The Vault Guide To Top Engineering Firms

THE VAULT GUIDE TO THE TOP ENGINEERING FIRMS
2009 European Edition
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The Vault Guide to the
Top Engineering Firms
2009 European Edition
2009 Vault.com Ltd
Copyright 2008 by Vault.com Ltd. All rights reserved. All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to the accuracy and reliability of the information contained within and disclaims all warranties. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Vault.com Ltd. Vault, the Vault logo, and the most trusted name in career information TM are trademarks of Vault Inc. For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, contact Vault.com Ltd., 6 Baden Place, London, SE1 1YW, +44(0)20 7357 8553. ISBN 13: 978-1-58131-603-2 ISBN 10: 1-58131-603-8 Printed in the United Kingdom
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Profiles and overview written by: Eli Lee, Brandon Johnson, Colin Richardson, Nicole Kai Kobilansky, Saba Haider, Jewel Blackfeather Welter, Emma Jayne Jones, Sila Cameselle Vila, and Cristina Fernandez. Thankyou to everyone at Vault for their help with this guide. Special thanks to Sarah Underwood, Saba Haider, Nicole Kai Kobilansky, Thomas Nutt, Marcy Lerner, Sila Cameselle Vila, Martin Dean, Magda Mohammed Ali, Amanda Woolf, Rochelle Mathieson, Harmandeep Singh, Graeme Buscke, Fernando Sdrigotti, Priya Kantaria and Gavin Woods. Particular thanks from the editor to William Peacock, Fernando Sdrigotti, Brandon Johnson and Drew Kaiser.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Guide to this Guide Introduction Engineering: An Overview 3 5 6
Featured Companies Alcatel-Lucent Alstom ArcelorMittal ARUP Atkins Global BAE Systems Balfour Beatty Bosch Bouygues BP BT Group plc Carillion plc Cepsa S.A. Corus Daimler Dassault Group
16 20 26 32 36 42 48 54 60 66 72 78 84 88 96 102 106 112 118 124 130 136 142 148
EADS N.V. lectricit de France Electrolux Endesa Enel E.ON Ericsson Fiat S.p.A.
Top European Engineering Firms
Table of Contents
Gazprom Grupo Ferrovial S.A. Michelin Mott MacDonald Nokia P.S.A. Peugeot-Citron Philips Electronics N.V. Porsche S.E. Renault Repsol YPF Rolls Royce plc Royal Dutch Shell plc RWE Group SAAB AB Schindler Group Schlumberger Siemens AG Telecom Italia S.p.A. Telefonica S.A. Thales Group Total S.A.
154 160 164 168 174 180 184 190 194 200 206 212 218 222 228 234 240 246 252 258 264 268 274 280 286
ThyssenKrupp AG VINCI plc Volkswagen Volvo Group
About the Editor
293
A GUIDE TO THIS GUIDE

All our profiles follow the same basic format. Heres a guide to each entry.
A Guide to this Guide
Firm Facts
The Stats: Basic information about the company, usually information thats available to the general public. This includes the companys leadership (generally, the person responsible for day-to-day operations, though it can include the chairman and relevant department heads), employer type (eg. public, private or subsidiary), ticker symbol and exchange (if public), latest fiscal year-end revenue (usually only for public companies), number of employees and number of offices. Locations: A listing of the companys offices, with the city (or cities) of its headquarters bolded. We have only listed cities within Europe. Departments and Divisions: The firms major divisions. Employment Contact: The name of the department, website address, contact name, telephone number and/or address the firm has identified as the best point of contact for job-seekers. This can be both to answer inquiries and submit CVs and applications.
The Profiles
The profiles are divided into three sections: The Scoop, Getting Hired and Our Survey Says. The Scoop: The firms history, clients, recent developments and other points of interest. Getting Hired: Valuable information about any available internships and graduate programmes; qualifications that the firm looks for in new associates, specific tips on getting hired as well as other notable aspects of the hiring process. Our Survey Says: Actual quotes from surveys and interviews with current employees of the firm on such topics as a firms culture, hours, travel requirements, salaries, training and more. Profiles of some firms do not include an Our Survey Says section.
INTRODUCTION
Introduction
ight back to the invention of the wheel, engineering has required both imagination and technical know-how. Today, it has blossomed into a vastly broad discipline offering numerous possibilities for those with the right aptitude, inclinations and, of course, qualifications. In Europe, its also one of the most solid, stable and varied sectors of the continents economy. And if growth is one of the corporate worlds most popular buzzwords, you can be rest assured that engineers will have a big part to play in this in future years. Europes engineering firms range from those who produce the smallest of technologies to those who make the grandest of structures. The top 50 firms, featured in this guide, range from Germanys Siemens, who make technologies small enough to fit in your hand and smaller to the United Kingdoms BP, who lay oil and gas pipelines across countries and continents. All aspiring engineers, whether still students or graduates ready to embark on their career, will find the range and depth of firm profiles in this Vault Guide indispensable to mapping out their path. No engineering discipline is overlooked, so whether your career goals lie in civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, aerospace engineering, or any other engineering discipline, youll find a wealth of useful information here. The profiles in our guide are based on industry surveys, research and extensive feedback from employees about everything from company culture to compensation, training, management, perks and benefits. They also offer their valuable perspective about interviews, internships and diversity at their firms.
Working on the first European edition of the Vault Guide to the Top Engineering Firms has been highly rewarding. I hope youll find it is a fantastic resource for pursuing your career in this flourishing sector. Good luck!
Eli Lee, Editor
THE STATE OF EUROPEAN ENGINEERING

he European engineering sector is worth close to 3,000 billion euros, employing nearly 20 million EU citizens and is comprised of approximately 375,000 companies, according to the European Commission. Interestingly, 90 percent of the European engineering industrys incumbents are small and mediumsized enterprises, also known as SMEs. Since the early 1990s, these companies have come under immense pressure from increased foreign competition in low-cost centres, cheap imports and from outsourcing. As a result, there has been a massive reduction of around 20 percent in the number of SMEs in the sector. Recently tightened environmental legislation and the associated costs have further squeezed the bottom line. As the sectors economic base has increasingly withered, many experts have alluded to a terminal decline.
On the bright side

On the other hand, the European engineering industry seems to have weathered the storm and finally returned to its former glory. Even Fiat, which was rumoured to be a takeover target while seriously struggling early in the millenium, turned a profit in 2007 despite cooling demand in many of its main markets. Mechanical and electrical equipment worth approximately 710,045 million euros was manufactured in 2007, according to figures published by the European Commission. In The European engineering total during 2007, exports industry has weathered the storm and of machine tools were returned to its former glory worth 471.7 million pounds, while imports were valued at 578.6 million pounds, according to the Manufacturing Technologies Association. As such engineering remains integral to the growth and sustainability of the economies of the European Union, building and maintaining infrastructure that is key to the stability of the continent. Many of the worlds biggest companies including EADS, Siemens, Philips, Rolls-Royce, Atkins, Daimler, E.ON, Volkswagen, Porsche, Nokia, Gazprom and Shell are based in Europe.
Combating the crunch

Despite the credit crunch bringing an end to cheap financing and causing a drastic cooling across the eurozone and global economy, 2007 was an extremely strong year for European engineering. The balance of firms recording a rise in orders and output for July, August and September 2007 was up 30 percent, with companies enjoying "sustained" growth, according to the Engineering Employers Federation. Strong demand and full orderbooks both point to high productivity levels and healthy
activity. In addition, annual output grew by around seven percent in volume, corresponding to an 8.2 percent growth in turnover, according to the European Engineering Federation. This has led to more job creation, with employment levels rising by 1.6 percent across the industry from an estimated 10.6 million in 2006. All in all, 2007 was the best year for the industry since the recovery of 1995.
The State of European Engineering
Still cautious
Unfortunately, experts believe the crunch will bite hard in 2009, eroding some of the recent success. While growth should continue, it will slow markedly as capacity constraints, the higher cost of capital and currency appreciation all eat into margins. The strong euro, which has been hitting all-time highs against the British pound and US dollar, will lower export demand and thus slow production growth to 4.3 percent. As output slows, job growth will cool to an infinitesimal 0.7 percent in 2008.
Skill shortage
The number of skilled candidates filling these positions looks set to fall. A survey by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) found that 40 percent of UK companies believed they would not to be able to recruit the necessary number of engineers or technicians to meet their needs between now and 2010. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has also warned that the fall in graduates with core science and technology degrees will inevitably lead to a real skills crisis. As a result, many European engineering firms look as far afield as the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) to recruit new talent. The problem can be traced to the number of graduates completing engineeringrelated degrees at university. In the UK, for example, in the past decade, the number of applicants for engineering courses has decreased from 11 percent to eight percent of the total number of university entrants. According to some estimates, applications to study electronic and electrical engineering were down by 17 percent last year. Applications for mechanical engineering were also down six percent. Close to half of those who do graduate with engineering degrees have been entering unrelated disciplines such as finance, energy, transport and communications.
Oil and gas: cyclical industries

