Design, engineering headhunting firm enters region

ArchiBat's remit covers all design and engineering.

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A French headhunting firm for the engineering and design industries will celebrate its 36th year in 2012 with an office in Abu Dhabi, its first in the Middle East.

ArchiBat HR, an executive search outfit that places executives in architecture, engineering, interior design and urban planning, profiles candidates for senior roles using psychometric testing among other measures.

The Paris-based firm, founded in 1985, is in the process of an aggressive global expansion strategy that in 2007 saw the establishment of offices in Shanghai in China and Hong Kong. It profiles around 1,600 applicants each year.

The company has already set foot in the country when it exhibited at Cityscape Global in Dubai. It was the only French company to exhibit, and the only consultancy of its kind at the show, according to its area manager for the region.

“Despite the current economic moroseness of the construction sector, we did well and we obtained interesting and promising contacts,” Ludovic Baudry said, adding that the firm signed several contracts at the show.

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Areas of engineering in which it profiles candidates include civil and structural work, mechanical, facades, site supervision, quantity surveying, project management and quality control. It also places for roles in infrastructure, landscape design and urban management.

Design firms have often complained of the difficulty in recruiting the right candidates, and staff shortages and retention key additional issues.

“Finding the right people to fill our vacancies is still a challenge," Martin Wojnowski, design principle of Design Work Portfolio told CWOnline last year. "It seems like the best candidates have retained their positions throughout the economic slump and are not considering a career move. In response to our job adverts we receive hundreds of CVs. Only a handful get shortlisted."

Baudry said the company, "can see huge potential in the Middle East region. The UAE is the place where all professionals meet during [business to business] meetings and exhibitions. It’s a hub for architects and engineers in the region.”

Current clients in the sector include Vinci construction, Oger International, and Six Construct. The company intends to serve clients in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait from its UAE base.