesses in 2011 than six years earlier. A thousand days remain for the world to achieve its 2015 global Aids targets of reducing sexual transmission of HIV and new HIV infections among people who inject drugs by 50%, eliminating new HIV infections among children, providing antiretroviral treatment to 15-million people, and reducing TB-related Aids deaths by 50%. These targets form part of the UN Millennium Development Goals agreed upon by all UN member countries in 2000. To enable the targets to be reached, countries committed to investing up to $24-billion annually on combating HIV/Aids by 2015. The UNAids report shows that countries are increasing their Aids response investments despite a difficult economic climate, with the global gap in resources needed annually by 2015 now at 30% – $16.8-billion was available in 2011.
The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) has named the Gibela Rail Transportation consortium, led by French company Alstom, as the winner of a multi-billion rand contract to design, manufacture and supply new trains and wagons for the country's massive railways overhaul. Current Metrorail operations in Gauteng, Durban, Western Cape and Eastern Cape are serviced by 4,638 coaches, and approximately 90% of the rolling stock in operation dates back to the late 1950s. The programme is looking to acquire 7,224 electrical multiple units, with an estimated investment of R123-billion over a period of 20 years between 2015 and 2035. It has been divided into three components: 5,256 vehicles to meet existing rail passenger demand on the current network until 2020; 456 vehicles to satisfy growth in rail passenger demand on the existing network until 2030; and a further 1,512 vehicles to meet long-term rolling stock needs as part of future expansion. Of seven groups to submit bid responses, the Gibela consortium led by Alstom and including local engineering company Actom was selected as the preferred bidder. As the preferred bidder, Gibela will offer 3,600 vehicles delivered over a 10-year period from 2015 to 2025 at an expected cost of R51-billion; maintenance, spares supply and technical support over 18 years from 2015 to 2033; and 8,088 direct jobs created. Gibela will also spend R797-million on skills development initiatives, R746-million on enterprise development in the rail sector and R273-million on socio-economic development contributions. A target of local content of 69% by the second year of the project was also set, in addition to preferential procurement policies such as R32.8-billion to be spent on subcontracting to black empowered entities, R5.3-billion on subcontracting to qualifying small enterprises and exempted micro enterprises and R1.6-billion on entities owned by black women.
It has been reported that UK-based renewable energy company, Blue Energy, has announced that it is to build Africa's largest solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Ghana. The US$400mn, 155 MW Nzema project will be one of the biggest in the world and will reportedly be able to supply around 100,000 homes.
ENI has discovered new gas resources amounting to an additional 170 billion cubic meters, or 6 trillion cubic feet, of gas in Mozambique. The company said the discovery was made in Mamba South 2 and Coral 2 delineation wells. The full potential of the Mamba complex in Area 4 is estimated at 2,115 billion cubic meters or 75 trillion cubic feet, of gas in place, ENI said.
South Africa's black majority directly owns less than 10 percent of the Johannesburg stock market, a study showed. The JSE-commissioned study showed that black investors directly hold 9 percent of the bourse's top 100 companies, which represent nearly 90 percent of its $834 billion market capitalisation.
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