Some suggest it is the cyclical nature of industries associated with engineering that has pushed graduates towards other fields. Oil and gas, probably Europes biggest industry and certainly the major employer of graduates, is seen as one of the most cyclical industries in the world, greatly affected by both domestic and external
factors, especially geopolitics. In 2007 and 2008, oil prices touched all-time highs as political instability and volatility across major producing regions intensified fears of a supply shortage. At the same time, as many refineries were offline, OPEC could not ramp up production because of capacity constraints. So even though 2007 was a good year for engineering as a whole, some firms in certain industries suffered. For example BP, the monolithic British oil major, was forced to restructure its operations as high oil prices weakened margins and eroded profits. On the other hand, some companies associated with oil and gas flourished in 2007. For example, Atkins, the UKs number one engineering consultancy, increased its revenues by 20 percent and its profits 19 percent to 81.7 million pounds. Atkins is a key figure in maintaining and modernising key British infrastructure, particularly the antiquated oil rigs of the North Sea. Shell, the Dutch oil major, earned profits of one million pounds a minute throughout 2007 and 3.9 billion pounds in the first quarter of 2008, buoyed by high oil prices and successful trading strategies.
Innovative?
Only ten European outfits made a recent BusinessWeek ranking of innovative companies from around the globe. North American companies dominate the list, with Asian companies second. However European firms still fare very well. Finnish mobile telecommunications company Nokia came tenth on the list, which alludes to Europes position as a leader in mobile technology, very much a zeitgeist industry. Europe also leads the way in innovation in the automotive industry: BMW, Daimler and Audi a member of the Volkswagen group are all included in the list. These are all German-domiciled companies. Smaller engineering companies in Europe have profited from supplying the machinery used by manufacturers around the world, including in China, India and Russia. In Germany, for example, the countrys innovative and hardy engineering sector is a primary driver behind the economys resistance to global economic turmoil. Britains world-class research universities house some of the greatest engineering minds in the world.
Buying power
Talk of M&A activity in the UK mid-market engineering sector was rife during spring of 2008. Enodis, the food equipment manufacturer and supplier of building and consumer products, was reportedly subject to a bid from US firm Manitowoc, looking to cash-in on falling stock prices. Suez, a Franco-Belgian energy group, merged with France's Gaz de France, after shareholder approval was finally given in September 2007. E.ON, the German energy producer, was linked with a bid for nuclear power
station operator British Energy, which has a market value of around 15 billion dollars and produces one-sixth of Britains electricity. lectricit de France, the French statecontrolled utility, was also in talks with Britains Centrica to team up and bid for British Energy, which could create a European energy powerhouse. These rumours sparked speculation among analysts that there could be a spate of deals as the industry further consolidated amid toughening economic conditions, with synergies a primary deal motivator. As well as cheap valuations and strong consolidation prospects, many of Britains mid-cap engineering firms are attractive targets as they have strong balance sheets with low levels of debt. European engineering firms were both eager acquirers and targets during 2007. According to Dealogic, 1,689 deals were completed across the sector at a cost of 262.3 billion US dollars. Metal and steel producers experienced the highest deal value overall, with 94 billion dollars worth of transactions completed. Producers of general industrial machinery were the most active sub-sector by deal volume, taking part in 369 deals worth approximately 22.3 billion dollars. One of the sectors biggest deals was the planned takeover of Spanish utility Endesa SA by Spanish engineering group Acciona SA and Spanish utility Enel SpA, which experts valued at 66 billion US dollars. While the first half of 2007 was a big year for buyouts and M&A across all sectors, activity slowed dramatically during the second half of the year as the incredibly wellreported credit crunch brought an end to cheap financing. Most activity within the European engineering sector remained stable however, highlighting its resilience to cyclical economic downturns. Amidst all this economic change, the future of resources remains a big question: where are future energy supplies actually going to come from? Reserves of North Sea crude oil continue to dwindle. Eight years ago, Britain was the worlds sixth-biggest producer of oil and gas by 2006 it was the 12th-biggest. In July 2007, the International Energy Agency said the drop in production had been steeper than expected, and it is expected to continue. Spains Repsol YPF revealed in April 2008 that its Argentine oil and gas proven reserves had dropped 20.3 percent in the course of two years. At the same time, major energy producing countries are becoming increasingly unstable. The Russian Bear has gotten its swagger back through energy imperialism, using its vast oil and gas reserves to increase its political clout. As a result it has become erratic in its treatment of trade partners. Piracy in Nigeria is rife, with oil rigs and shipping being constantly disturbed. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is frequently claiming responsibility for attacking oil rigs and crews, demanding a share in oil profits, which is adding to the politically unstable mix. Oil is a finite resource and
much of the worlds proven resources are embedded in places such as Canadas oil sands. This means oil is very tough to extract and it is expensive to do so. What does all this mean for engineering? First, that the industry has an absolutely central role to play in securing energy supplies at a most challenging time. With climate change increasingly seen as a real political and social issue even Richard Branson has tried flying his Virgin fleet on nut oil those supplies need to be renewable. In Germany, for example, renewables already represent a significant portion of the energy industrys income and Engineering has an absolutely expenditure. Renewables now account for 6.7 central role to play in securing energy percent of total energy supplies at a most challenging time consumption in Germany, up from 5.5 percent in 2006. Turnover of the German renewables industry was up ten percent at 24.6 billion euros in 2007, nearly four times the figure of 2000. Electricity generated from renewable sources reached 14.2 percent in 2007. E.ON, the countrys predominant energy producer, is actively expanding its renewable energy business. Most recently, E.ON announced its interest in Babcock & Brown Ltds European wind park division, valued at approximately three to four billion euros. The search for renewable energy sources and development of infrastructure is a major opportunity for the industry to combat the tougher economic conditions that will confront it through 2008 and 2009. Leading firms need to work to develop the technology that can make biofuels and renewables efficient for the benefit of the environment, society and their own coffers. However, immediate profits are still coming before the environment according to some experts. BP recently considered floating or selling its renewable operations, which it values at 3.5 billion pounds. And the sustainability of the worlds offshore wind farm, and a major contribution to Britains renewable future, was called into question in spring 2008 after a primary investor pulled out. Shell announced it was selling its 33 percent stake in the two billion pound London Array off the coast of Kent to invest in more lucrative oil projects. Environmentalists criticised the firm for selling off its solar and wind businesses to invest further in Canadas distinctly environmentally unfriendly oil sands (Canadas oil sands, primarily in Alberta, are allegedly home to the second-largest reserves of oil in the world after Saudi Arabia). According to E.ON, the London Array was under threat after Shells announcement, as rising steel prices, bottlenecks in turbine supply and competition almost completely eroded profit margins.
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Finding food
The food crisis is the biggest challenge facing humanity. More than 100 million people could be forced into deep poverty by rising food costs, according to the World Bank. Decreased rainfall, linked to climate change, and a world population expected to grow from six- to -nine billion by 2050 means food supply and prices will be further squeezed. While developing countries, particularly those that rely on imports, face famine and economic ruin, the west are at risk as never before. Urban sprawl, biofuels and the growing appetite for meat among the emerging middle classes of China and India are limiting the amount of land available for food crops: while more space is required for cultivation, available land is actually decreasing. This is where engineering comes in. New processes such as precision farming and technologies that reduce external crop reliance need to be developed if the crisis is to be effectively tackled
Going forward
Prospects for 2008-2009 still appear to be positive for the engineering sector, led by both direct and indirect export demand from Europe. With credit problems expected to recede by the end of 2008, boosted liquidity should allow firms to take advantage of cheaper financing again. As a result, current rumours of a buyout bonanza may become reality. The energy sector looks especially ready for a bout of consolidation as unbundling continues. At the centre of these deals will be EDF, the biggest European energy group by market capitalisation. EDF is, of course, immune to takeover as 85 percent of its shares belong to the French government. As a result it can cross national boundaries, and after being thwarted in Italy, Britain and Spain look likely targets. However, protectionism is notoriously rife when it comes to cross-border energy deals. State intervention was commonplace in prospective energy deals during the 1990s and this continues to the current day. In the spring of 2008, Spains prime minister, Jos Luis Rodrguez Zapatero said he wanted utilities firm Iberdrola to combine with Gas Natural in order to fend off a bid from EDF. France is planning to create an energy giant through a link-up between Areva, the world's biggest nuclear company, Alstom, an engineering group, and Bouygues, a construction and telecoms conglomerate, in order to fend off cross-border bids for any of the firms. Protectionism aside, a new cross-border European energy powerhouse may well be a reality by the end of 2009, as unbundling continues apace. Such a move could signify a change in protectionist attitudes and further breakdown of trade barriers in the EU.
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All in all, European engineering has defied its critics. Those who sounded the death knell of the industry have been unequivocally proven wrong, as major European companies have continued to succeed despite intense competition from low-cost countries. Although many jobs have been outsourced to these regions, the highproductivity and high-technology core of most firms remains in Europe. As this technology becomes increasingly important in addressing some of the worlds major problems, and European engineering firms, such as Corus and ThyssenKrupp, continue to supply the worlds biggest manufacturers, the redefined sector looks set to prosper.
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The Vault Guide to the
TOP ENGINEERING
Firms
ALCATEL-LUCENT
54 rue la Botie Paris 75008 France Tel: +33 (1) 40 76 1010 www.alcatel-lucent.com
European Locations
Paris (HQ) Austria Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Denmark Finland Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovak Republic Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom 58 further offices worldwide.
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: ALU (Euronext and NYSE) Chief Executive: Patricia Russo 2007 Revenue: 17.8bn 2006 Revenue: 13.1bn 2007 Employees: 77,400 2006 Employees: not available No. of Offices: 58 further locations worldwide
Employment Contact
www.alcatel-lucent.com (Click on Careers)
Divisions
Broadband services Business communications Consumer communications
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career library
THE SCOOP
n recent years, the telecoms industry has undergone a huge technological transformation. Whereas not so long ago, we mostly relied on the good old landline telephone to speak to those we loved in far-flung places, since the end of the 1990s, the variety of ways of getting in touch with people has increased exponentially. Alcatel-Lucent, with a presence in 130 countries worldwide, tries to position itself as ahead of the curve in an industry that has a potential market of billions of people. The company consists of three key business groups: carrier, enterprise and convergent communications technologies for businesses and individuals.
Alcatel-Lucent
Back to the old school

The company may be a big player on the global scene with 77,400 employees worldwide, but in real terms, it is just getting started. The two separate companies, Alcatel and Lucent, merged as recently as 2006, having previously been rivals. Alcatel can trace its roots back to 1898, when French engineer Pierre Azaria founded La Compagnie Gnrale dElectricit (CGE), an industrial conglomerate involved in electricity, transportation, electronics and telecommunications. Almost a century later, in 1989, CGE bought the telecommunications products arm of American industrial company ITT Corporation and changed its name to Alcatel Alstom. The company streamlined and expanded simultaneously, creating a foothold in China and spinning off its Alstom activities to focus on Alcatel. It has since made acquisitions which have strengthened its position as a leading technology provider. Through these acquisitions, it is in a position to sell a wide range of products including broadband and ethernet equipment, mobile products and applications, network management tools, optical transmission and wireless transmission equipment and submarine network systems.
Back to the older school

The American company Lucent can claim an even longer history than Alcatel, dating back to 1869 when it was just a small manufacturing firm called Western Electric. By 1880, it had become the largest electrical manufacturing company in the country. In 1881, Lucent was established as American Bell, by a fairly famous figure in the history of telecommunications, Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. Graham Bell purchased a controlling interest in the new American Bell. The company from then on became dedicated to the development and manufacture of telephone equipment.
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A Nobel company?
In the early 20th century, American Bell morphed into American Telephone and Telegraph (AT&T), which included in it American Bells research division, Bell Laboratories. This notable company invented the transistor, the laser, the solar cell battery, the digital signal processor chip and won 11 Nobel prizes. Further down the line, the AT&T technologies unit eventually combined with Bell Laboratories to become Lucent Technologies. Lucent was launched in 1996 with an IPO on the NYSE and its stock did extremely well in the late 1990s, rising from a starting price of 7.56 dollars per share to a high of 84 dollars. Problems arose later through dubious accounting and sales practices and share prices bottomed to 55 cents apiece. The company survived by making extreme job cuts (from 165,000 down to 30,500 employees) and then by merging with Alcatel in a 10.7 billion US dollar deal in April 2006.
Back to the future

The merged entity, Lucent-Alcatel, is a force to be reckoned with. Given its history, it is not surprising that it is a research and development powerhouse, with annual investments of more than 2.5 billion dollars poured into projects ranging from algorithmic and computer sciences to optical networking, to new service delivery architecture and platforms to nanotechnology. It is ...it is in a position to sell a wide range headed by Patricia Russo, former chief executive of of products, including broadband Lucent, who in August equipment and mobile products... 2007 was voted 25th on the Forbes Magazines 100 Most Powerful Women list. Russos chief job since taking on the top spot at Alcatel-Lucent has been to restructure for cost-cutting effect. The company needs to save 2.32 billion US dollars within three years of the merger and to cut 12,500 jobs.
The road to hell

The first 18 months of the Lucent-Alcatel merger have proved to be troublesome for the united company, with losses posted for its first three quarters. By 2009, the company says it expects to have pruned its portfolio in Russos words, which is a necessary step considering company shares plummeted 38 percent in the first nine months of 2007. This drop erased approximately 13 billion US dollars of AlcatelLucents market capitalisation. In October 2007, the company hit possibly its lowest point so far, when the French union the Confdration Gnrale du Travail issued a
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Top European Engineering Firms Alcatel-Lucent

statement criticising the Lucent merger as being a key factor in Alcatels descent into hell. As of late 2007, the company faces an uphill struggle to get back on its feet and turn a profit. Alcatel-Lucent expects to focus on its next-generation upgrades of wireless and fixedline networks as part of its streamlining plan. In 2005, one of its internet protocol transformation projects saw it net a 2.2 billion euro contract with Australian telecoms network Telstra in partnership with Cisco systems. Alcatel-Lucent is responsible for network design, integration, product supply and ongoing support.
GETTING HIRED
Still on the lookout
Despite the changes and cutbacks the company is experiencing in the early stages of merged activity, it is still hiring. The firm has no official graduate training scheme however. Alcatel-Lucent's jobs website is www.alcatel-lucent.com/wps/portal/Careers and it shows worldwide job offers along with internship details. Applications can be made online for whatever job matches your profile. Work is available with AlcatelLucent in the following fields: administration, business operations, business support, business strategy and development, communications, engineering services, environmental health and safety, finance, human resources, IT, legal, manufacturing, marketing, product development, project management, professional services, research, sales, sales support and supply chain management. Three types of internship are available. All of them are for students or recent graduates and Alcatel-Lucent emphasises integrating your education with your career goals. The Cooperative education program lasts for one term and is full-time. It allows students to receive both academic credit and financial compensation for their work. Eligibility for it rests on a solid academic performance, the right to work in the country of application and enrollment as a full-time student at a higher education institution. The two other internship possibilities are the AIESEC Global Exchange Partnership and the Research Partner Program. The former is an association that offers overseas internships. More information can be found out about it by visiting www.aiesec.org. The latter focuses on research and development and is offered in collaboration with higher education institutions and research institutes. All these opportunities can be found on Alcatel-Lucents careers website.
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ALSTOM
141 rue Rateau 93126 La Courneuve Cedex France Tel: +33 (1) 49 92 41 27 www.alstom.com
European Locations
Paris (HQ) Austria Belgium Denmark Estonia Finland Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: AC (Euronext) Chief Executive: Patrick Krom 2007 Revenue: 14.21bn 2006 Revenue: 13.42bn 2007 Employees: 66,569 2006 Employees: 65,238 No. of Offices: Present in over 70 countries
Employment Contact
www.alstom.com/home/careers_sections
Divisions
Power generation Rail transport
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career library
THE SCOOP
he world of French conglomerates is often more closely-knit than it would appear. Transport and energy infrastructure maker Alstom, which is a global heavy-hitter in the engineering business, has the same roots as Alcatel, the telecommunications company and Thomson, the consumer electronics provider. All three companies spring from the same origins the CGE (Compagnie Gnrale d'Electricit), which was founded in 1898 by engineer Pierre Azaria. Alstom, founded in 1928, is now present in 70 countries and draws in annual sales of approximately 14 billion euros. The firm is best known for being both the world number one at constructing integrated power plants for coal, gas, nuclear, fuel-oil, hydropower and wind use and the world number one producer of high-technology rail transport. With more than 65,000 employees, this integrated group has a major presence on the world engineering scene.
Alstom
More power to them

The engineering sector in France is nothing if not political and Alstom is at the heart of some juicy debates. It will play a massive role in future energy provision, not only in France but also worldwide. As it predominantly makes turbines for traditional fuels, for as long as these types of fuels are around, which is for at least another few decades, Alstom will have a significant part to play in the power landscape. Nuclear power might also prove to be Alstoms golden ticket, because as French energy policy becomes increasingly nuclear-focused, Alstom is well positioned to cash in.
Faster than the speed of freight

Not content with being one of the brightest sparks on the power scene, Alstom wipes the floor when it comes to train manufacturing too. In the field of rail transport, Alstom supplies stock, infrastructure, maintenance equipment and rail systems and by orders, is the second-largest train maker worldwide. Having delivered the first Train de Grand Vitesse (TGV) in 1978, as a high-speed train maker, the company still hasnt been beaten. On April 3, 2007, it achieved the world rail speed record: 574.8 kph the fastest a train has ever travelled. Such a feat of engineering shortly preceded the TGV Est, the expansion of Frances SNCF rail network to Germany. This project cost 5.5 billion euros, with trains built by Alstom.
Do the locomotion with me?

At about the same time as the TGV Est started up, Alstom started to look for buyers for its next-generation high-speed train, the AGV (Automotrice Grand Vitesse).
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With the prototype being tested in late 2007, in January 2008 Alstom secured an order worth 700 million euros with a private Italian rail company. As Alstom had been struggling to find a launch customer for the AGVs, this is good news, but the train maker is hoping for far more orders in coming years as TGV technology ages.
Off the rails

Despite its bright-looking future, Alstom has only recently emerged from serious trouble. With its increasingly obsolete shipbuilding subsidiary sinking the whole company into bankruptcy, in 2004 the French state had to intervene to reduce Alstoms 2.5 billion euro debts. By way of a debt-for-equity swap and a rights issue, Alstom was bailed out, with the government helping itself to an 18.5 percent stake. Current French President Nicolas Sarkozy was the architect of this rescue. As Finance Minister, he put huge pressure on the then European Competition Commissioner, Mario Monti, to allow the French state to rescue Alstom, although the EU Despite its bright-looking future, was cracking down on Alstom has only recently state intervention in emerged from serious trouble. struggling companies. Not playing by EU rules earned Sarkozy results by spring 2007, Alstom reported that its annual net profit had more than doubled, from 178 million euros to 448 million euros.
Are you gonna go my way?

