Connecting Africa’s Skilled Professionals
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Research from business software provider Sage UK suggests entrepreneurship is on the rise in Britain, with one in four people wishing to start a business. The YouGov study of over 3,000 participants found that new businesses in the North East could be set to grow the most, with 11% from this region planning to start up, compared to 9% in London. Doing something they are passionate about full-time was the most popular incentive for people from the North East to start a business, with 38% of participants giving this as their key motivation. The study, which was conducted as part of Sage's plans to support prospective entrepreneurs, provides a positive image of British entrepreneurship.
More than a third of young people have not received a response to any of their job applications in the past year, according to new figures from the Prince's Trust. Three in five 16 to 30-year-olds described looking for work as "demoralising", and 22 per cent felt that finding a job in the next year would be "unachievable". Almost three-quarters of the young jobless people surveyed for the Prince's Trust and Royal Bank of Scotland report felt that finding work was harder than ever, while 31 per cent did not believe they would secure employment within six months. The YouGov research was based on interviews with 2,000 16 to 30-year-olds, including 250 respondents who were not in employment, education or training and 200 who were self-employed. In general, the self-employed people in the sample were more optimistic about their future than those who were unemployed, the report found. The majority (55 per cent) of the self-employed category said that they were more positive about their career prospects now than they were at the same point a year ago. Half said that starting their own business was the best decision they had ever made and would recommend it. Of the unemployed group, one in three reported that they had considered starting their own business as a route to employment.
The SABLE Accelerator, a global network driven by South African expatriates, has been launched in California's Silicon Valley to help boost the country's competitiveness and realise a better return on its innovation and entrepreneurship, in both the public and private sectors. The SABLE (South African Business Link to Experts) Accelerator, launched in association with a number of prominent South African private and public sector partners, was formed by three South Africans living in Silicon Valley and London: Donovan Neale-May, Werner Mansfeld and Kurt Pakendorf. It features a consulting team of South African expatriates holding senior positions at international technology, life science and agri-business companies; consulting and professional service firms; venture capital and private equity funds; as well as research and academic institutions, including the new venture spawning ground of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The international group is dedicated to helping South African entrepreneurs, new venture start-ups, academic institutions and companies commercialise technology innovations, promote and protect intellectual property, fund new business concepts, finance growth, as well as expand into global markets. A big part of the SABLE value proposition is the formation of an elite online community of expert Global South Africans (GSA) who possess knowledge, expertise, influence and access abroad. South African-based "innovators" will also be able to register and post information about their intellectual property or new business models on www.sablenetwork.com with the aim of furthering links to experts and sources of funding and business development support worldwide. They will also be able to search for compatible and relevant global experts to help them take their IP or business models to market, as well as provide advice, coaching, mentoring and introductions. The SABLE Accelerator aims to further South Africa's economic interests through global knowledge transfer and the growth of a trusted expert network of expatriate South Africans willing to contribute back to their country of birth through coaching, mentoring, consulting, advising, teaching, training, funding or donating.
Canada needs to double the number of foreign students it attracts over the next decade if the country is to stay economically competitive, according to a recent governmental study, the New York Times reports. The study, carried out by the Advisory Panel on Canada's International Education Strategy and led by Amit Chakma, president of the University of Western Ontario, sets a target of attracting more than 450,000 full-time international students into post-secondary institutions by 2022. Canada is already a popular destination country for international students, who numbered 239,131 last year. Thanks to government incentives and a sturdy job market, many international students immigrate after they have completed their Canadian degrees. The report also recommends funding to send more Canadian students abroad. The authors would like to see 50,000 Canadians a year temporarily abroad by 2012.
