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British recruitment company Reed is joining forces with local recruitment company People and Co., to open an office here, its first overseas.The move is part of what the company described as an "aggressive" international development strategy."Our...
British recruitment company Reed is joining forces with local recruitment company People and Co., to open an office here, its first overseas.
The move is part of what the company described as an "aggressive" international development strategy.
"Our strategy is to expand into rapidly growing economies where we can see potential," Reed chief executive James Reed explained.
"The world, in terms of job mobility, has become a much smaller place than it was even five years ago. I think the new generation is using the internet and travelling more than ours did, so they are much more willing to try something new. The extension of English as the language of business also makes it easier for people from English-speaking countries to get around."
This strategy means that by the end of the year, Reed will be represented in Qatar and perhaps Dubai, Poland, Bulgaria and Australia. Next year, it is eyeing Asia and the Pacific Rim, hoping to open offices in India and perhaps Japan.
Reed is using various models, opting for a franchise in Malta, using a local partnership.
"A franchise will allow us to tap into the existing network but bring in our own expertise and our internet database. Put together, it makes a potent combination," he said.
The priority in Malta will be to match Maltese candidates to Maltese vacancies but the real value will come from casting the net beyond our shores. "Malta is an exciting opportunity for us because I can see that the economy, with what is being planned, will grow beyond the availability of skills. So there will be a requirement to bring people in from other parts of the world.
"Of course, it works both ways. Maltese will be able to seek jobs elsewhere. Our website lists jobs everywhere and although the emphasis is currently on jobs the UK, this will obviously change," Mr Reed - whose wife is half-Maltese - said.
SmartCity also had a considerable bearing on Reed's decision as it believes the creation of 5,600 jobs will lead to demand for a wide range of imported skills.
The new venture comes at a time when the recruitment process is changing. People no longer seek jobs for life and the skills required mean that recruitment can no longer be done on a "who you know" basis.
"When you have a community - we see this even in cities in the UK - many appointments are handled at a personal level. But when you have to compete, it is important to get the best people available. They might be people you know but, then again, they might not," Mr Reed explained.
Recruitment can be a very time-consuming and complex sector and many large companies are actually outsourcing the service, known as recruitment process outsourcing.
"This is a real emerging trend. Very big customers like Vodafone in the UK use us to handle all their recruitment for some categories of staff. We also provide temporary staff for local authorities - through a model known as a managed agency - for a range of skills ranging from accountants to gardeners. We cooperate with other recruitment companies but as the lead company we have the contract," he said.
Are companies in Malta large enough to require this kind of service?
"Although large companies have so far been the ones to go for this model, I think small companies get even more value out of this. So we are interested in exploring this option.
"Our services go well beyond a job centre! On the permanent recruitment side, the more information we can give a client, the better their decision when they come to hire. So we do a lot of skills testing and psychometric analysis of our candidates.
"The same applies with our temporary placements. Most of the candidates will have been assessed and we will know a lot about them so we can fill vacancies very quickly."
Temping is still an immature market in Malta. Reed Malta CEO David Cutajar said that in this, the government is leading the way.
"We have offered the government temping services for up to two-year contracts. We remain the employers, with all the responsibilities and duties that this entails. So really, what they are doing is buying a service from us, instead of recruiting.
"It is a very immature market though, compared to the UK. There is a lot more potential - especially in the private sector.
"We have found it to be very beneficial for the candidates as it gives them valuable experience in different places and they often get on-the-job training in various skills, without the negative connotations associated with 'job-hopping'," he said.
There are two sides of the recruitment equation: the candidates and the employers. Reed Malta hopes to help job seekers become a bit more sophisticated in their search, rather than relying solely on published newspaper adverts.
"It does not matter how many vacancies we have listed; if we do not have any candidates, we cannot offer a service! So it is important that we do something about this.
"In the UK, a candidate would almost automatically register with a recruitment company whereas here people still tend to rely on newspaper adverts, just firing off a hundred CVs," Mr Cutajar said.
An agency has a number of advantages, in addition to the fact that the service is free.