It may have got back on its feet, but life at Alstom is still as complicated as a soap opera, so get ready to pay attention. In April 2006, the construction company Bouygues bought the French states stake of Alstom, which by then amounted to 21.3 percent. With the government netting a 1.26 billion euro profit from the sale, Alstom entered a brief period of calm. But in January 2008, it emerged that nuclear energy group Areva has been in preliminary talks with Bouygues rival, Vinci, to merge into a domestic energy superpower. This presents a problem for Alstom because for two decades, the French government has been pushing for a merger between Areva and Alstom. Since Areva is 79 percent government-owned, Alstom is now in a serious political tug-of-war. Until an agreement is reached, Sarkozy will continue to push the Bouygues-Alstom-Areva axis and Areva chief executive officer Anne Lauvergeon will fight for a partnership with Vinci.
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You cant always get what you want

The Areva-Alstom-Bouygues tie-up has long been touted as a perfect way for the French energy industry to confront the global market. Combining Arevas nuclear expertise, Alstoms widespread geographical presence and Bouygues project management experience, on paper it looks like a good move. Patrick Kron, Alstoms chief executive, supports the merger. Martin Bouygues, Bouygues chief executive, is also keen. But Areva believes it has little to gain from Alstom. If it wants to join forces with Vinci instead, a head-to-head battle between Sarkozy and Lauvergeon may well be on the cards. It doesnt help matters that Areva is 34 percent owned by Siemens, Alstoms German arch-rival. Whilst Sarkozy, who wants to create strong national conglomerates, wants Siemens out of Areva, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, wants it to retain its stake. So in the midst of all this, Alstoms future owners and partners are anyones guess. Despite this fuss, its worth remembering that Alstoms power service and transport business are doing very nicely. In the 2007/08 period, contracts were secured with 12 countries to build power plants, including four nuclear power plants in China and hydro power plants in Brazil and China. Overall, during the first nine months of 2007/08 (from April 1 to December 31, 2007), Alstom booked orders amounting to 19.9 billion euros.
Alstom
GETTING HIRED
Constructing a career
Alstom is a big hirer in 2007/08 it hired 8,700 staff, of which approximately half came on board as engineers and managers. Benefits of working for the global giant include international opportunities, a chance to own company stock and excellent opportunities for career progression. There is a wealth of opportunities for students and recent graduates, all of which can be seen on its careers website: www.alstom.com/home/careers_sections. Internships are available, either through the VIE scheme or through the CIFRE programme (Conventions Industrielles de Formation par la Recherche), a partnership between French companies, laboratories and graduates. The CIFRE programme is a three-year contract with Alstom that will allow graduate students to write their PhD thesis while contributing to the companys research activities. This programme is managed by ANRT (the Association Nationale de la Recherche Technique) and the French Research Agency.
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As for graduates, Alstom recruits for four divisions: construction and commissioning, which builds new power plants, the hydropower talents development programme, the finance programme and a more generalised pathway for engineering graduates. The careers section gives full details on each of these programmes. A wide variety of career paths are possible within each programme. For example, those who join the construction and commissioning programme could work as civil engineers, site planning engineers, as contract managers or quantity surveyors, mechanical and electrical engineers, environment, health and safety engineers or site quality engineers. All students need to carefully decide which programme best suits their skills, education and future career goals. It is preferred that engineering students/graduates have a minimum 2:1 degree in mechanical, electrical, civil or aerospace engineering. A masters degree is desirable too. All Alstom jobs can be found through the job search portals: current openings, internships, graduates and experienced opportunities, or through an advanced search, where you can specify location or function. An online career account must be created, where you can manage your CV and cover letters and apply for any suitable opportunities in the future.
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ARCELORMITTAL
Berkeley Square House 7th Floor Berkeley Square London W1J 6DA England Tel: +44 (0)207 629 798819 avenue de la Libert L-2390 Luxembourg Tel: +352 (0)47 9 21 www.arcelormittal.com
European Locations
London (HQ) Luxembourg (HQ) Belgium France Germany
Employment Contact
www.arcelormittal.com (Click on Careers)
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: MT (Euronext), MT (NYSE), MTS (BMAD), MT (LuxSE) Chairman: Joseph Kinsch Chief Executive: Lakshmi N. Mittal 2007 Revenue: n/a 2006 Revenue: $88.6bn 2007 Employees: n/a 2006 Employees: 320,000 No. of Offices: n/a
Divisions
Flat Steel Long Steel Tubular Products Stainless Steel Wires Bars and Fencing Automotive Construction Distribution Projects Steel Services Centre
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career library
THE SCOOP
rcelorMittal is the worlds number one steel producer and a true international superstar. With headquarters split between India and Europe, the cross-continental company produces a huge range of steel and steel-related products, employing more than 320,000 workers at locations around the world. Surprisingly for its world-beating stature, ArcelorMittal is a market newcomer. The company was formed through a June 2006 merger of the European group Arcelor with its rival, Indian group Mittal Steel. The result was a group that rides high as the largest steelmaker by volume in the world, leading in the provision of steel to construction, automative, household appliances and packaging markets. As befits such an industrial titan, the group flaunts some impressive statistics: in the year of its merger, ArcelorMittal produced 118 million tonnes of steel and took in revenues of 88.6 billion US dollars.
ArcelorMittal
Over and over

The history of Arcelor and Mittal show just how important consolidation is to the steel industry, as both groups were themselves products of mergers. Arcelor dates back to 2001, when the Luxembourgian Arbed merged with Spains Aceralia and Frances Usinor. This merger became effective in 2002, creating a European steel stronghold from three companies who had each been around a century or more. The group that would become Arbed was originally formed in 1882; Aceralia was founded in 1902 and Usinor has been around in various incarnations since the mid-18th century.
Mittal management
Over in India, Mittal Steel was a much newer player. In 1976, Rajasthan-born Lakshmi Mittal, the richest man in the UK and fifth-richest man in the world in 2008 according to Forbes Magazine, started his own steel business, LNM Holdings. Hotshot Mittal spent his formative years in his familys steelmaking business before branching out on his own. By 2004, he had purchased Polands leading steel producer, Ispat Polska Stal and the American company International Steel Group to create Mittal Steel. Spearheading the steel scenes global consolidation, 57-year-old Mittal is an impressive captain of industry, as the news media has frequently pointed out. By the end of 2006 for example, the high-profile tycoon had bagged a slew of honours: The Financial Times Man of the Year, The Sunday Times Businessman of the Year, German newspaper Die Welts Gewinner 2006 (which should be self-explanatory even for non-German speakers) and Time Magazines Newsmaker of the Year.
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New hot strip mill, anyone?

As of 2008, the steelmaking supergroup is looking to the future, placing its hopes for organic growth in markets such as Brazil, Eastern Europe, South Africa and the Middle East. One of the companys key selling points is its product diversity, which is important when catering to differing needs in mature and developing markets. As local markets change and requirements become more sophisticated, ArcelorMittal and its numerous subsidiaries are in a good position to tailor their plants and products accordingly. New projects in Eastern Europe, for example, include a hotrolled strip steel mill in Poland and the modernisation of a cold-rolling mill in the Czech Republic. The groups involvement in metal mining is also crucial to its success and it is eagerly increasing its coal and iron mining capacity. In February 2007, a deal was struck with the Senegalese government to develop a 750 million tonne The steel making supergroup is iron ore mining project in placing its hopes in Brazil, Eastern Europe, south-east Senegal. A total South Africa and the Middle East of 2.2 billion dollars is being invested in port and rail infrastructure in support of this project. With its own iron ore and coal mines in eight countries and expansion plans afoot in Mexico, Bosnia, the Ukraine and Kazakhstan, by 2010 the group aims to reduce its dependency on external suppliers from 55 percent of annual requirements to 45 percent.
Steel of fortune
All companies that rely on raw materials for their industrial production are subject to the caprices of the market and steelmakers are no exception. Historically, steel consumption goes up when times are good and goes down in periods of recession. Therefore, the bigger and stronger they are, the more money steelmakers have sloshing about even in bad times to purchase raw materials. This was a key reason behind the ArcelorMittal merger. The group is now well-placed to avoid economic humps, especially since approximately 25 percent of its production comes from plants that figure among the lowest-cost producers in the world. As the companys 2006 Annual Report noted, This geographical breadth is a hedge against regional price fluctuations. The integration has also helped keep costs down and efficiency up, by securing the use of best practice techniques and combined expertise. The new combined research and development unit, for example, has an annual budget of more than 185 million dollars. For ArcelorMittals extensive automotive division, which supplies approximately 17.4
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Top European Engineering Firms ArcelorMittal

tonnes of materials annually to the automotive manufacturing industry, newly secured access to a global spread of plants brings the group closer to its markets. This significantly cuts distributional overheads. The group can be said to be truly international. As of 2008, the global footprint of ArcelorMittals production facilities broke down as follows: 34 percent in western Europe, 22 percent in the United States and Canada, 18 percent in Central and Eastern Europe, ten percent in Central Asia and the CIS (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, the Ukraine and Uzbekistan), nine percent in Latin America and seven percent in Africa.
A glamorous industry after all

Exceptionally unique among steel companies, ArcelorMittal has its own, rather popular, reality television show, which is available to watch on www.arcelormittal.tv as well as on YouTube. The web television series is in its second season. Season One documented the stresses and strains of the 2006 merger, giving a multi-perspective insiders account of what its like to integrate two industrial giants. The 15 five-minute episodes of season one took a look at the groups research and development teams, corporate social responsibility, branding, new markets and one episode was even dedicated to the perspective of its shareholders. Season Two began in January 2008, promising even more eye-opening realism about the nature of the global steel industry. Episode one, for example, took a fascinating close look at ArcelorMittals role in the war-torn African country Liberia, where in 2007, the group purchased an iron ore mine with a production capacity of 15 million tonnes a year. The episode featured interviews with the groups PR director in Liberia, employees and Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, all of whom shed light on the difficulty of cooperation on sustainable projects in such a difficult local environment.
GETTING HIRED
Stuck in the Mittal with you
For a global company with 320,000 employees, ArcelorMittal makes its recruitment process surprisingly easy. The companys global HR is centralised and the groups online employment platform allows potential candidates to scan and apply for worldwide vacancies in English, French, Spanish and Portugese. Open applications can also be made by submitting your CV online. For graduates with MBAs or MAs in commerce-related fields, ArcelorMittal has offered a Business Leaders Programme since 2003. The programme spans the
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companys marketing, finance, supply chain, procurement, performance enhancement and HR divisions and is open to those with three or more years of professional experience. Located in both an emerging market country and a developed country, the programme takes two- to three-years to complete and offers excellent opportunities for career progression afterwards. ArcelorMittal also offers many internships and university partnership placements. Internship opportunities can be seen through the HR portal and are available for those in higher education in Belgium, France, Luxembourg and Spain. The group has excellent links with universities, particularly technical schools and are highly active at careers fairs. The V.I.E. scheme, available to students with five or more years of higher education, is another way to get your foot in ArcelorMittals no doubt impressive cast iron door.
OUR SURVEY SAYS

Test your Mittal
One ArcelorMittal Group employee at the Steel Coat subsidiary in Belgium described his experience of the hiring process as a first interview with a hiring company to test my knowledge in foreign languages, followed by a second interview with the general manager, the logistics manager and the production manager. He said that while there were no specific questions, we talked about my professional experiences, what I expected from my new job and what the firm expected from me, including detailed descriptions of my tasks. If you have made it clear you have language skills, be prepared to have them tested. One source at Arcelor Packaging International in Paris explained, I mentioned [on my application] I was fluent in English and Spanish and in the interview they switched from English to Spanish.
Another France-based source said the hiring process was quite straightforward, even speedy, explaining: A first interview in which I was asked to describe my studies and professional path was followed by a second a week later with my future boss and the human resources manager. The second interview was more operational, investigating my skills and abilities in marketing and foreign languages. I was notified three days later. One Paris-based employee, however, did describe the firm as quite elitist in its recruitment for a new position, but said that it kept a human aspect to its workings, despite its massive size.
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Flexible and friendly

Insiders sing the praises of the companys approach to autonomy. You have a lot of freedom in your job and very flexible hours one respondent at ArcelorMittal subsidiary, Steel Coat, informed us. The management committee try to have as much contact with the employees as they can, just to remain informed about whats going well and whats going wrong; they always try to find solutions to help or to improve. This level of manager-employee contact is consolidated through annual reviews, explained the Paris-based employee, saying: Every year we have an interview with our general manger to talk about what happened during the year in the company and in our job but also about how we see our future at Arcelor and what we would like to do or change in our job.
ArcelorMittal
Treated like kings