The aim of this annual award scheme is to recognise and reward the creativity, innovation and commitment of an organisation or company in developing high-quality and effective educational information and communications technology (ICT) resources. The BETT Awards have become a benchmark by which standards in educational ICT product development are judged. Winners receive a BETT Awards trophy; a BETT Awards winning logo to use for marketing purposes; are promoted at the BETT show; and celebrated at the BETT Awards ceremony in January 2013. Any organisation or company in the UK that designs and supplies computer hardware and software in the realm of ICT for education is eligible to enter the Awards. The entry deadline for the 2013 BETT Awards is Friday 5 October 2012. www.bettawards.com
StartUp Britain worked with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to launch StartUp Loans, a new £82.5 million student-loan style initiative for young entrepreneurs in England who are planning to start a new business. Based on the current student loan system, the scheme will enable young people who choose not to go to university to access low interest loans to help them start up a company. Young entrepreneurs taking part in the initiative will be awarded a small amount of capital to help them get started. Loans of up to £2,500 per individual are available. In addition to the loan, applicants will receive business support and mentoring and a free copy of the StartUp Loans Kit, which offers guidance on starting a business, together with more than £500 worth of offers on products, from business cards to websites, netbooks and work suits. The scheme is open to 18-24 years-olds who are planning to start up a business enterprise in England. Applicants will need a 'viable' business idea in order to qualify for support. Applications may be submitted at any time. It is anticipated that the first awards under the initiative will be made in September 2012. Click here to visit the Business in You website for further information
The 2013 MCA Awards will recognise both the most successful consultant/client projects, and the most outstanding individual consultants and winners receive industry recognition. Applications are invited from UK consultancy organisations from the private and public sector. Participating organisations must employ a significant number of full-time consultants, and have been in practice for a minimum of three years. The 2012 deadline for the 2013 awards is 2 November 2012. Click here for more information.
Figures released by the British government have revealed that in 2011 a quarter of all babies born in NHS hospitals (184,000) had a foreign-born mother. Of those births, 11% were to South Africans, putting South Africa in the top 10 most common origin countries for immigrant mothers, according to the UK Daily Mail. Topping the list is Poland with 20,500 births, followed by Pakistan with 18,438 and India with 14,892, while SA comes in at number 8 with 4,430. The other countries in the top 10 are Nigeria (7,476), Somalia (5,654), Germany (5,108), Lithuania (3,788) and China (3,611). When taking into consideration the total number of births in the UK, this means approximately 2.5% South Africans
Firms with at least one woman on their board outperform rivals with no women at the top table, new research by Credit Suisse has found. Overall, blue-chip organisations with at least one woman on the board have outperformed rivals without women at the top table by 26% over the last six years. Those with female directors outperform on share price, show a greater return on equity and tend to have less debt. Companies with women returned on average equity of 16% over the last six years, compared to 12% for those without. It was discovered that having women in the boardroom helps to boost company performance. The difference made by women has been especially notable during the financial crisis, with stocks with women on the board surging ahead of others. Stefano Natella, co-head of securities research and analytics, says: "Greater gender diversity is a valuable additional metric to consider when evaluating investments. The results of our analysis are irrefutable and for the first time offer a global view of this topic."
Race for Opportunity (RfO) has launched a search for a Youth Advisory Panel to help to tackle youth unemployment amongst ethnic minorities. Over 125 top UK employers are seeking young people of Black, Asian and minority ethnicities (BAME) to advise on improving recruitment. These include Ernst & Young, Barclays Capital, EDF Energy, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, Shell UK and Transport for London. Unemployment levels are disproportionately higher amongst young BAME people than for young white people, with 31.4% of those from minority backgrounds unemployed, compared to just 21.1% of white youths. RfO, the race equality campaign from Business in the Community, is one of the Prince's Charities and is working with top employers to form an advisory board. The board will be formed of 12 young people and will sit for one year, commencing in October 2012. Each successful panel member will receive direct mentoring support from business leaders and a guaranteed paid work experience placement with an RfO employer. Other partners include Nationwide Building society, Northern trust and Pertemps Recruitment.
