Le conflit au Moyen-Orient fait grimper les offres de rémunération sur le marché du bunker, alors que la volatilité des prix du pétrole élargit les marges, selon Vernon Jayanathan, directeur de Maritime Recruitment Company Ltd.

Dans un entretien accordé à Ship & Bunker, Jayanathan a expliqué que les sociétés de bunker qui bénéficient de la volatilité du marché augmentent leurs offres salariales, en particulier pour les négociants expérimentés.

"Salaries have increased mostly in Southeast Asia, where it's up by nearly 30%, and in Europe by roughly 30%," Jayanathan said.

"For experienced traders, it's very competitive.

"There's demand for seniors who have the relationships, who have the experience, who have the cool heads, and they can command high salaries.

"At the same time, firms are seeing the value of them, so they're doing their best to retain them."

Il a déclaré que la demande de négociants au Moyen-Orient reste forte malgré la guerre en Iran qui perturbe l’offre dans la région, ce qui montre comment les perturbations régionales influencent à la fois le recrutement et les conditions de trading.

"For seniors it is, for very senior people who are insiders in the region," Jayanathan said. "People who have the network, have the knowledge, have the relationship; that's particularly important in the Middle East."

Négociants juniors en bunker

Le recrutement de négociants juniors en bunker a également augmenté.

Jayanathan a indiqué que des dispositifs tels que le Monjasa Oil and Shipping Traineeship ont connu du succès ces dernières années, poussant davantage d’entreprises à adopter des programmes similaires afin de constituer un vivier de personnel plutôt que de s’appuyer uniquement sur le recrutement externe.

"More and more people are setting up graduate schemes for them," he said. "The idea of that is to keep them on board, and try to elicit loyalty."

Les clauses de non-concurrence perdent de l’importance

Les clauses de non-concurrence, autrefois perçues comme une forte restriction à la mobilité sur le marché de l’emploi, deviennent moins visibles, a déclaré Jayanathan.

"People don't mention their non-competes so much to me when they're leaving now," he said. "Some have actually mentioned that a couple of the big players have eased off on them.

"For the people I have spoken to who I'm putting into positions or sending CVs across, non-competes have not been something that they have been concerned with, whereas last year it was one of the first things that they used to talk about."

Conseils pour les candidats et les employeurs

Pour les négociants en bunker qui envisagent de changer de poste, Jayanathan estime que le marché actuel peut être attractif pour ceux qui ont de l’expérience et un réseau, mais seulement s’ils ne sont pas satisfaits de leur employeur actuel.

"If you've got experience, a network and the appetite to make a jump, then this could be a rewarding time for you," he said. "But you have to weigh up your own personal situation.

"If you're happy where you are, stay, because no doubt you're getting looked after."

Pour les employeurs qui recrutent, il recommande la prudence.

"Make sure you do your due diligence, because the last thing you want to do is pick up the wrong hire," he said. "Check them on ethics and compliance, because you cannot afford in this day and age to have your name sullied.

"Make that bet accordingly."

Jayanathan a écrit sur ce sujet pour Ship & Bunker plus tôt cette année.

Il a également déclaré que la rétention dépend de bien plus que du salaire.

"If you want to retain your staff, you need to make more of an effort to treat them well, and not just financially but generally," he said. "You have to look at stuff like culture and environment; whether your organisation is a meritocracy, whether you're treating all your staff equally or whether there's an insider group that you treat particularly well."

"People will not leave just for money."