One seasoned employee based in Paris described the special policy for wage increases for young executives, explaining that if you are up to 29-years-old, youll get a yearly raise of between six and ten percent, which can increase to 15 percent. They also described their starting salary as unusually low, which resulted in a higher salary increase percentile. Additional perks offered to employees of ArcelorMittal are attractive. One employee in the Paris office listed restaurant tickets, an extra months salary per year, referred to as a 13-month salary and a year-end bonus, along with reimbursement of some medical services as just some of the company benefits.
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ARUP
13 Fitzroy St London W1T 4BQ Tel: 44 (0)207 636 1531 www.arup.com
European Locations
London (HQ) Denmark Germany Ireland Italy Netherlands Poland Romania Russia Spain Thailand Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Private Chairman of Group Board: Terry Hill Chairman of Trustees: Mike Shears 2007 Revenue: 572m 2006 Revenue: 475m 2007 Employees: 10,000 2006 Employees: n/a No. of Offices: 92
Employment Contact
www.arup.com/arup/careers.cfm
Divisions
Buildings Consulting Infrastructure
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career library
THE SCOOP
rup is a firm of designers, engineers, planners and consultants responsible for some of the worlds most well-known structures. Ove N. Arup, the son of a Danish Consul, born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, founded the company in 1946 with the intention of bringing together professionals from diverse fields to work in close collaboration with architectural practices. Arup, a structural engineer, wanted his firm to have more a complete and integrative approach to construction and engineering than the industry was traditionally known for. This approach has stayed with Arup over the years, with the group continuing to emphasise its holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to building and planning.
Arup
The firm has three main global business areas: building, infrastructure and consulting, but there is a good deal of overlap between them. The firms focus on hiring specialist engineers and consultants gives it a broad base of experienced professionals whose knowledge spreads across many different fields. In addition to its work on more traditional infrastructure and engineering projects, including highways and bridges, Arup has maintained from its inception a close connection with avant-garde architecture. The firm continues to seek innovation, aesthetically as well as economically and environmentally. Arup first rose to prominence during the postwar era of high public sector spending in the UK during the 1950s and 1960s and has continued to expand its global reach and the scope of its expertise ever since. Its research and development department was established in 1966, incorporating structural pathology, materials technology, geotechnics, transport planning and industrial engineering groups. Arup has continued to expand its range of specialist services over the years, including offshore engineering, acoustics, communications, energy, seismic engineering, airport planning, sports stadium design and operation, vehicle design and sustainable city design and master planning.
Shells: the new cubes

Arup has been active in the design, engineering and construction of some of the most recognisable and avant-garde structures in the world. Arguably the most famous among these and one of most easily identifiable buildings in the world, is the Sydney Opera House, located on Sydney Harbour. Construction of the Opera House, designed by Danish architect Jrn Utzon, was begun in 1957 and finally completed in 1973. In 2007, at a meeting of the United Nations World Heritage Committee, the Opera House was declared a World Heritage site. This placed it alongside the Taj Mahal in India, Egypts Great Pyramids and the Acropolis in Greece. It is the youngest building to be included on the list and only the second by a living architect.
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Other world-renowned Arup creations include the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Millennium Bridge in London, the De Young Museum in San Fransisco, the Oresund Bridge running between Denmark and Sweden, the Scottish Parliament Building in Edinburgh, the Torre Bicentenario in Mexico City and the Casa da Musica in Porto, Portugal. Arup designed the Beijing National Aquatics Centre (the Watercube) and the Beijing National Stadium, both built for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Designing all over the world

Arup is ceaselessly consolidating its global footprint, taking on new projects in every corner of the world. In 2008, the biggest hypermarket in Borneo was completed by the firm and in January of the same year, Arupsport, Arups sports architecture practice, was chosen by the Singapore Architects Arup are working Sports Council to design with include the renowned Singapores Premier Park Richard Rogers Partnership which includes, among its roster of shiny sporting and Zaha Hadid Architects. facilities, a new national stadium. In Madrid, six of the buildings in the new City of Justice are being engineered by Arup. The City of Justice is the largest single site dedicated to justice in Europe, comprising 15 circular buildings housing all of Madrids judicial departments in one location. Architects that Arup are working with on this project include the renowned Richard Rogers Partnership and Zaha Hadid Architects.
Follow the carbon footprints

In 2005, Arup began work on what it calls the worlds first eco-city, comissioned by the Shanghai Industrial Investment Corporation (SIIC). The city, called Dongtan, is located on the island of Chongming, near Shanghai, China. The urban area of Dongtan is estimated to occupy about one third of the 86 square kilometre site, with remaining land being retained for natural wetlands and a buffer zone between two managed wetlands. Dongtan will produce its energy from wind farms, solar cells, bio-fuel and recycled city waste. Hydrogen fuel cells will be used to power public transport and strategic cycle paths and footpaths will be built. Only electric and hydrogen-powered vehicles will be allowed in the city. As for the all-important question of waste, most of Dongtans waste output will be recycled and composted and much of the organic waste will go to ensure the continued fertility of local farmland in order to be able to meet most of the citys food needs. The local farms will use organic growing practices. Dongtan is projected to have a population of 25,000 by the year 2010 and 500,000 by 2030. An accord signed
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between Arup and SIIC in 2005 confirms an ongoing commitment between the two entities to collaborate on future sustainable building projects in China.
Arup
GETTING HIRED
See the buildings of the world

Arup has schemes designed for graduates, pre-university and mid-degree students as well as technical traineeships. For graduates, Arup offers on-site training working on projects alongside experienced professionals. This hands-on training is supplemented by the chance to attend several short courses relevant to the discipline in which you are specialising. Arup also offers the chance to partake in its profit share scheme, a choice of two pension schemes and private medical insurance. Candidates for the graduate program are expected to have a relevant degree, a minimum of three C grades at A level and less than 12 months of continuous, relevant prior work experience. If you have more than 12 months of continuous prior work experience, you can apply for vacancies for more experienced positions, which can be found in the careers area of Arups website. The pre-university scheme is designed for gap year students who are just about to begin a university degree in Engineering. The program begins in September and usually runs for nine months until the end of May. Based on progress through the year, Arup may offer university sponsorships and the opportunity to work every summer doing paid six week placements. Those interested are advised to look through the companys many groups on the website, which offer many different specialised engineering disciplines. Arup helps pre-university participants find accommodation for their year at the firm and social committees are on hand to organise social events to make new entrants feel at home at Arup. Positions for technical trainees are offered in the areas of electrical engineering, environmental services engineering, mechanical engineering, structural engineering and civil engineering. These excellent opportunities to lay the foundations of a career in engineering can be applied for on Arups website in its careers section.
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ATKINS GLOBAL
Woodcote Grove Ashley Rd. Epsom Surrey KT18 5BW UK Tel: +44 (0)1372 726 140 www.atkinsglobal.com
European Locations
London (HQ) Czech Republic Denmark France Finland Greece Hungary Republic of Ireland Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Sweden Turkey
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: ATK (LSE) Chairman: Ed Wallis Chief Executive: Keith Clarke 2007 Revenue: 1.26 billion 2006 Revenue: 1.05 billion 2007 Employees: 16,824 2006 Employees: 14,907 No. of Offices: more than 200
Employment Contact
www.atkinsglobal.com/careers
Divisions
Design and engineering solutions Highways and transportation Rail Management and project services Management consultancy Middle East and China Equity investments Asset management Faithful+Gould
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career library
THE SCOOP
Atkins Global
tkins is the largest engineering consultancy in the UK, the largest multidisciplinary consultancy in Europe and the fifth-largest design firm in the world. The companys three-pronged credo is Plan, Design, Enable. What this breaks down to is a huge variety of work, from logistics and technical planning for clients projects to designing systems, processes, buildings and civil structures. The company operates in numerous business areas but key to its work is its engineering and design consultancy segment, which in 2007 drew the largest slice of Atkins revenue of all its various areas, bringing in 339 million pounds. The companys other business segments are management and project services, Middle East and China, highways and transportation, rail, equity investments and asset management and subsidiary Faithful+Gould.
All under one roof

Just as Atkins may be based in the UK but has a strong international outlook, it is at heart an engineering consultancy which stretches out to encompass many more activities. Whilst 82 percent of the companys revenues are derived from its UK operations, the firm is looking more and more to the Middle East as an income stream, alongside China and the US. The company has more than 200 offices worldwide and its work encompasses sectors ranging from aerospace to development infrastructure to security services. Founded in 1938 by Sir William Atkins, the company originally specialised in civil and structural engineering work, expanding after World War II into specialist services including town planning, architecture and engineering sciences. Since being admitted to the London Stock Exchange in 1996, Atkins has added a number of companies to its roster, including Faithful+Gould, a project management consultancy, Ventron Technology, a process engineer, Lambert Smith Hampton, property consultants, McCarthys Consulting Engineers, Boward Computer Services and Hanscomb Inc. another project management consultancy. Atkins has numerous projects going on at any one time, but part of its remit for 2007/08 has clearly been to focus more on its operations in India and the Middle East. The company has opened up two global design centres, in Bangalore and Sharjah in the UAE, so far comprising more than 200 engineers working in the firms design and engineering solutions business segment. In the Middle East, Atkins has left a considerable footprint, designing and constructing some flagship projects. These include the Dubai Metro (still ongoing), the Bahrain World Trade Centre and Dubais Burj Al Arab hotel.
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King of the road

Closer to home, in 2008, Atkins has scored project after project. Just a sample includes a five-year strategic partnership with British Energy to provide engineering and support to its nuclear fleet of stations, in partnership with three other firms for five years at a value of 20 million pounds per year. Also, in transport engineering, in April 2008 Atkins scooped three key projects worth in total more than 150 million pounds. The firm is designing and developing major improvements to the UKs strategic road network one recent contract makes Atkins responsible for the management and maintenance of 1,300 kilometres of the UKs trunk road and motorways in East Anglia.
Going at high speeds

With the UKs railways considered by many to be in need of an upgrade, Atkins is pressing for a new high speed rail network to be put in place. A report released by the firm in March 2008 showed that a high speed rail network would ease congestion as well as lower overall UK carbon emissions. It would also make economic sense in the long-term, Atkins says. Whats more, due to quicker journey times an estimated hour to Birmingham and three hours to Glasgow from London, for example staff productivity could also increase. Atkins estimates that high speed routes on the east and west coasts would cost 31 billion pounds to build but that they would deliver more than twice that in economic benefits in the first 60 years of their use. The firm is rallying for a new network to be operational by 2026.
Managing the government

In April 2008, Atkins reported that the Home Office awarded it a contract to provide an Accommodation Help Desk (AHD) service to support the management of its property estate, along with part of the Ministry of Justices property estate. The AHD will support the management of approximately 1,200 properties, mainly in the UK, which accommodate around 45,000 staff, including passport, immigration and probation offices. Atkins also announced in April 2008 that it had sold its 25 percent interest in Modern Housing Solutions, which provides accommodation to UK Ministry of Defence staff and to engineering firms Carillion and Enterprise, receiving 3.9 million pounds. Following the announcement of a share buyback programme in November 2007, Atkins purchased 3,218,000 shares at an aggregated cost of 34.9 million pounds.
You cant bet on Metronet

Not everything is smooth in the world of Atkins. The company was one of the shareholders of Metronet, a firm that maintained and upgraded most of the London
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Top European Engineering Firms Atkins Global

Tube network since April 2003, when it took control of two-thirds of the Tubes infrastructure, including nine lines and 150 stations. By June 2007, Metronet estimated there would be a two billion pound overspend by 2010. It claimed that some of the blame lay with London Underground for forcing them to do work not originally stipulated in the contract. London Underground, for its part, claimed that the overspend was due to Metronets inefficiencies. Metronet went into administration in July 2007 and as Atkins owned 20 percent of it, the engineering firm incurred unavoidable financial losses running into the millions. Despite this Metronet blip, Atkins reported strong earnings as 2008 started underway, including a rise in revenue of 11 percent from the same period the previous year.
GETTING HIRED
Working for Atkins
Employment opportunities exist across Atkins for engineers, architects, planners, surveyors, consultants and support staff for those who want to work in the fields of aerospace, buildings, defence, education, energy, environment, health, industry, oil and gas, telecoms, transport, urban development and water. The hot jobs section of Atkins website is updated frequently with job offerings at the companys offices in Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia.
From mortarboard to hard hat

There are numerous jobs available for graduates, with graduate recruitment hotspots being the UK and China. Atkins recruits graduates from a broad range of technical and engineering disciplines and aside from graduate jobs, offers both 12 month and summer placements. Graduates are expected to have a 2:2 degree as a minimum criteria and all engineers taken on will enter a professional accreditation scheme tailored to their fields of interest. Whilst the majority of graduates are taken on in the UK, there is a China-based graduate training programme and the company is developing those in other parts of the world. Atkins also has occasional vacancies in human resources and IT, but potential candidates for such jobs should check Atkins online jobs board.
Everybody loves Atkins

In 2008, for the fourth year in a row, Atkins was listed by The Sunday Times as one of the Best 100 Graduate Employers and one of the UKs 20 best big companies to
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work for. Accolades pile up that confirm the firms reputation as a top employer. It won Best Graduate Recruiter in Construction at the Target National Graduate Recruitment Awards 2007, The Times Top 50 Places Where Women Want to Work and in 2007 was named as one of Computer Weeklys Best Places to work in IT. The Sunday Times survey included such insights as the fact that 70 percent of Atkins employees said they would not leave if they received a job offer elsewhere. Employees also overwhelmingly responded that stress was not a problem at Atkins, that they generally arent exhausted after a day at work and that they are happy with the balance between their work and home lives. In 2007, only two other big companies on The Sunday Times list returned a higher score when staff were asked if they felt their company made a positive difference in the world. Internal company surveys are also carried out annually, so senior management can monitor staff satisfaction and act on feedback. Employees are said to rate their managers highly and appreciate the focus on activities that put integration first, including trips around Europe, sailing, archery and theatre visits. In 2008, Atkins also garnered the sought-after title of Engineering Consultant of the Year award at the UK Building Awards. Judges cited Atkins scoring highly on key issues such as sustainability, health and safety, along with its commitment to leadership and partnering with clients.
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BAE SYSTEMS
6 Carlton Gardens London SW1Y 5AD United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)12 5237 3232 www.baesystems.com
UK Locations
London (HQ)
European Locations
London (HQ) Austria Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Russia Slovakia Spain Switzerland Turkey
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: BAES (LSE, NYSE) Chief Executive: Dick Olver 2007 Revenue: 15.7 billion 2006 Revenue: 13.8 billion 2007 Employes: 97,500 2006 Employees: 88,000 No. of Offices: not available
Employment Contact
www.baesystems.com (Click on Careers)
Divisions
BAE Systems Australia BAE Systems Products Group BVT Surface Fleet CS&S International Customer Solutions Electronics & Integrated Solutions Integrated System Technologies Land & Armaments Military Air Solutions Regional Aircraft Shared Services Submarine Solutions
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career library
THE SCOOP
AE Systems, officially formed in November 1999 as a merger of British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems, is one of the worlds leading defence and aerospace companies. The millennial merger combined two strong British forces in aerospace and defence systems manufacturing. Post-merger, the company pursued expansion into naval vessel production, munitions, defence electronics and military vehicle interests alongside its core defence aerospace manufacture and maintenance business. With 97,500 employees worldwide and customers in more than 100 countries, BAE Systems ranks as the third-largest global defence company with 2007 annual sales of more than 15.7 billion pounds. In terms of global market position based on 2006 defence revenues, only US corporations Lockheed Martin and Boeing are ahead of it.
BAE Systems
All busy on the western front