"Reed will be aware of what jobs there are on the market and will put your name forward, help you prepare for the interview and give you information about the company that has the vacancy," Mr Reed said.
"It also does the work automatically. On the website, you can specify what sort of job you are looking for and when a suitable one comes in, it will alert you. So you have technology looking for you and the team looking for you, all while you get on with your life.
"In a tight labour market, where there is a shortage of skilled workers, people use the services more than ordinarily as they want to find out what opportunities there are. We also work with employers to make sure that they are offering the right remuneration package to attract the right level of skill."
In the meantime, having worked for over a decade to establish People and Co., Mr Cutajar admits it was hard to give up the name.
"We believe that there is a critical mass of events taking place in Malta at the moment. Three years after EU membership, we are seeing real changes in cross-border recruitment.
"With sectors like e-gaming and SmartCity, we realised that we need to expand the scope of our services. At the same time, the opportunity arose to work with Reed. It is a difficult decision in some ways because we spent all that time building up our own name but you have to look at the resources, experience and opportunities that a company like Reed brings with it. We hope the synergy will help us go forward," Mr Cutajar said.
What is Reed?
Reed has operated for over 45 years and has 3,000 staff in over 300 offices in the UK. It also offers specialist services such as Reed Accountancy, dedicated solely to professionals in this sector. Its expertise now covers a number of sectors from financial services to e-gaming and technology. Its clients range from SMEs to blue chip organisations. Reed also offers HR services such as training needs analysis, careers advisory services and psychometric testing.
• Over 2.5 million candidates are registered on its website, a record for a British job site. Candidates are screened and interviewed by a Reed consultant before being submitted for a vacancy.
• The new venture, to be called Reed Personnel Services Malta Co. Ltd, will be operating from Ta' Xbiex. It will help with the entire recruitment service from the copywriting of the advert to the interview, from mailshots to those on its database to headhunting.
• The Reed franchise will be operated by Reed Personnel Services Malta, which is owned 50/50 by People and Co, and W.J. Parnis England and Co. People and Co was set up in 1994, when it received a grant from the Youth Enterprise Board.
• The British company also provides training and education services and may consider bringing these to Malta once the recruitment business is established.
http://www.reedjobs.com.mt
The move is part of what the company described as an "aggressive" international development strategy.
"Our strategy is to expand into rapidly growing economies where we can see potential," Reed chief executive James Reed explained.
"The world, in terms of job mobility, has become a much smaller place than it was even five years ago. I think the new generation is using the internet and travelling more than ours did, so they are much more willing to try something new. The extension of English as the language of business also makes it easier for people from English-speaking countries to get around."
This strategy means that by the end of the year, Reed will be represented in Qatar and perhaps Dubai, Poland, Bulgaria and Australia. Next year, it is eyeing Asia and the Pacific Rim, hoping to open offices in India and perhaps Japan.
Reed is using various models, opting for a franchise in Malta, using a local partnership.
"A franchise will allow us to tap into the existing network but bring in our own expertise and our internet database. Put together, it makes a potent combination," he said.
The priority in Malta will be to match Maltese candidates to Maltese vacancies but the real value will come from casting the net beyond our shores. "Malta is an exciting opportunity for us because I can see that the economy, with what is being planned, will grow beyond the availability of skills. So there will be a requirement to bring people in from other parts of the world.
"Of course, it works both ways. Maltese will be able to seek jobs elsewhere. Our website lists jobs everywhere and although the emphasis is currently on jobs the UK, this will obviously change," Mr Reed - whose wife is half-Maltese - said.
SmartCity also had a considerable bearing on Reed's decision as it believes the creation of 5,600 jobs will lead to demand for a wide range of imported skills.
The new venture comes at a time when the recruitment process is changing. People no longer seek jobs for life and the skills required mean that recruitment can no longer be done on a "who you know" basis.
"When you have a community - we see this even in cities in the UK - many appointments are handled at a personal level. But when you have to compete, it is important to get the best people available. They might be people you know but, then again, they might not," Mr Reed explained.
Recruitment can be a very time-consuming and complex sector and many large companies are actually outsourcing the service, known as recruitment process outsourcing.