The ethnic pay gap in Britain has widened over the past two decades in favour of white workers, new academic research has found. However, this is likely to be the result of occupational differences rather than direct pay discrimination, according to researchers Malcolm Brynin and Ayse Güveli from the University of Essex. The pair's study was based on the examination of data from the Labour Force Survey from 1993 to 2008, and looked at both the general pay gap across Britain and disparity within the professions. The research also highlighted contrasting results across different ethnicities. For example, in the four years to 2008 black Caribbean workers earned an average of £8.40 per hour – 30 pence more than white workers. This represented a reversal of the trend recorded in the four-year period from 1993 to 1997. Addressing unconscious bias within the recruitment process, having more ethnic minority role models in certain occupations, and encouraging universities to highlight different career options were all proactive steps that could help address the balance were suggestions by the researchers to counter the trend. The issue of unconscious bias is also gaining greater prominence, not just within the diversity and inclusion community but organisations as a whole. The findings of this latest study suggest that by ensuring a more diverse workforce, recruiters could play a vital role in addressing the country's ethnic pay gap.
The FTSE 100 multinational consumer goods company aims to ensure that 55% of its senior management team are female by 2015, according to reports. Forbes has reported the plans, revealing Unilever's recognition of the importance of women to its bottom line. On its company website, Unilever says that women make up more that 75% of its consumer base and 50% of the talent pool they can draw on worldwide. Currently more than 50% of Unilever's graduate recruits are women. "In principle, the pipeline is being filled, but our task is to ensure many more reach the top levels," Unilever says. The organisation has already seen improvements in the number of women reaching senior positions. The proportion increased from 23% in 2007 to 28% in 2011. Unilever's annual Pulse survey of managers' views of the company, suggests that approval of the organisation's diversity and inclusion measures rose by four per cent to reach 83%. But although 30% of Unilever's Non-Executive Directors are women, there is only one woman on the Unilever Leadership Executive.
Despite market uncertainty, retaining employees remains a key concern for UK CFOs and finance directors, according to new research by recruitment specialist, Robert Half. In a survey of 200 CFOs and finance directors (FDs) across the UK, two thirds (66%) said they were very or somewhat concerned about losing top performers to other job opportunities in the next year.Publicly listed companies are the most concerned about staff resignations (73%), which is closely followed by 64% in the private sector, with the public sector least concerned at 60%. Large company executives are also worried (74%), compared to medium (64%) and small (63%) companies. More than one in three finance leaders (36%) believe that between nine per cent and 20% of their new finance and accounting employees leave the company within the first year. This is in contrast with the expectation that new employees will stay with their firm for an average of four years.
The UK's Channel 4 is aiming to find fresh talent with the launch of its new website. Channel 4's new 4Talent site has gone live, incorporating 4Talent, People Development and 4Jobs. Research undertaken across 4Talent discovered that younger users would engage more positively with a simplified and visually stimulating site, with emphasis on a less text heavy presence. It is hoped that the site will help to encourage top talent to apply for roles. The site was created by Tokyo Digital, the UK digital agency. It will act as a platform for films produced by 4Crew, which consists of five young creatives successful in 4Talent's latest talent initiative, and 4Talent Days. 4Talent is a nationwide scheme run by Channel 4 which aims to support those seeking a career in the media industry. The website offers employment advice, inspiration and master classes, as well as work experience. A number of schemes are available for those interested in the media industry to gain experience in the sector, and possibly employment. These include apprenticeships, internships, the Production Trainee Scheme, Investigative Journalism Scheme and the Graduate Programme.
IBM has opened a new research facility in Kenya, its first in Africa. The Nairobi laboratory will conduct research into opportunities and challenges specific to the continent, the company said. The lab's focus will include work on developing tools and standards for the public sector, including e-government and data management; urban management, particularly in the water and transportation sector; and human capacity development, working with African universities to improve the level of technical skills on the continent. The company plans to work closely with leading African scientists and engineers from academia, government and industry to address some of their most pressing challenges and greatest opportunities. IBM has had a presence in Africa for more than 60 years.