BAE Systems has six key home markets: the UK, the US, Australia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Sweden. In terms of its business groups, programmes and support brings home the most revenue for the company 33 percent in 2007. Electronics, intelligence and support accounts for 24 percent, land and armaments accounts for 22 percent and international business contributes to 21 percent. Under the wide spectrum of businesses conducted under the BAE umbrella, you could find anything from the production of intelligent munitions to micro-electrical mechanical systems in which nanotechnology is used for manufacturing sensors, actuators and displays. When it comes to Europe, BAE Systems has 34,000 employees in the UK and 1,700 in Sweden. In Sweden, the company works solely on land and armaments, whereas in the UK, the chief focus is on programmes and support across air, naval, underwater and integration systems activities.
All in it together
Making good use of its proximity to mainland Europe, BAE is also part of the panEuropean venture MBDA, a missile systems manufacturer. MBDA is 37.5 percent owned by BAE Systems, 37.5 percent owned by Franco-German aerospace company EADS and 25 percent owned by Italian industrial conglomerate Finmeccanica.
On the attack
BAE Systems predicted in its 2007 Annual Report that the defence market in the UK would become more challenging in future years. The company reminded its
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stakeholders that overall defence spending in the UK, as 2008 got going, was restricted to just a little more than two percent of GDP due to low levels of real growth. The impact of ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and their personnel-related costs was cited as a reason for defence budget squeezes. For BAE Systems, as for every defence manufacturer, the bottom line inevitably depends on government defence budgets, not only those of their home country but those of foreign administrations too. According to The Daily Telegraph, around 40 percent of British defence manufacturing output finds its way into the defence and service operations of foreign governments. What is generated from these worldwide revenue streams is funnelled into research and development in order to produce new technologies; what The Daily Telegraph calls spin-offs outside as well as inside the defence parameters.
Best of British
One especially important development domain for BAE Systems is its role in the UK Defence Industrial Strategy. In October 2005, the UK Government published its Defence Industrial Strategy which put forward how exactly the UK defence industry remains globally competitive. BAE Systems of course plays a huge part in this. It is trying to fulfil the need to respond to changing defence requirements by creating systems that outdo its competitors. A good example that shows the interplay between the UK government and BAE Systems is 2008s development of the UK Missile Defence Centre (MDC). The MDCs objectives are to feed technical and scientific input into UK policy considerations and developing relations between UK industry and the US Department of Defense (DoD). BAE Systems has an annual contract to manage UK interests in the MDC valued at approximately three million pounds.
Taking flight
In May 2008, BAE Systems was awarded a five-year contract with the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) worth 43.9 million pounds, for the maintenance of the VC10, the Royal Air Force (RAF) tanking and transport fleet. The project involves BAE being responsible for on-base engineering, logistics and technical support of the fleet, including the provision of post-design services The contract, declared as one of the most technologically advanced in the UK, was developed as part of the UK Defence Industrial Strategy. It improves aircraft availability for the RAF whilst reducing the budget impact for the UK tax-payer. This is just one of the many contracts BAE Systems has with the RAF.
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Turner taking off

BAE Systems lost some crucial talent in August 2008, when chief executive Mike Turner stepped down. Turner announced his resignation in October 2007. The passionate Manchester United supporter served as chief executive for five successful, if sometimes controversial, years. On the plus side, Turner spearheaded the impressive growth of BAEs business in the US, where it is now the sixth-largest defence company. However, he has also been in the public eye for different reasons. The company faced corruption allegations relating to the 20-year-old al-Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia and both the UK Governments Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the USs Department of Justice launched inquiries into its transactions. The SFO inquiry into al-Yamamah was ditched in December 2006 and the company has emphasised it wants to make a priority of enforcing the highest ethical standards.
BAE Systems
The best Defence

Despite the Department of Justice inquiry, BAE Systems relationship with the US Department of Defense has remained healthy, with a batch of contracts being signed in recent years. However, the May 2008 detention of chief executive Mike Turner in Texas may have caused a small cloud to appear in the horizon. The Daily Telegraph speculated that BAE Systems reputation could suffer in the US. But not all is doomed far from it. Former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf was appointed head of BAEs Ethics Committee in June 2007 and his recommendations for the company to revise its business approach along ethical criteria should secure it a bright future.
GETTING HIRED
Becoming a high flyer

BAE Systems careers site lists various graduate and undergraduate programmes and industrial placements available in each of its home countries. Achieved or expected degree results are as ever vital, but there are no hard and fast rules listed on the groups site. Instead, you can find a drop down menu with basic questions aimed at matching your experience and vocational interests with the right programme for you.
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BAE a leader
For those who want to go onto graduate schemes, BAE Systems website gives a basic overview of their three main graduate schemes. The first two-year GDF scheme is for graduates interested in specialising in engineering, project management, production, procurement or human resources. The other two, FLDP and SIGMA, are five year schemes aimed at graduates who see themselves in senior finance and leadership roles or project leader positions respectively. All three mentored graduate programmes offer competitive salaries, bonuses and generous incentives. Experienced hires can use the job search tool to see available positions according to specialisation and location. Initial applications are made by an account set-up and CV upload. In addition, the main BAE Systems website intermittently posts specific recruitment campaigns for business areas as and when required. Both graduate and experienced hire candidates are required to pass a Criminal Records Bureau security check or equivalent before they can any offer of employment from the company.
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In May 2008, BAE Systems was awarded a five-year contract with the British Ministry of Defence worth 43.9 million pounds, for the maintenance of the VC10, the Royal Air Force tanking and transport fleet.
BALFOUR BEATTY
130 Wilton Rd London SW1V 1LQ United Kingdom Tel: 44 (0)20 7216 6800 www.balfourbeatty.com
UK Locations
London (HQ) Birmingham Bristol Croydon Derby Edinburgh Glasgow Hampshire Kent Manchester Sheffield Surrey Temporary site offices throughout the UK
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: BBY Chairman: Steven Marshall Chief Executive: Ian Tyler 2007 Revenue: 7,488m 2006 Revenue: 5,506m 2007 Employees: 35,000 2006 Employees: 30,000 No. of Offices: 400+ in addition to numerous temporary site offices
European Locations
London (HQ) Austria Germany Italy Norway Spain Sweden
Employment Contact
www.balfourbeatty.com/graduates
Divisions
Building, Building Management and Services Civil and Specialist Engineering and Services Rail Engineering and Services Investments
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career library
THE SCOOP
world-class player on the engineering scene, Balfour Beatty is an engineering, construction, service and investment group with strong platforms in both core and emergent infrastructure markets. The range of work undertaken by this engineering colossus takes in hospitals, schools, airports, roads, water supply systems and power generation and transmission and thats just for starters. The company is divided into four key business areas: building, building management and services, civil and specialist engineering and services, rail engineering and services and investments and developments. Within each of these business sectors, Balfour Beatty has a number of operating companies, the majority of which have headquarters in the UK. Balfour Beatty also operates internationally. Some of its companies located further afield include Dutco Balfour Beatty and BK Gulf in the Middle East, Balfour Beatty Sakti in Indonesia and Balfour Beatty Rail International in Malaysia, Spain, Sweden and Norway.
Balfour Beatty
The world-beatters
George Balfour and Andrew Beatty founded their company in 1909, inspired by the Electrical Lighting Act of 1882 which set England on the path away from horsepowered transport and towards electrical tramways. The company described itself as a general and electrical engineers, contractors, operating managers for tramways, railways and lighting properties and for the promoting of new enterprises. Shortly thereafter, it was awarded its first contract building a new tram system for the Scottish town of Dunfermlin and subsequently moved into civil engineering when it was commissioned to build a five-mile-long aqueduct in Scotlands Kinlochleven. In 1924, Balfour Beatty began work outside the UK with hydro-electric projects in East Africa and in Palestine, where it supplied electricity and water to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Major projects that followed for the burgeoning giant included irrigation schemes at the Tigris river in Iraq, the development of the London Underground in the 1950s, the Kainji dam in Nigeria, the Hong Kong air terminal at Chek Lap Kok, electrification of the Amtrak line between Boston, Massachusetts, New Haven and Connecticut, the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France, the Pergau hydro-electric project in Malaysia and many more. Following the privatisation of Britains railways in the early 1990s, Balfour Beatty has played a significant role in the maintenance of major lines throughout the country. As of 2008, Balfour Beatty is the second-largest construction company in the UK and the 15th-largest in the world.
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A complicated construct
Balfour Beattys size and range of operations means that it has a stake in numerous forms of infrastructure engineering. In the building management and services sector, Balfour Beatty undertakes new build and refurbishment projects in the UK through Balfour Beatty Construction. Among other entities, Balfour Beatty Construction LLC, based in the US, completes over two billion dollars of schemes each year for clients in sectors including healthcare, education and business. In civil and specialist engineering, Balfour Beattys ten operating companies, as of mid2008, work on projects of various scales. As the company itself says about its civil engineering division, it offers a wide range of services from construct-only works contracts to complex asset-based, service-driven work.
Off the rails

As for its rail engineering operations, Balfour Beatty has its fingers in numerous pies. For example, the group works on rail projects in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and the UK. Its involvement in these domestic railway services encompasses a wide range of engineering specialisms, such as trackwork, signalling systems, electrification and communications design, manufacturing and installation.
Engineering its way out of construction

Its not only engineering and construction that Balfour Beatty can claim expertise and experience in. The group also runs Balfour Beatty Capital, which develops, owns and operates privately financed infrastructure projects and has the claim to fame of being one of the most successful participants in the UK governments Private Finance Initiative (PFI), which took off in the mid-1990s. As of June 2007, Balfour Beatty Capital had committed equity investments of 269 million pounds to 26 projects around the UK. Many of these initiatives are in the education and healthcare sectors. For example, in the English city of Stoke, in Staffordshire, Balfour Beattys concession company Transform Schools is rebuilding, upgrading or maintaining 102 schools. In healthcare, Balfour Beatty Capital has seven major hospital concessions, including the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, Birmingham New Hospital and University College London Hospital.
A troubled bridge over water

In 2002, Balfour Beatty was awarded the contract to complete the repainting and refurbishing of the Forth rail bridge in Scotland. Infamous to residents of the UK, the project has become a colloquial analogy for a never-ending task. The phrase painting
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the Forth bridge has apparently even found its way into the Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms. The task includes first erecting a complex system of scaffolding, screening the work areas from the environment, followed by removing layers of old paint to repair defects in the original steel and then adding three protective coats covering a total surface area of 18 hectares. Balfour Beatty plans to have the bridge fully restored to its original condition by 2012. The fate of painting the Forth bridge as an idiom in modern parlance is unknown.
Balfour Beatty
On the road
New contracts and expansion continue for this engineering empire at a fast pace. Rises in Balfour Beattys shares in April 2008 were attributed to the news that the consortium Connect Plus, of which it is part, had been awarded a contract to provide additional capacity for 63 miles of the M25, Londons orbital motorway. The company Dean and Dyball, a new acquisition for Balfour Beatty, was recently awarded a lucrative 6.6 million pound contract to extent facilities at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. In March 2008, Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering was jointly awarded a contract worth 445 million pounds awarded by the Glasgow City Council to complete the M74 motorway in Scotland.
GETTING HIRED
Beatt it yourself
Balfour Beatty is always seeking to recruit new talent for its many projects through the UK, Europe, USA and the Middle East. Its website allows you to search for employment opportunities by region of interest to you and provides information on which of its companies are active in each respective location. Opportunities exist for graduates in engineering (civil, electrical, mechanical, building services), construction-related disciplines and quantity surveying/commercial management. The company is also keen to consider graduates in other disciplines who are interested in becoming management trainees, or who are eager to undertake a conversion course in quantity surveying/commercial management or construction management. Vacancies for graduate engineers take in the following disciplines: civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, building services engineering, building/construction management, quantity surveying/commercial management. To apply for any job with Balfour Beatty in the UK, you need eligibility to work in the UK and a minimum 2.2 degree. All jobs can be viewed and applied for online.
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Hold on to your hard hats