"This is a real emerging trend. Very big customers like Vodafone in the UK use us to handle all their recruitment for some categories of staff. We also provide temporary staff for local authorities - through a model known as a managed agency - for a range of skills ranging from accountants to gardeners. We cooperate with other recruitment companies but as the lead company we have the contract," he said.
Are companies in Malta large enough to require this kind of service?
"Although large companies have so far been the ones to go for this model, I think small companies get even more value out of this. So we are interested in exploring this option.
"Our services go well beyond a job centre! On the permanent recruitment side, the more information we can give a client, the better their decision when they come to hire. So we do a lot of skills testing and psychometric analysis of our candidates.
"The same applies with our temporary placements. Most of the candidates will have been assessed and we will know a lot about them so we can fill vacancies very quickly."
Temping is still an immature market in Malta. Reed Malta CEO David Cutajar said that in this, the government is leading the way.
"We have offered the government temping services for up to two-year contracts. We remain the employers, with all the responsibilities and duties that this entails. So really, what they are doing is buying a service from us, instead of recruiting.
"It is a very immature market though, compared to the UK. There is a lot more potential - especially in the private sector.
"We have found it to be very beneficial for the candidates as it gives them valuable experience in different places and they often get on-the-job training in various skills, without the negative connotations associated with 'job-hopping'," he said.
There are two sides of the recruitment equation: the candidates and the employers. Reed Malta hopes to help job seekers become a bit more sophisticated in their search, rather than relying solely on published newspaper adverts.
"It does not matter how many vacancies we have listed; if we do not have any candidates, we cannot offer a service! So it is important that we do something about this.
"In the UK, a candidate would almost automatically register with a recruitment company whereas here people still tend to rely on newspaper adverts, just firing off a hundred CVs," Mr Cutajar said.
An agency has a number of advantages, in addition to the fact that the service is free.
"Reed will be aware of what jobs there are on the market and will put your name forward, help you prepare for the interview and give you information about the company that has the vacancy," Mr Reed said.
"It also does the work automatically. On the website, you can specify what sort of job you are looking for and when a suitable one comes in, it will alert you. So you have technology looking for you and the team looking for you, all while you get on with your life.
"In a tight labour market, where there is a shortage of skilled workers, people use the services more than ordinarily as they want to find out what opportunities there are. We also work with employers to make sure that they are offering the right remuneration package to attract the right level of skill."
In the meantime, having worked for over a decade to establish People and Co., Mr Cutajar admits it was hard to give up the name.
"We believe that there is a critical mass of events taking place in Malta at the moment. Three years after EU membership, we are seeing real changes in cross-border recruitment.
"With sectors like e-gaming and SmartCity, we realised that we need to expand the scope of our services. At the same time, the opportunity arose to work with Reed. It is a difficult decision in some ways because we spent all that time building up our own name but you have to look at the resources, experience and opportunities that a company like Reed brings with it. We hope the synergy will help us go forward," Mr Cutajar said.
What is Reed?
Reed has operated for over 45 years and has 3,000 staff in over 300 offices in the UK. It also offers specialist services such as Reed Accountancy, dedicated solely to professionals in this sector. Its expertise now covers a number of sectors from financial services to e-gaming and technology. Its clients range from SMEs to blue chip organisations. Reed also offers HR services such as training needs analysis, careers advisory services and psychometric testing.
• Over 2.5 million candidates are registered on its website, a record for a British job site. Candidates are screened and interviewed by a Reed consultant before being submitted for a vacancy.
• The new venture, to be called Reed Personnel Services Malta Co. Ltd, will be operating from Ta' Xbiex. It will help with the entire recruitment service from the copywriting of the advert to the interview, from mailshots to those on its database to headhunting.
• The Reed franchise will be operated by Reed Personnel Services Malta, which is owned 50/50 by People and Co, and W.J. Parnis England and Co. People and Co was set up in 1994, when it received a grant from the Youth Enterprise Board.
• The British company also provides training and education services and may consider bringing these to Malta once the recruitment business is established.
http://www.reedjobs.com.mt