Standard Bank's African businesses propelled it to a nine per cent rise in its first half profit, despite continuing doubts over the global economic recovery. The company, which is 20 per cent owned by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), has pursued a strategy of aggressively expanding throughout the continent, chasing improvements in the macroeconomic environment in many countries and increased international appetite for investments into Africa. The company's transactional banking and global markets suffered from the weak external environment, but declines in developed markets were more than offset by performance in Africa, the company said. Increased activity in key markets, including Mozambique and Kenya, saw the investment banking unit on the continent increase its revenues. However, the company warned that with the ongoing crisis in the eurozone, it was likely that the second half could be more difficult.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into sub-Saharan Africa jumped by 25% in 2011, according to the 2012 World Investment Report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad). The report shows that FDI inflows to sub-Saharan Africa soared from US$29.5-billion in 2010 to $36.9-billion in 2011, a level comparable to the peak of $37.3-billion achieved in 2008, prior to the onset of the global financial crisis. FDI to South Africa rebounded from $1.23-billion in 2010 to $5.81-billion, making South Africa the second-biggest FDI destination on the continent in 2011 after Nigeria, which received $8.92-billion in FDI. Ghana ($3.22-billion), Congo ($2.93-billion), and Algeria ($2.57-billion) completed the top five African FDI destinations by Unctad's reckoning, underscoring the dominance of oil- or gas-producing countries - South Africa being the sole exception. Another significant African oil producer, Angola, also received major investment inflows, according to Unctad, "but divestment and repatriated profits by transnational corporations rendered net inflows negative". Continuing rises in commodity prices and a relatively positive economic outlook for sub-Saharan Africa were among the factors contributing to the turnaround, the annual survey found. For Africa as a whole, total FDI inflows declined. However, this was due to a drop in FDI to North Africa, with inflows to traditional strong performers Egypt and Libya coming to a halt as result of protracted political and social instability in those countries. Overall, the continent's FDI prospects for 2012 were promising, Unctad said, "as strong economic growth, ongoing economic reforms and high commodity prices have improved investor perceptions of the continent." Unctad's figures show that South Africa's FDI inflows for 2011 accounted for 13.6% of Africa's total, while amounting to 31.8% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 - up from 9.9% in 1995.
Emerging markets private equity firm Actis has sold its stake in Banque Commerciale du Rwanda (BCR) to Kenyan I&M Bank Limited, and French and German development finance institutions Proparco and DEG. Actis acquired an 80% interest in BCR in the 2004 privatisation, with the remaining 20% interest retained by the Government of Rwanda. Since 2004, Rwanda has made great progress from its weak, post-conflict economy. According to Actis, it remains strongly committed to East Africa with over USD300m currently invested in the region and an intention to put at least USD200m to work over the next four years. Current Actis investments in East Africa include Ugandan electricity distributor, Umeme, and bank, DFCU; Kenyan power generator, Tsavo, as well as a suite of real estate investments including Nairobi Business Park, and Capital Properties in Dar es Salaam.
Emerging markets private equity firm Actis has sold its 85% shareholding in Accra Mall to South African property development firm Atterbury and financial services group Sanlam. Actis had managed the project's development process and, in addition to investing equity, also raised debt financing. Accra Mall reflects the potential in real estate development, driven by an emerging middle class and consumer class: Opened in July 2008 fully let, the mall now attracts 135,000 visitors every week. Actis are investors in two other real estate ventures in Ghana, a mixed use development in the Airport Area and One Airport Square. Since 2004, the company has developed ten institutional quality assets in seven countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and plans to develop real estate projects worth USD500m across the continent over the next three years.
ANGLO-SOUTH African insurance giant Old Mutual has posted a solid 12 per cent rise in its first half profit and said that it intends to chase growth through further expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. A 27 per cent rise in profit at its South African banking unit, Nedbank, helped to drive its strong results. The company hopes to expand into Nigeria, Africa's most populous market, and in February tabled a bid for Oceanic Life, one of the country's leading life insurers. Old Mutual is also considering a move into the non-life market in the country, it said in a press release. Faced with slow growth in its developed markets and increased regulatory scrutiny in the UK, Old Mutual has seen the benefit of moving into African markets, which on aggregate will grow by around 5 per cent and are seeing a rapid expansion in a middle class which is demanding financial services and health insurance.