Opportunities for undergraduates include an intensive eight-to 12- week summer placement and an industrial sandwich year placement for six to 12 months. All centre around project sites and are recommended in particular for students in the fields of civil engineering, construction management and quantity surveying/commercial management. A placement in these undergraduate programs can also lead to sponsorship and a place on a graduate scheme after university. In 2007 Balfour Beatty recruited 54 students for the longer program and 96 for the summer placement. Apprenticeships are available in the UK, in electrical, mechanical or plumbing services engineering, construction trades and highways maintenance. Balfour Beatty also offers technician traineeships leading to National and Higher National Certificate and Diploma qualifications in civil and railway engineering, electrical/mechanical services engineering and building. To find out further details, visit the website of the operational area or subsidy that specialises in your specific interest. To find out more about all opportunities, see www.balfourbeatty.com.
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The range of work undertaken by this engineering colossus takes in hospitals, schools, airports, roads, water supply systems and power generation and transmission and thats just for starters.
BOSCH GROUP
Postfach106050 D-70049 Stuttgart Germany Tel: +49 (0)711 811 0 www.bosch.de
European Locations
Stuttgart (HQ) Austria Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Greece Hungary Italy Latvia Lithuania The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation Serbia Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Private Chairman: Franz Fehrenbach 2007 Revenue: 46.3bn 2006 Revenue: 43.7bn 2007 Employees: 272,000 2006 Employees: 261,300 No. of Offices: locations throughout Europe
Employment contact
www.boschcareer.com (Click on Jobs & Careers)
Divisions
Automotive technology Consumer goods and building technology Industrial technology
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CAREER LIBRARY
Top European Engineering Employers
THE SCOOP
f your knowledge of Bosch is limited to its household appliances, you may be surprised to learn that the company, founded in 1886, doesnt only make washing machines. It is also the worlds largest supplier of automobile components. While it produces numerous consumer goods and has wide-ranging building technology and industrial technology divisions, approximately 60 percent of its revenue is generated from its automotive technology wing. Based in Stuttgart, Bosch Group, offically known as Robert Bosch GmbH, is no small fry. This manufacturing big shot has 300 subsidiary companies operating in over 50 countries worldwide and generated sales of 46.3 billion euros in 2007. A truly international company, three quarters of this came from outside Germany and out of its 270 manufacturing sites, 210 are located outside Germany.
Bosch Group
Bosch beginnings
In 1886 Robert Bosch set up his Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering in Stuttgart and soon began to sell his magneto ignition systems internationally in England and France. Just 15 years later, in 1901, he opened his first plant in Stuttgart and quickly went on to open further factories in Paris and America. In 1906, Bosch was one of the first large companies in Germany to introduce the eighthour working day and a few years later added graded vacation arrangements for its employees, an almost revolutionary innovation at the time. In 1913, Bosch was the first vehicle outfitter to introduce the sale of a complete automotive electrical system, consisting of a magneto ignition with spark plug, Bosch is the worlds headlights, alternator and largest supplier of governor switch. In 1914, it automobile components rolled the first electric starter motor onto the market. In 1921 the Bosch horn was the star of the Berlin motor show and two years later, 100,000 had been sold. Five years after, these old-school automotive adventurers went on to develop the first effective windscreen wiper and in 1932, the first mass-produced car radio.
A fair share
In 1917, Bosch turned into a public limited company but its shares were never traded on the stock exchange. Robert Bosch kept 49 percent for himself and sold a further 49 percent to his directors. Their purchase price was fixed at an extremely low level and
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company directors were allowed to pay for them over two years out of their salaries. Robert Bosch gave the remaining two percent of shares to his legal adviser. These two percent were added to the Bosch vote at shareholder meetings which gave Bosch a permanent majority holding of 51 percent.
Bish, bash, Bosch

Bosch bravely entered the household appliances market with as much gusto as it applied to the automotive sector. Its range grew from refrigerators and freezers to a huge range of household appliances, now sold in Boschs Hausgerte subsidiary. Whilst automotive technology is, according to Boschs chairman, Franz Fehrenbach, the companys mainstay, a tougher market has meant that the group in recent years has been shuffling its priorities. Along with boosting its focus on its consumer goods and industrial technology businesses, Bosch has been making inroads into Asian economies such as China and India where growth is high. In 2007, sales in the Asia-Pacific region shot up by 15 percent. Unsurprisingly, China along with Eastern Europe are the regions where the company happens to be employing the majority of its new recruits.
Bigger, better, faster

All companies know the importance of research in order to stay ahead of the fierce competition in sectors that rely on technology and Bosch is no exception. In 2007, the group spent 3.6 billion euros on research and development, almost eight percent of its total sales revenue and this amount has been increasing year on year. In 2007, Boschs research and development team stood at 29,000 people, mostly employed in product development at the divisional level. The focus is very much on sussing out future macro-trends in technology in order to outplay its rivals in the global market.
A modern majority
Since 2003, Boschs fortunes have been in the hands of chairman Franz Fehrenbach, who joined the company as a trainee at age 25 and worked his way up the ranks, having become a member of its management board in 1999. In a unique ownership structure, 92 percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The remaining shares and voting rights are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH. As of 2006, the foundation has donated more than 790 million euros to charitable purposes and in Boschs home town of Stuttgart alone, supports the Robert Bosch
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Top European Engineering Firms Bosch Group
Hospital, the Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute for Clinical Pharmacology and the Institute for the History of Medicine. The foundation's international activities are predominantly focused on France, the US and central and eastern Europe.
The green machine

After nearly 125 years at the top of the technology industry, Bosch continues to be one of the most renowned names in the sector. In order to keep in pole position, it is creating systems to ensure, for example, that its global supplier choices are costefficient and that its assembly line products are defect free. In 2007, Bosch invested 18 million euros in a new headquarters for its Korean branch as well as greatly increasing the size of their technical centre in the country. It also invested in a large manufacturing factory in Goa, India, which will make packaging. In early 2008, it added further to its ever-growing portfolio in Asia by buying power tools company RoboToolz, based in Hong Kong with outposts in China and the United States. Alongside its continued growth, Bosch remains committed to developing innovative safety technology and to being forward-thinking when it comes to environmental challenges. Its carbon dioxide detector received a Yellow Angel award in early 2008 from the German Automobile Association as a stamp of approval for its environmental benefits. Just a few months earlier, the Federation Internationale de lAutomobile honoured Bosch with its FIA World Prize for Road Safey, the Environment and Mobility. The award recognised Boschs consistent efforts to develop and promote its highly regarded ESP safety system which counteracts vehicle skidding. Boschs efforts to intensify the use of environmentally efficient technologies spreads across all its divisions, shown by its creation of energy-saving cooling appliances, lawnmowers that have a 20 times better energy balance than conventional gasoline-powered motors and modern heating systems that combine condensing and solar technology. The company is determined to have the right products on hand when market demand for environmentally friendly technology soars.
GETTING HIRED
Wanna take on Bosch?

With over a quarter of a million employees, there are plenty of opportunities to work worldwide with Bosch. On its careers website: www.bosch-career.com, you can search for vacancies by the country you would like to work in. All various roles are clearly outlined and you can apply for jobs either online (preferred) or by post. In Germany alone, approximately 1,500 university graduates were sought in 2008.
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Plenty of placements
Bosch offer thousands of practical placements each year to students and also encourages university students to develop their dissertation with the company, offering research support in numerous technical and engineering-related subjects. Bosch will also consider funding doctorates in business and technical fields, since, as the company suggests, the next great invention might come to light this way. In addition, Bosch has more than 40 different types of apprenticeship spanning the full spectrum of its business, from the most commercial to the most technical of roles. For international graduates, Bosch offers its Graduate Management Trainee scheme. Lasting for three years, one is spent in your home country and two in Germany and at the end of the training you return home to take up a managerial role. While German is not needed to apply for this scheme, a basic understanding will hardly go amiss.
Volleyball? ja!
As Bosch operates in so many countries, it is committed to making sure its employees are aware of different cultures and can interact well with all nationalities. It supports ongoing training and further education, encouraging staff to expand their knowledge and skills. The company also has its own vigorous leisure activity programmes, ranging from volleyball to photography and drama groups.
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The focus is very much on sussing out future macro-trends in technology in order to outplay its rivals in the global market.
BOUYGUES
32 Avenue Hoche Paris, 75378 Cedex 08 France Tel: +33 (1) 44 20 10 00 www.bouygues.fr
European Locations
Paris (HQ) Austria Belgium Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland Germany Hungary Iceland Ireland Luxembourg The Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Spain Switzerland United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: BUG.L (LSE), EN.PA (Paris) Chairman and Chief Executive: Martin Bouygues 2007 Revenue: 29.61bn 2006 Revenue: 26.41bn 2007 Employees: 137,500 2006 Employees: 122,561 No. of Offices: in 80 countries worldwide
Employment Contact
See the GETTING HIRED section below for contact information for each subsidiary.
Divisions
Construction Media Property Development Road Works Telecoms
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career library
THE SCOOP
Bouygues
hile not everyone will agree that Bouygues has changed the face of the earth, as The New York Times said back in September 1989, the group has certainly come a long way since it was founded, using borrowed francs, in 1952, as a Paris-based building and construction company. Bouygues Group has fingers in many pies, spanning construction, real estate, film and television and telecommunications. It has five key business areas: Bouygues Construction, which it fully owns, Bouygues Immobilier, of which it also owns one hundred percent, Colas, a construction business of which it owns 96.7 percent, TF1, a French television operator, of which it owns 43 percent and Bouygues Telecom, a mobile phone network, of which it owns 89.5 percent. Bouygues presence is international the group operates in over 80 countries, employing more than 137,500 people. In 2007, Bouygues sales amounted to 29.6 billion euros, 8.8 billion euros of which were generated outside France.
The foundations of Bouygues

The two chief subsidiaries of Bouygues construction business, Bouygues Construction and Colas, have different aims. Bouygues Construction specialises in civil engineering, notably electrical and HVAC engineering and facilities maintenance. Colas specialises in the construction and maintenance of transport infrastructure and the industrial production of building materials for such purposes.
To let or not to let

Bouygues Immobilier is the groups property development business. Its real estate activities include the development of residential and commercial property and the management of urban development schemes. This business, which also operates as an estate agency for sales and lettings, is Bouyges smallest entity, with 1,545 employees and sales of over two billion euros in 2007.
Hello, France
The telecommunications and media business of the Bouyges Group is comprised of two core companies. Bouygues Telecom offers mobile telephone and broadband internet services and TF1 specialises in film and television production in France, as well the acquisition and sale of audiovisual rights and the publishing and distribution of CDs and DVDs. TF1, which has on average 30.7 percent of the French television audience in 2007 and a healthy roster of family-oriented programming alongside imported American television, gives Bouygues a good deal of clout in the
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entertainment industry. At the end of 2007, Bouygues Telecom had more than nine million customers, making the company the third-largest telecoms provider in France.
Its a family affair

The Bouygues Group was founded by Francis Bouygues, nicknamed Monsieur Beton, or Mr Concrete. His son Martin took over the running of the business in 1989. The group originally specialised in civil works and construction around the Paris region but, after floating on the Paris Stock Exchange in 1970, Bouygues began to expand internationally. It quickly established itself in the field of construction with projects such as the Stade de France and the Casablanca Mosque. In late 2006, The Economist reported that shares in the Bouygues conglomerate were worth 60 times their 1979 value, compared with only a twenty-fold increase for 250 other leading French companies.
Riding the New Wave

The 1980s were a key growth period at Bouygues as the company took over Colas, the global leader in construction and maintenance of transport, urban development and recreational infrastructure, in 1986. Bouygues continued the experiment in diversity with its acquisition of shares in TF1 during TF1s privatisation in 1987. The groups growth continued with the commercial launch of Bouygues Telecom in 1994, a mobile phone operator which in 2007 counted 7,700 staff and sales of 4.9 billion euros.
Building and buying

Since the turn of the millennium, Bouygues has had a busy time, with a range of takeovers, impressive building feats, new technology launches and an ambitious large-scale recruitment programme. It stacked up numerous high profile building projects, notably in South Africa, South Korea and Morocco, representing more than one billion euros. In April 2006, Bouygues bought the French government's 21 percent stake in Alstom, the railway technology company, for two billion euros, making Bouygues the largest shareholder in the company. In 2007 Bouygues increased its stake in Alstom to 30 percent. Only a month earlier, in September 2007, Bouygues announced it had acquired the 6.5 percent stake that BNP Paribas owned in Bouygues Telecom for 441 million euros, giving Bouygues an 89.5 percent stake in its telecoms company. In the same month,
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Top European Engineering Firms Bouygues

the group announced it had signed an agreement with Neuf Cegetel allowing Bouygues Telecom to provide DSL services to businesses and consumers. Bouygues Telecoms then launched a super-fast 3G wireless service in November 2007, targeting portable computer users rather than mobile phone subscribers.
Heading for splitsville?

