FAQ's about The Recruitment of Candidates

Specific criteria will depend on the requirements of each employer for each vacancy. While the MATCH project facilitates the screening and matching of candidates with the vacancies, ultimately, the selection criteria and subsequent selection of candidates is decided by the employer.

The MATCH project strives to empower women, and special considerations will be granted to uphold a gender balance amongst candidates.

Targeted recruitment will take place in Senegal and Nigeria with the support of reputable networks, recruitment agencies and public institutions.
A selection panel will be established in the two African countries with the support of the national employment agency, the Flemish public employment agency, VDAB, and Aldelia. Applications will be screened and a pre-selection will be carried out. A shortlist will be shared with the European employers for their final selection

Nigeria and Senegal offer a vast pool of talent and skills. Aldelia’s figures indicate that in Senegal, 80,000 individuals work in the ICT sector, and in Nigeria, 497,000 individuals work in the ICT sector. To request a typical candidate profile associated with a specific job title, contact the MATCH team.

Cédric Filet (Founder and CEO of Aldelia): “Every day we are amazed by the level of candidates that are signing up to our Areebajobs platform. There are more IMT graduates from Nigeria then from both France and Belgium together. It is not about IF we can find sufficient people or which programme languages are available, it is more about which version of java are you looking for and how many candidates do you need and then we will be able to find them. The population of Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg combined amounts to 27 million people, which is the population of Lagos (Nigeria) alone. The average age in terms of working population is 44 years old in Europe but only 18 in Nigeria. In other words, they have a very large young population of qualified individuals. In relative terms, the amount of talent available in Nigeria might be smaller than in European countries but in absolute terms, the number is much larger. In our experience, these young people are very hungry to learn. They are very entrepreneurial and dynamic. You just have to capture their energy in the right way and you will see that they are not only doers but are an added value to your company.”

The project partnership conducts robust monitoring and evaluation to ensure that the rights of both the employer and candidates are upheld for the full duration participation in the project.
Employers are obliged to follow national labour regulations and establish fair employment contracts in line with their national legislation and IOM IRIS principles. National chambers of commerce form part of the wider network of the MATCH project. The preselection of candidat
es is conducted by a recruitment panel comprising of recruitment experts from within and outside the project partnership. Technical tests will be systematically organized to ensure the selection of candidates with the strongest skills without external interference.

In order to establish remote working arrangements, it is essential that the local infrastructure is available. An assessment of the necessary infrastructure will be made by the project management team in coordination with the employer and the local employment agency Aldelia.
Existing networks within Nigeria and Senegal will also be approached to ensure that candidates have access to the necessary services and technology before employers agree to remote working.