Bermuda's accountancy sector is leading the fightback in the recruitment battle against rival countries.

That is according to Richard Bartlett, experienced hire recruiter from Ernst & Young Ltd., who believes the Island has a lot more to offer than just financial reward over it overseas competitors, writes Alex Wright.

Allied to a world shortage of chartered accountants and actuaries, Bermuda now has the added difficulty of competing with the likes of Dublin, London and Canada, where the euro, pound and Canadian dollar respectively are gaining strength against the dollar.

Mr. Bartlett reckons that recruiters and employers are having to go that extra mile to find the right candidate for the job.

"The sort of attraction of coming to Bermuda is really diminishing in terms of the financial aspect and it means that we have to really think outside the box," he said. "There is a definite shortage of chartered accountants in the world and we have to think about ways of attracting people here."

One of the ways of attracting suitable candidates is through offering a more all-round relocation and benefits package, said Mr Bartlett.

"We can reward people with relocation and benefit packages," he said.

"And it is not just about relocation, we can offer health club memberships and the like."

Ernst & Young Ltd. have been able to recruit from the America, but have also opened up their markets in Asia.

"We have been able to hire people from the US, people who are not at the entry level, but for three or four years have not been able to make that managerial leap," said Mr Bartlett.

"It is definitely the trend that we are starting to see more accountants coming from Asia — companies have had to open the market up to people coming from far away from places such as the Philippines and China as they widen their search."

Mr. Bartlett admitted that while financial incentive is a great lure, potential employees have to look beyond that in order to realise Bermuda's qualities as a place to live and work.

"Quite often it does come down to the financial side of it," he said. "The Canadian dollar is now nearly on a par with the US dollar and it is two dollars to the pound. That is why we have to sell a lot of the other aspects of Bermuda."

And part of the recruiter's resourcefulness is their ability to utilise their selling technique to the best effect, according to Mr. Bartlett.

"We do advertising and we have really gone into internet-based advertising in a big way," he said. "We use external agencies in places such as Asia and they have a better understanding of what is going on down there."

One of the biggest draws to Bermuda is the chance for candidates to further their career and fulfil their goals and ambitions, said Mr. Bartlett.

"We can move them to other offices after three or four years to places such as the Caymen Islands for example — the thing is that we try and sell the career progression and mentorship and how that will materialise to further success," he said.