Industry rumours that Martin Bouygues ultimate goal is to combine Alstom and his construction businesses with Areva, the French nuclear power group, have persisted through 2007. The Financial Times speculated in June 2007: Martin Bouygues, family patriarch, never misses a chance to pledge his commitment to both his mobile phone business and TF1, France's leading television broadcaster. But the markets still do not believe him. They are convinced that he will, at some stage, sell both to focus on his growing heavy industry assets and fulfil his ambitions to expand in the energy sector. Although Bouygues denied the reports, according to French business magazine Challenges in April 2007, Martin Bouygyes was said to be looking to sell Bouygues Telecom for approximately 12 billion euros. In Forbes in November 2007, Bouygues had to deny again that Bouygues Telecom was up for sale.
Sharing and caring

Bouygues makes much of its employee share ownership scheme, introduced in 1970, which has seen Bouygues employees become the group's second-largest shareholder. Bouygues is the leader of the CAC 40 index in terms of employee share ownership, with 50,000 employees participating in the funds, altogether holding 14.2 percent of the groups capital. However, in 2006, The Economist reported a complex series of transactions between 1989 and 1997 through which Martin and Olivier Bouygues were able to personally acquire assets in the firm to the detriment of other shareholders.
The future of building is green

Bouygues styles itself as an eco-friendly company. In 2005, the group created a department headed by deputy chief executive Olivier Bouygues, to oversee sustainable development policies. This division works with Bouygues business units to share best practice, provide training and assist and advise sustainable development liaison staff. In October 2007, Bouygues Immobilier launched the Green Office project in Meudon, southwest of Paris, a venture aimed at producing the first ever "positive energy" building, designed to produce more energy than it consumes. Work began on the project in 2008.
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GETTING HIRED
Opportunities abound
In terms of recruitment, in the three years from 2006 to 2008, the Bouygues Group will have hired more than 55,000 people worldwide, including 33,000 in France. In 2007, the group took on 12,000 new employees in France and planned to hire 11,000 more in France in 2008. In March 2007, Bouygues Construction launched a major recruitment campaign in France, aiming to hire 10,000 more new employees. Bouygues says, The high rate of recruitment in recent years will continue to grow, driven by strong development in all our businesses. Prospective candidates can see all jobs and internship opportunities and make online applications, by visiting the relevant businesss website at these links: Bouygues SA, the Groups holding company (180 employees): www.bouygues-societemere.com/recrut1.htm (French version only) Bouygues Construction (49,800 employees): www.bouygues-construction.com (Click on Careers) Bouygues Immobilier (1,545 employees): www.bouygues-immobilier.com/jahia/Jahia/lang/en/rh Colas (67,800 employees): www.colasrh.com (French version only) TF1 (4,000 employees): www.tf1rh.fr (French version only) Bouygues Telecom (7,700 employees): www.recrute.bouyguestelecom.com (French version only)
The firm promises that online applications will be forwarded to the relevant line manager and any other construction managers who are recruiting within 24 hours . Successful candidates are usually called for an interview with an HR manager and two interviews with line managers. New recruits are introduced to the groups history and values during induction days led by senior executives from the groups five business areas. Bouygues Construction and Colas account for more than 80 percent of company hires, although other group businesses also have major recruitment programmes.
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Bouygues
The group is keen to hire internationally, with more than 9,700 hires coming from outside France. Bouygues Immobilier, for example, operates in five European countries (Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Poland) and recruits locally, saying it seeks to ensure that every location reflects the culture of its own market. Bouygues Immobilier has designed initiatives to facilitate the integration of nonFrench employees into the firm. This includes offering graduates placements in France to give them hands-on experience at the heart of the company, before they take up permanent positions in their country of residence.
Get a Bouygues on!

The Bouygues Group offers paid internships to students from all disciplines from between three and six months, spanning a wide variety of businesses. Nearly half of all interns go on to a full-time position within the group. Applications for internships, apprenticeships, international volunteer placements (VIE) can be made online through the groups careers websites.
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BP PLC
1 St Jamess Square London SW1Y 4PD Tel: +44 (0)20 7496 4000 www.bp.com
European Locations
London (HQ) Located in more than 100 countries worldwide
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: BP (LSE, New York, Frankfurt, Paris, Zurich) Group Chief Executive: Tony Hayward 2007 Revenue: $284.37bn 2006 Revenue: $265.91bn 2007 Employees: 97,600 No. of Offices: Located in more than 100 countries worldwide
Employment Contact
www.bp.com (Click on Careers)
Divisions
BP Exploration and Production BP Refining and Marketing BP Alternative Energy
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career library
THE SCOOP
BP Plc
ne of the worlds largest companies, with a market capitalisation of 232 billion US dollars as of December 2007, BP is an empire that reaches back over a hundred years. The group has a presence in several sectors within the energy industry. As of mid-2008, it marketed several brands in addition to the BP brand. The groups convenience store chain in the US is called am/pm, its service stations elsewhere are branded BP and these use the exotic name Wild Bean Cafe for the fresh drinks and convenience shopping offered in other countries. In Germany, BP retains the Aral brand acquired in the takeover of the German company, Veba. Finally, the expansive company sells lubricants under the brand names Castrol and BP.
Journey to the centre of the earth

This enormous group operates in more than 100 countries across six continents, employing just under 100,000 people worldwide. A bona fide petroleum king, BP boasts 24,100 service stations, is actively exploring in 29 countries and has production activities in 22 countries. The group has proved reserves of 17.8 billon barrels of oil and gas equivalent. Slightly less than 40 percent of these assets are to be found in the US and 25 percent in Europe. Each day, approximately 5.6 million barrels of BPs refined product are sold.
Digging away
BP consists in two major segments: exploration and production and refining and marketing. In exploration and production, the groups strategy is to find the largest fields in the worlds most prolific hydrocarbon basins and manage assets so as to balance out declining assets with more competitive ones. The company has pinpointed its profit centres, such as the Asia Pacific, West Africa, the Caspian region and Russia and also its declining established profit centres where resources need to be carefully managed. The latter are mostly in Alaska, Latin America and the North Sea.
Refine, refine, refine

When it comes to refining and marketing, after a tragic accident in 2005 at its largest US refinery, Texas City, the emphasis has been put firmly on safety at the five US refineries. Refining and Marketing is BPs product and services-led arm and it focuses on fuels, lubricants and chemicals products. One of the key aims of the segment is to make sure that its markets are kept supplied with high quality products at all times. In 2007, a joint venture refinery in the German town of Gelsenkirchen was transformed
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during an upgrade to comply with EU regulations. BP invested 200 million dollars to replace 17 old furnaces with five new ones. These new ones have caused an estimated reduction in fuel usage and carbon dioxide emissions by 13 percent and of atmospheric dust by 97 percent.
The future of energy

BP far from operates in a vacuum, as energy policy and use of oil and gas are hotly debated topics worldwide. One particular concern that the company is actively addressing is energy security. Despite rising energy prices the average crude oil price rose 11 percent in 2007 energy consumption worldwide continues to grow. In 2006, world primary energy consumption rose by 2.4 percent, which was an above average amount relative to the previous ten years. BP assured its stakeholders and customers in its 2007 annual report however that global proved oil and natural gas reservesremain adequate to cover expected consumption for decades to come. The latter part of 2007 saw BP roll out six new exploration and production projects intended to increase operational momentum. Locations of such projects include the Gulf of Mexico, Angola and Trinidad & Tobago. The company also experienced a good year in 2007 in terms of replacing more than 100 percent of reserves for the 14th consecutive year . Helping it to achieve this were significant discoveries in Azerbaijan and Egypt. It also gained access to new oil and gas exploration acreage in Oman and Libya and a joint venture to access Canadian oil sands.
The age of the explorer

An important question shouldnt be overlooked right about now: how did this energy behemoth come about? In 1901, English entrepreneur William DArcy was granted exclusive rights to search for oil in southwest Persia. His team made its first discovery in 1908 and the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was incorporated on April 14, 1909. In 1935, Persia changed its name to Iran and the company followed suit. The following decades were witness to political unrest and by 1954, due to a tumultuous political situation, the companys name changed again; this time to the British Petroleum Company. Both Amoco, which BP merged with in 1998 and ARCO, existed prior to BPs founding they started, respectively, in 1889 and 1866.
Northern exposure
The 1970s was one of the defining eras for the oil industry. Whilst BP had previously relied hugely on Middle Eastern oil, from 1975 to 1983, this reliance went down from 80 percent to approximately ten percent. Fortunately, energy reserves were in good supply elsewhere, particularly Prudhoe Bay in Alaska and off the coast of Scotland. During the
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construction of the Trans-Alaskan pipeline system in the mid 1970s, the largest ever civil engineering project attempted in the United States at the time, BP responded to the environmental risk of its operations; the group had to take special care not to disrupt the ecological balance in the area surrounding the extensive pipeline.
BP Plc
Greener is the colour

Having kickstarted its green initiatives in the 1970s, BP has had to up the ante on the environmental front in recent years, given the increasing attention paid to climate change and sustainability. A great part of the companys 2007 Sustainability Report is dedicated to ecological concerns and to defining strategies for minimising negative operational impact on the environment. One of BPs recent introductions for new developments is its ERNP environmental requirements for new projects. These requirements range from environmental assessments prior to the start of projects to considerations that must be rated during a project, such as air quality, community disturbance, energy efficiency, emission of ozone, depleting substances and waste management. According to the companys 2007 Sustainability Report, among the alternative energy steps taken by BP in 2007 was the opening of its first wind-powered project in Asia, in Dhule, India. BP is already one of the biggest wind farm developers in the US with more than 300MW installed. In March 2007, an expansion of BPs solar cell power production facilities in Bangalore and Madrid was announced. BP Alternative Energy is investing around nine billion dollars in various areas of renewables technology. BPs chief executive, Tony Hayward, who took up the post after Lord John Browne stepped down in May 2007 after 12 years at the helm, has clarified his vision for sustainability in the future. The best preparation for the companys sustainability, he says, is to focus on safety, people and performance. Hayward, who has held many previous positions at BP is hoping that through improving its performance, BP can make a bigger contribution to society.
GETTING HIRED
Opportunities all over

Unsurprisingly, BP has a host of opportunities for students, graduates and postgraduate students. Potential interns can check out whether BP offers opportunities in their home country or review its intern programmes in the UK, for
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which anyone from any country can apply. Internships are available in engineering, science and business and in the UK alone the company takes on around 100 interns each year for its summer and year-long internship programs. The summer internships last from eight- to 13-weeks and usually take place the summer before a students final academic year. BP promises youll get to work alongside experienced colleagues and use the latest technologies. More details are available on BPs website under its careers link. For graduates, BP recruits at every stage of the energy life cycle from engineers who build platforms in the middle of the ocean to those who trade in the energy and financial markets. BP recruits graduates from a variety of engineering, scientific and other disciplines and will be hiring in the region of 175 graduates for the 2009 programmes which will typically last for three years. After completion of the programme, graduates will have developed the skills and knowledge to be able to perform a stand-alone role in their chosen field. More details are available on BPs website under its careers link, where there is a self-assessment questionnaire and a programme wizard on BPs careers site that you can use to find out which opportunities are most suited to you.
Putting the doctorate to good use

BP offers a Technology Associate Programme, aimed mainly at researchers who hold a PhD and are doing post-graduate work in areas relevant to the companys focus. This program consists of two placements of 12 to 18 months duration, at the end of which participants can take up a permanent role at BP. For those who are interested in having a pan-European focus to their training, the companys Eurograduate programme gives the opportunity to experience three diverse placements in two or three different European different countries over a fiveyear period. These would be in areas such as marketing, procurement, operations, trading, finance, business analysis, digital business, project evaluation, mergers and acquisitions or human resources. This programme is available to applicants with a business or technical degree at Masters level, complemented by practical experience for those with technical backgrounds.
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BT GROUP PLC
BT Centre 81 Newgate Street London EC1A 7AJ Tel: 020 7356 5000 www.btplc.com
European Locations
London (HQ) Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: BT (LSE, NYSE) Chief Executive: Ian Livingston 2007 Revenue: 20.2bn 2006 Revenue: 19.5bn 2007 Employees: 106,200 2006 Employees: 104,400 No. of Offices: Offices and service centres throughout Europe
Employment Contact
www.btplc.com/Careercentre
Divisions
BT Design BT Global Services BT Group Strategy & Operations BT Operate BT Retail BT Wholesale Openreach
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THE SCOOP
BT Group plc
nown as British Telecom until 2001, todays BT Group plc is the listed holding company for a group of voice and data transmission businesses in the UK, across Europe and around the world. The primary businesses of this national goliath, which declares itself the worlds oldest telecommunications company, consist of networked IT services, local, national and international telecommunications services, as well as numerous broadband internet products and services. In the UK alone, BT provides its services to more than 20 million business and residential customers. A report entitled The Economic Impact of BT, commissioned by the group, estimates that BT generates approximately 10.1 billion pounds annually for the British economy.
BT calling
BT Group contains three principal business lines: BT Retail and BT Wholesale, which operate almost entirely inside the UK and BT Global Services, which handles the networked IT services required by multisite transnational organisations. BT Retail ranks, by market share, as the largest communications service provider to the consumer and small business markets in the UK. BT Wholesale provides network services such as ADSL, conveyance, transit and bulk delivery to more than 700 communications companies.
Phoning home the profits

When it comes to the numbers, in 2007, BT posted revenues that had increased four percent from the previous year, from 19.5 billion pounds to 20.2 billion pounds. Profit margins also looked good for 2007, with BTs profit before tax up 15 percent from 2006. BT Groups divisions stretch far and wide, but it is BT Global Services, which is aiming to build the worlds most advanced global IP (internet protocol) network, that manages to take home the most revenue. In 2007, this was 9.1 billion pounds, although the retail services division hovered not far behind with 8.4 billion pounds. Its hardly as though BT Wholesale is the underachiever of the group though, as it had a still impressive 2007 revenue of 7.58 billion pounds to contribute to the telecoms titans overall total.
To be or not to BT
Riding high as the UKs best-known telecoms provider, BT has had a pre-eminent place in the British telecommunications industry since its inception. The story of the group goes back to 1846, when the first telegraph service was founded in the UK. The United Kingdom Telephone Service, in its early incarnation, was founded and run by private
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sector companies. By 1896, the Post Office had taken over the telephone service and by 1912, it was the monopoly supplier of all early UK telephone services. The idea of converting the Post Office, including its telecommunications department, into a nationalised industry was raised in 1932 but jettisoned. More calls for nationalisation were again ignored in 1961. In 1969, the Post Office Act established the British Post Office as a public corporation, guaranteeing its monopoly on operating the UKs telecommunications systems. Then in 1981, the British Telecommunications Act separated Britains telecommunications services, now called British Telecom, from the Post Office.
Telecompetition
The early 1980s also saw an element of competition added to the mix, with a framework established in which a phased process of industry liberalisation was begun. In 1982, the government announced that British Telecom would be privatised and shortly after, the company lost its monopoly with the grant of a license to Cable & Wireless to run a public telecommunications netBT has held the pre-eminent place work alongside BTs. Hot on the heels of this was in the British telecoms industry the Telecommunications since its inception in 1846 Act of 1984, which created the regulatory Office of Telecommunications (OFTEL). By November of that year, BT had gone public, with more than 50 percent of its shares sold. Within a decade, by 1993, all the companys shares had been publically floated.
BT phone home
By the turn of the millenium, BT had grown comfortable behaving as a listed company, expanding in Europe, Latin America, Asia and the United States, where it had acquired Syntegra and Yellow Book USA. Facing greater competition and escalating debt, however, BT restructured in 2001, divesting itself of its wireless business and leaving the company as the only high-ranking European telecom firm without a wireless network. On November 19, 2001, BT Group shares started trading on the London and New York Stock Exchanges.
Going slightly mobile

