The first edition of a job and education fair, jointly organised by the Ministry of Financial Services and Good Governance and Mauritius Finance, was held on 2nd July 2022 at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower, in Ebène.
The objective was to enable students, graduates and job seekers to discover the wide range of professional opportunities offered by the financial sector. Some twenty employers from the financial services sector participated in the fair.
The event was launched by the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, Mr Mahen Kumar Seeruttun, who stated that the job fair aimed at providing the right platform for employers and potential recruits to meet. “It provides job seekers with the opportunity to obtain an interview and to enrol for upskilling programmes which will increase their employability chances,” he said.
Mr Seeruttun underlined that following the exit of Mauritius from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring and the European Union list of high-risk third countries, a real boost in the financial services sector was noted. According to him, it was the right time for Mauritius to leverage on this new image which had been built on the international front in terms of compliance with fiscal and anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regimes.
Furthermore, the Minister recalled the Blueprint for the financial services sector, issued in 2018 by McKinsey, which provided a 10-year roadmap to grow the sector by two-fold by 2030. “In order to ensure that the sector is sufficiently equipped to meet this growth target, the Ministry conducted a survey in April 2022 to assess the skill gap in the sector and to understand the need of the market in each area,” added Mr Seeruttun.
“The survey,” he said, “highlighted an immediate need for a minimum of 500 young people in the sector, and recruitment of up to 1,000 people in the longer term.” The Minister affirmed that the survey also identified skill gaps in 12 areas, with the top three being Trust and Foundation, AML/CFT and Compliance, Fund Administration and Fund Accounting. He pointed out that in order to address this immediate need in the sector and encourage employment locally, measures had been taken such as the recruitment campaign and contacting registered unemployed persons.
Moreover, Mr Seeruttun emphasised that the Job Fair was also in line with the Blueprint recommendations to retain and grow human capital. “Training institutions such as the Financial Services Institute Ltd and the Financial Services Commission offer short and targeted courses for upskilling in the 12 areas which have been highlighted by the survey,” stressed the Minister.