South Africa's state-led infrastructure drive will be crucial in realising the country's target of creating five-million new jobs by 2020 by improving the competitiveness of core industries while opening up new opportunities for them, says Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe. Motlanthe singled out the newly adopted National Infrastructure Plan as key to stimulating employment creation by improving the competitiveness of core industries while opening up new opportunities for them. He said this would primarily be done through the Durban/Free State/Gauteng corridor and the opening up of the Northern Mining Belt, as well as securing the country's energy supply and upgrading the ports. Major investments would also go towards increasing the access of historically deprived regions to the core economy through improved roads, rail and communications, as well as enhancing productivity through investments in household and economic infrastructure and in social capital. The Deputy President said job creation was heavily pinned on construction projects for the infrastructure build programme and said the government had also initiated major programmes to support key economic sectors in the country.
The world's biggest spirits group, Diageo Plc, increased its payout to shareholders, confident that buoyant demand for whisky and spirits in Asia and Africa would help it hit medium-term targets. The company is raising its full-year dividend by 8 percent to 43.5 pence per share, after an increase in sales and profit driven by emerging and fast-growing markets in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The UK-based company has a dividend yield, a measure of the return investors get on the stock, of 2.9 percent for the 2011/12 financial year, according to Thomson Reuters Starmine. Diageo, which in 2011 set medium-term financial targets for 6 percent annual sales growth, posted an 8 percent rise in reported net sales in the year to the end of June, with an outperformance by emerging markets where sales jumped 15 percent. Earnings rose 13 percent to 94.2 pence a share, beating a company-compiled consensus forecast of 92.6 pence. Diageo, which also sells Captain Morgan rum and Guinness beer, expects half its turnover to come from Asian, African and Latin American markets by 2015 compared with nearly 40 percent in this financial year. The company plans to invest over 1 billion pounds in the drink over the next five years to meet growing demand from emerging markets.
The Nigerian government has announced some of the executives who will lead its new sovereign wealth fund as it attempts to drive through enormous reforms to its petroleum sector and wider economy. Uche Orji, a former managing director at Morgan Stanley, has been appointed as the fund's CEO, while the board includes Ecobank CEO Arnold Ekpe. The sovereign wealth fund – which remains politically contentious has yet to be fully approved by Nigeria's powerful state governors – is an attempt by the current government to better manage the country's oil billions and invest for longer term economic benefit. The current fund – the Excess Crude Account – is largely depleted, with the money having been spent on expensive subsidies for the import of refined petroleum products. Despite being the largest exporter of crude oil in sub-Saharan Africa, Nigeria imports most of its refined products, with a huge amount spent on subsidising the diesel that powers many of the country's businesses. The sovereign wealth fund, which will have a far longer term mandate, is an attempt to escape the cycle of over-spending by the Nigerian government and to use the hydrocarbon revenues to build infrastructure and other public goods.
October marks the 20th anniversary of the end of Mozambique's 15-year civil war. After two decades of reconstruction, the country has rebuilt and emerged to become one of Southern Africa's most significant investment destinations. Its strategic location on the east coast of the continent, with direct shipping routes to industrialised markets in Asia, have hugely increased the attractiveness of its coal resources and its newfound gas deposits. Since 2001, the country's gross domestic product has grown by more than 5 per cent every year, averaging 7 per cent over the past half-decade. Investments by major international mining and minerals groups, such as Brazil's Vale, has seen the beginning of improvements in transport infrastructure, as companies commit to improve the links between mining areas and the sea, and rebuild the terminals themselves.In late 2011, Vale announced that it would invest around $6 billion in increasing production at its Moatize coal mine, including a $4.4 billion project to construct a coal terminal at the port of Nacala, and a 900km railway line connecting the port to the mine. Earlier that year, after a long battle, Rio Tinto paid close to $4 billion for Riversdale Mining, a major producer of coking coal, an ingredient of steelmaking, with a portfolio of assets in the country. In July, Anglo American agreed to pay around $555 million for a majority stake in the Revuboè metallurgical coal project in Moazite, in the north west of the country. According to the rating agency Fitch, Mozambique's economy appears set for a further period of robust growth, supported by new coal mines. Production began at the end of 2011 and could eventually see Mozambique becoming one of Africa's largest coal producers. The expansion of the mining industry will not only provide an important new source of government revenue, but will also help diversify the export base and attract significant foreign direct investment.
