Recruiter to set up specialist arm for €50,000-plus posts

ICT and finance specialist recruiter Castille Resources is to launch a new arm to focus on high level positions in the €50,000 to €150,000 salary bracket, director Matthew Camilleri told The Sunday Times.

Castille Executive, led by the company’s senior consultants, will offer a specialised, knowledge-driven and highly confidential service to top professionals tapping the job market where attractive and prestigious top-tier positions are becoming increasingly available.

“Many of Malta’s best professionals have until now considered themselves very lucky with the positions they have attained and several were wary of ­‘trialling’ the job market,” Mr Camilleri explained. “But senior technical professionals, top management and chief officer positions are increasing as more and more international business moves to Malta.

“The growth areas are mainly in financial services, eGaming, and ICT. They are mostly companies redomiciling from other jurisdictions and the majority seek experienced Maltese professionals.”

Mr Camilleri explained the best brains on the market were less likely to cling on to their ­current posts hoping to be poached – as traditionally happened in this segment – and were using recruitment firms as a career planning tool. Recruiters were able to share their knowledge of the job market, and highlight shortages and opportunities with professionals who were serving the final phases of their current contracts.

Castille Resources was established four years ago with a ­mission to “genuinely specialise” in ICT and financial skills ­opportunities. Castille Executive is the result of the company being increasingly entrusted with ­filling many high level positions mainly in banking and financial services over the past 12 months.

Mr Camilleri attributed Castille’s growing activity in this bracket to the reputation the company has earned on the market. Castille Resources, which has separate disciplines for ICT and finance skills, will continue to drive its specialisation towards junior and mid-tier positions. The senior consultants on each desk will run Castille Executive to focus on senior technical to ­executive level posts, including non-executive directorships and chairmanships.

Headhunting, however, was not an option. Castille policy is against approaching candidates in an unsolicited way in such a small market where the risk of conflict of interest was significant.

“We specialise in the skills, not in the sectors,” Mr Camilleri added. “Whereas by default our main client base sits in ICT and financial services, we also work with industrial companies, hospitality and gaming to fill ICT and finance posts at this level. We are able to speak top professionals’ language and guide them on the back of extensive market research. On the other side of the coin, we have won clients to an degree where we are often tasked with proposing a single candidate rather than a shortlist.”

Mr Camilleri emphasised international business preferred Maltese candidates as they were more suitable culturally, had the appropriate work ethic, and demonstrated particular loyalty.

Castille was filling a considerable number of these positions with Maltese professionals based in other European cities who were examining the possibility of returning to the island. Enquiries were streaming in from Maltese occupying high level management posts with major organisations or within specific sub ­sectors.

Remuneration offered in Malta for these posts has traditionally been less generous than that available in major cities, but the situation is changing rapidly.

“We are a little concerned as there is a lot of wage inflation in this bracket, especially in specialised skills,” Mr Camilleri pointed out. “The international companies which move to Malta are not sizable. A large company’s scales are governed by trade unions and hierarchies so it is difficult for salary bands to change radically. Smaller organisations have one post and are used to offering highly attractive salaries in Malta.

“They are seeking the right people and are willing to pay a premium of 20 or 30 per cent of local rates. When salaries in some areas climb so fast it is a danger because it makes the Malta jurisdiction less competitive. However, having said that, it is a very good time for young Maltese professionals and people with the most sought-after skills.”

Clients, he added, were, in the main, satisfied with the quality of Maltese candidates, although some tended to lack good presentation skills. They were still likely to outshine foreign candidates who had the necessary presentation knowledge but sometimes lacked substance.

Castille has over 10,000 people on its regional database, which included candidates with IT skills not readily available in Malta who hail from countries like Portugal, Spain and Italy, among other countries.

The company is currently working to tap the international market, particularly with multinationals based in North Africa, and is similarly seeking new opportunities in Europe.