Australian financial services workers highly sought after for jobs in London

Reports Joslin Rowe

Londonís top banking, investment and insurance organisations are recruiting Australians in droves as the supply of skilled UK financial professionals struggles to keep pace with demand. Currently there are over 10 jobs to every 4 candidates, as the buoyant UK economy overtakes New York as the leading capital markets centre.

Nabila Sadiq, Managing Director of UK financial services recruitment firm, Joslin Rowe, says: ìThere is a massive shortage of skilled financial services workers in the UK. Australian workers are highly sought after for UK jobs on account of their good education, training and hard work ethic. Their qualifications are well-regarded and portable.î

One of the chief attractions of the UK is the earning potential - salaries for London banking jobs are far higher than Australia. A qualified CA / CPA financial accountant with up to two years experience can earn between $55k and $75k in Sydney or 48k to 55k in London ñ the equivalent of AU$118k and AU$135k. A product controller can earn up to AU$154k in Sydney or the equivalent of AU$370k in London. An accounts assistant earning between AU$40k and AU$45k in Melbourne can earn between AU$60k and AU$69 in London.

Joslin Rowe, which specialises in finding overseas candidates jobs in Londonís financial services sector, assisted 1,825 overseas candidates in 2004. This increased to 4,794 in 2005 ( 163%), then went up to 5,297 in 2006.

Nabila Sadiq said: ìThe picture has completely changed in the last couple of years. Last year, Joslin Rowe found more than 980 Australians a job in London and we donít see that trend slowing. For the UK, the problem is that most Australian professionals will eventually return to the lure of family, friends, a more relaxed lifestyle ñ and some sun ñ back home. The average length of stay for a well remunerated Australian in the UK is four years (an average which is brought down by the number of 2-year working holiday visas). Despite the fact Australian professionals are in demand in London, their international exposure makes them an even more valuable asset when they return home . The advantage for Australia is most professionals return after their ëtour of dutyí in the UK armed with valuable experience that can be beneficial for local companies in the battle for global market share.î