South African President Jacob Zuma and Botswana President Ian Khama have signed an agreement establishing a bi-national commission, which will be convened annually. The commission will meet annually, alternating between Gaborone and Pretoria, and be chaired by both presidents. Zuma and Khama have also signed cooperation agreements on energy and coal-based energy projects, and discussed the development of the Mmamabula coal-fired power station and the need to expedite cross-border transport and infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges. Strong economic ties already exist between the two countries, and South Africa remains Botswana's major trading partner. South African companies have a huge presence in Botswana and are involved in various sectors, including mining, housing, food and beverages, construction, retail, hotels and leisure, banking and medical services.
Bilateral trade between South Africa and its BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India and China) partners grew substantially last year, powered by significant increases in trade and exports, according to Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies. Davies said bilateral trade between South Africa and China last year grew by 32%, trade with India by 25%, and trade with Brazil by 20%. Bilateral trade between South Africa and Russia also recovered in 2011, after a decline of 44% in 2010, but is still below the R4.2-billion in bilateral trade recorded between the two countries in 2008. Bilateral trade with China last year totaled R188-billion, with India R55-billion, with Brazil R18-billion, and with Russia R3.8-billion. The recovery in bilateral trade between South Africa and its BRICS partners follows increases in trade in 2010, after declining during the global economic crisis in 2008 and 2009. South African exports to China grew the most - at 46% - while exports to India grew by 20%, to Brazil by 14%, and to Russia by 7%. Davies said SA exports to China have grown rapidly after increases of 20% in 2010 and 42% in 2009. In terms of balance of trade, South Africa has run a trade surplus with Russia in the last two years of R1.3-billion and R1-billion respectively, after running trade deficits in 2008 and 2009. While South Africa has continued to run a trade deficit with China over the last four years, that deficit has narrowed by over 50%, from R48-billion in 2008 to less than R18-billion in 2011. South Africa's trade deficit with Brazil also narrowed last year, to R6.1-billion - almost R2.5-billion less than the deficit recorded in 2008. However, after running trade surpluses with India of R2.5-billion in 2009 and R1.5- billion in 2010, South Africa last year recorded a trade deficit of R4.9-billion.
The number of South African adults at the lowest living standard fell from 11% in 2001 to 1% in 2011, according to recent research by the South African Institute of Race Relations. The number of people with the highest living standards also improved in the ten-year period, rising from 5% to 6%. These statistics are calculated by using Living Standard Measures (LSMs), a marketing tool introduced by the South African Advertising Research Foundation. The study groups people according to objective criteria, such as whether they are urbanised, own motor vehicles or major appliances, or having running water or a flush toilet in or outside the house. According to the research, the greatest proportion of adults - 14.3% - were classified as being in LSM 3 in 2001. In 2011 the proportion of people in LSM 3 had dropped to 6.1% and the greatest proportion of adults - 22.4% - were grouped in LSM 6.
Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa (FMCSA) has created 800 jobs in response to strong demand for increased production of its Ford Ranger pickup truck. Training of employees to fill the extra positions at the company's Silverton assembly plant in Pretoria and its Struandale engine plant outside Port Elizabeth began in June. This follows last year's R3.4-billion transformation and upgrade of Ford's South African manufacturing and assembly plants to produce and export its new Rangers to 148 countries, mainly in Africa and Europe. The Struandale plant expanded its annual production capacity to 75 000 engines and 220 000 engine component kits, and is the only Ford facility to share both component machining and engine assembly for the Duratorq TDCi diesel engine programme which supports the Ford Ranger. According to the company, in order to meet continued strong demand in South Africa and abroad, they are adding shifts to their operations, creating jobs and confirming their commitment to South Africa.
A new airline, Africa World Airlines, has its operations in Ghana. The airline, which will ply the domestic route including Kumasi and Tamale and the West Africa sub-region, will be powered by two Embraer jets.
Henley Business School SA is to launch the Centre for Advanced Studies in Real Estate in Africa (CASREA), which aims to provide the highest standards of postgraduate and executive education for the real estate, built environment and planning industries. According to Jon Foster-Pedley, Dean of Henley Business School SA, effective leadership is imperative in an industry that contributes more than 10% of global GDP, around 50% of the world's assets by value and 10% of the value of all pension and savings funds. The centre's chief purpose is the development of skills, knowledge and practices for commercially effective, environmentally aware and socially responsible development and management of real estate in Africa. Henley Business School SA is the African arm of Henley Business School UK, a global operation and division of the University of Reading UK. Henley UK is home to the School of Real Estate and Planning, which was established in 1968 and enjoys a worldwide reputation for excellence in both teaching and research. It has close links with a wide range of leading organisations in the industry worldwide. The CASREA's programmes and initiatives will incorporate government and commercial real estate use, as well as urban and rural land and property.
Africa is set to experience a huge "demographic dividend" across this decade, but faces huge challenges in creating sustainable, stable employment, according to a new landmark report from the consultancy McKinsey. The continent will add 122 million people to its labour force between 2010 and 2020, the report, "Africa at Work", said, while its dependency ratio – the ratio of young workers to the retired and children – will fall. However, the challenge of finding stable, wage-paying jobs, as opposed to the temporary or subsistence jobs that currently make up the majority – around 72 per cent – of the continent's employment, is a huge one. Africa has the potential to add between 54 and 72 million stable, wage-paying jobs, McKinsey said, with manufacturing, agriculture, retail and the hospitality sector making up the primary sectors of job creation. Only in the more diversified economies on the continent are the numbers of wage-paying jobs likely to grow faster than the new entrants to the labour force. Some sectors, in particular the natural resource industries, do not create jobs proportionally to their economic impact, the study said. The mining, oil and gas industries employ less than 1 per cent of Africa's workforce, but are major contributors to the continent's economies.
Leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria has clinched three industry Awards at the 8th Nigerian Telecoms Awards. The telecoms operator beat other competitors to emerge the Industry's Most Innovative Telecom Company of the Year, Telecom Brand of the year and Customer Friendly Operator of the year. According to the Awards' citations, Airtel emerged overall best in the three categories and in meeting the demands and needs of its stakeholders through superior brand experience, a rich portfolio of innovative products and services ranging from exciting voice solutions to inventive data packages and mobile broadband.
South Africa's top employers are unanimous in their open policy of employing women of child-bearing age in senior positions, a recent survey reveals. Unlike their global counterparts who, according to at least two recent international surveys, tend to show a reluctance to hire women who are or could fall pregnant, a local poll by a top SA headhunter found all the SA companies polled were not swayed by family matters. One international survey, conducted by UK executive search agency Hanson Search, found that nearly 10% of employers questioned had 'serious reservations about hiring women aged between 30-40 years old' because of a fear that they would at some point fall pregnant. Another survey, conducted by UK agency Business Environment specifically among female managers, found that a quarter of them were reluctant to hire a woman who has children or was of child-bearing age. The local survey, conducted among SA's top corporate employers by leading executive search firm Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters, stood in stark contrast. All of the respondents indicated unequivocally that a woman interviewing for a top job would be neither overtly nor covertly discriminated against for reasons of having or potentially starting a family. Debbie Goodman-Bhyat, MD of Jack Hammer Executive Headhunters, says although it would be prudent to consider that respondents had perhaps responded in what they perceived to be the politically correct way, the anonymity provided and the nature of the responses gave weight to the stated positions that top female execs of child-bearing age would be welcomed. But she warned that, although attitudes may be changing significantly, actual appointments continued to lag. "Most industry average ratios show a continuing male to female segmentation of 70% vs 30%. In some industry sectors this is even more heavily swayed to male domination. However it appears that perceptions may be shifting, and that this could soon start to effect a correlating change in gender representation in the C-Suite."
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