BT opted to launch a new corporate identity in April 2003, dropping the piper that had served as its logo since 1991 and re-entering the UK mobile market with the introduction of BT Mobile. With this, it hoped to add younger customers who no
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longer used its fixed-line services. Also, seeking to avoid regulation that could possibly have led to its break-up, BT created its new Openreach company in September 2005, as a provider of service in the last mile of copper wire, investing 70 million pounds and transferring 25,000 engineers previously employed by the companys retail and wholesale divisions. The Openreach division functions as part of a regulatory deal with Ofcom (the independent oversight authority for UK communications), to guarantee that BTs competitors are allowed equal access to the companys network. Openreach, according to Ofcom, permits every communications company to obtain equality of access to critical infrastructure, so the UK telecommunications industry has a level playing field. Openreach, which opened its doors at the beginning of 2006, has as one of its key focuses in 2008, the preparation of local networks for access to next generation IP technology.
BT Group plc
21st century vox

BT announced its 21st Century Network (21CN) in June 2004, a network transformation project that will move the UKs telephone network from the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to an Internet Protocol (IP) system. The company believes most customers will be fully switched over by 2008 and expects to save one billion pounds annually when the conversion to the new system is completed.
Bring me broadband
In technological terms, 21CN has a roster of desirable inventions that the British public will no doubt be keen to snap up. BT Vision, for example, delivers television programmes instantly to viewers through broadband and BT Fusion is a mobile phone service which switches to a broadband landline when the user arrives home or at the office. Capital expenditure on the project looks to be approximately ten billion pounds. This sum is the estimated cost of the project up to 2010 and will be approximately 75 percent of BTs total capital expenditure over this period. The company has partnered with eight suppliers for the program, including some big names on the telecommunications scene such as Siemens, Ericsson, Fujitsu, Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco Systems.
Grabbing the cable

In March 2006, BT began installing higher-speed broadband services across the UK, bringing connections that reach eight megabits per second into millions of homes and businesses. By May 2008, BusinessWeek magazine credited BT with 4.4 million broadband customers, the biggest market share in the UK. BusinessWeek has speculated that BT needs to push the provision of home entertainment through broadband in order
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to retain high revenues, but that it will cost millions to put fibre optic cables into homes. As BT has to share its network with its rivals who could steal market share from it, it awaits to be seen whether such a move will be worth the investment.
Dont mention the world

As of May 2008, the British institution keeps expanding. As part of this process, the company announced the creation of a joint global sales enterprise together with German telecoms giant Siemens, with the purpose of providing converged communications software for large multinational companies. The new venture will allow big multinationals which handle large amounts of voice and data information to consolidate and converge it at a global level. This is intended to reduce costs, complexity and risk and improve collaboration. Using the latest technology from Siemens and BTs network, this project should allow companies to pursue IP-based converged communications without overspending. Watch out for similar ventures in the convergence technology field from BT in the near future.
GETTING HIRED
Listen in
BT offers numerous career paths for students and graduates into telecommunications. They are described in depth on its careers website, which is accessible from the main BT website: www.btplc.com. Its under the heading careers. There, youll find information for MBA, graduate, PhD research fellowships and undergraduate placements, as well as a link to a general openings search, details on apprenticeships and the skinny on BTs vision and values, corporate culture, benefits and locations. In terms of graduate programmes, the path that future telecommunications engineers are likely to want to pursue is that offered by BTs ICT and Research technical stream. The training programme in this stream lasts two years and typically offers several rotations. It gives trainees the opportunity to work on some of BTs most advanced technology programmes involving broadband applications, mobility and network security, for example. Roles available in ICT range from software and platform engineering to network engineering and management.
Theyll call you

BT also offers a Fast Track Leadership Programme, for those whose tastes might lean towards management. Those who have a 2:1 degree or similar, plus a proven track record of leadership or project management, ideally within a commercial
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Top European Engineering Firms BT Group Plc

environment, can apply for this programme which aims to place its recruits in middle management roles. The programme claims it will broaden your skills, knowledge and experience by giving you the chance to spend two years rotating around Openreach, BT Operate and BT Wholesales business units, carrying out various projects. The third year of the programme puts you in a more permanent role in the organisation depending on your performance and skills. Further information is available on the BT careers website.
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CARILLION PLC
4 Birch Street Wolverhampton West Midlands WV1 4HY United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)1902 422 431 www.carillionplc.com
European Locations
Wolverhampton (HQ) Offices and projects throughout the UK.
Employment Contact The Stats

Employer Type: Public Chief Executive: Philip Rogerson Ticker Symbol: CLLN (LSE) 2007 Revenue: 5bn 2006 Revenue: 3.59bn 2007 Employees: 50,000 2006 Employees: 30,000 No. of Offices: 20 www.carillionplc.com/careers email: cctlondon@carillionplc.com Tel:+44 (0)20 8538 1422
Divisions
Building Defence Developments Facilities Management Fleet Management Health International Private Finance Planned Maintenance Property Services Rail Regional Civil Engineering Roads Skyblue (Recruitment Agency) TPS (Planning, Engineering and Architectural Design Consultancy) Enviros (Environmental Consultancy)
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career library
THE SCOOP
Carrillion Plc
arillion is a bit of a national treasure in the UK. The multi-billion pound British building and industrial entity is involved in several markets throughout the country, including health, education, road, rail, defence and commercial property. This industrial success story also offers a wide range of services, such as mechanical and electrical engineering, consultancy and the maintenance and management of various forms of infrastructure. Carillions engineering operations are responsible for servicing nearly a quarter of the British motorway network, according to Thomson Reuters, as well as the management of the nations railway network. Working with the UKs Private Finance Initiative, Carillion takes charge of large-scale projects on behalf of British public sector organisations such as the National Health Service (NHS) Trust, the Highways Agency, government departments and various local authorities, for better public services in health, education and defence. The firm is having a busy 2008 in the public sector, including working on the Allenby Connaught project for the British Ministry of Defence. This involves the replacement and management of Army accommodation in the South of England. Carillion also has underway a healthcare partnership with the NHS, through its joint venture subsidiary Clinicenta.
Building the country

Barely a decade old, Carillion was founded in 1999 when the construction arm of Tarmac, a British aggregates and road-surfacing materials producer, was de-merged from its parent company. Carillions portfolio includes an impressive range of high-profile services and projects in the UK and overseas. In 2007, Carillion acquired Mowlem plc, an international provider of construction support services, which spread its construction works outside the UK. Since then, Carillion has played a part in building the HSBC bank headquarters in Hong Kong, the Suez Tunnel in Egypt and the Copenhagen metro. In the UK, Carillion has redeveloped Londons Royal Opera House, constructed the extraordinary Tate Modern gallery in the same city, rebuilt the Government Communication Headquarters (GCHQ) intelligence centre in Cheltenham and constructed new facilities for the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, among other notable projects.
Carillion calling
Internationally, Carillions activities encompass regional businesses in Canada, the Caribbean and the Middle East, which are markets in which Tarmac (the company it
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emerged from) was already established. In the Middle East, the firm has one business in Dubai and two more in Oman and Abu Dhabi, which have already developed important projects in the region such as Dubai Festival City, Dubais Grand Mosque and the Barr Al Jissah resort in Oman, one of the main tourist attractions in the country. In Canada, Carillions businesses are based on civil engineering contracts, building and infrastructure and road maintenance services and more recently, health projects.
Complement me
To increase its business range, at the end of 2007, Carillion took over the construction company Alfred McAlpine, making it one of the UKs largest support service and construction companies. The acquisition benefited Carillion by providing the company with complementary skills in private finance, design, construction, maintenance and support services. Not long after the McAlpine acquisition, at the turn of 2008, Carillion took on the Nottingham Building Schools project, which began in mid-2008 and is expected to be completed by 2010. The project aims to deliver eight secondary schools, primarily new builds and refurbishments, as well as three newly built academy schools. In addition, the company will provide facilities management services for three of the new schools over a 25-year contract, worth almost 28 million pounds.
Green giant
One of the problems that big companies face these days is how to combine running a profitable business while at the same time remaining environmentally friendly. Understandably, this is why Carillion, as one of the UKs leading support services and construction companies, has developed a massive sustainability programme. Through the programme, the multi-billion pound company sets aside one percent of its annual profit to environmental and community activities. While one percent of annual profit might not sound like a fortune, were talking about a company that had a 3.59 billion pound revenue in 2006, so its no small fry.
GETTING HIRED
Build you own future
Career opportunities at Carillion exist for graduates with a 2.2 or above undergraduate degree in construction, engineering and information technology disciplines. Vacancies are typically offered in designing, building and maintaining and managing Carillion projects around the world.
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Top European Engineering Firms Carrillion Plc

For those who successfully match these requirements, you can apply for a two-year programme, which includes guidance from a personal mentor. The programme is tailored to each applicant dependent on his/her role within the organisation. The salary is based on the degree level and discipline chosen check Carillions website for more details. To apply for it, you need to simply register with Carillions online system, found in the graduates section at www.carillionplc.com. After applying, you can keep track the status of your application at any time simply by logging back into the system. If you are successful at this first stage, youll be asked to undergo a telephone interview. The next step will involve taking psychometric and personality tests. If you are successful here, you will be invited to an assessment centre. Carillion posts its experienced hire vacancies on the careers section of its website, where you can search by location, job category or length of posting period. The company explains on its website that each role requires different skills, so it has helpfully created an online informal test of six questions demonstrating how well you might fit in with company culture. If you are not lucky in your application to Carillion, dont give up hope. SkyBlue, a recruitment agency owned by Carillion, specialises in finding jobs in the construction, civil engineering, highways, facilities management and rail sectors in the UK. Getting in touch with them is a good idea when it comes to the first step in a Carillion career. For more information, visit their website: www.skybluesolutions.com, or call its head office on +44 0845 111 4334.
Learning the skills

Is it not good enough to be good enough today? asks Carillion on its website. Well, apparently not. This may be why the company has developed an extensive learning programme that includes support to and collaboration with schools, colleges and universities, as well as a construction training programme. Following an inspection in 2002 by the Adult Learning Inspectorate of the UK, Carillion was placed in the top five percent of construction training providers. The company has 16 training centres throughout the UK, offering training in bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, painting and decorating, plastering, building maintenance and construction operations. To find out more or to apply for one of these training placements, contact the training centre head office manager Christine Coates at: +44 (0) 20 8538 1422, or by email: cctlondon@carillionplc.com. If you are interested in working in a particular area of the UK, regional contact information is listed on the company website at www.carillionplc.com. Simply, click
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on careers and then apprenticeships, where more detailed information is displayed.
SURVEY SAYS
Overtime with strong support
I am contracted to a 37 hour week one source in the UK said, but frequently work much longer hours, as do many of my colleagues. I am allowed to take some time off in lieu, but this is usually at the line managers discretion. We get a reasonable holiday allowance, public holidays and the office usually closes for two weeks over Christmas. Another respondent responded that long hours were offset by a good amount of autonomy: personally I work long hours as my job demands it and take time off in lieu as and when I desire. My line manager and colleagues are a great support.
Laid-back but inspiring

UK respondents described the working environment as laid-back, with open plan offices and a smart casual dress policy. This only changes with instructions to follow clients dress codes when visiting their premises. Working for a company with such a major position in British engineering is considered inspiring. I enjoy working for the company overall said one female respondent, We have some major and exciting work, which has included some of the biggest regeneration schemes in Britain.
Pluses and minuses

One staffer at Carillion listed 28 days holiday exclusive of public holidays, a company car and mobile phone among the benefits of working there. There are no bonuses or stock options, however, they added.
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CEPSA S.A.
Avenida del Partenn 12 y Ribera del Loira 50, Edificio 1 28042 Madrid Spain Tel: +34 91 337 60 00 www.cepsa.com
European Locations
Madrid (HQ) Italy Portugal United Kingdom
Employment Contact
www.cepsa.com/empleo/index.html
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: CEP (Madrid Stock Exchange) Chairman: Carlos Prez de Bricio 2007 Revenue: 748m 2006 Revenue: 812m 2007 Employees: 9,000+ 2006 Employees: 11,096 No. of Offices: locations in nine countries worldwide
Divisions
Administration Engineering Human Resources Investigation Marketing Production
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THE SCOOP
Cepsa S.A.
epsa got there first it was the first private Spanish oil company, set up in 1929 under the name Compaa Espaola de Petrleos S.A. By 1950, Cepsa had moved into the production of lubricants and shortly after it became Spains first producer of aromatic petrochemical products, such as benzene.
Refining its business

Although Cepsa started as an oil exploration company, the firm quickly took on a wide range of oil and gas-related activities, from crude oil exportation to the production, supply and sale of petrochemicals and natural gas products. Cepsas crude oil business is centred principally in Algeria, where the company works alongside the state petrol and gas company and its primary production sites alongside Algeria are in Colombia and Egypt. The Spanish firm owns three refineries in its home country, with an overall distillation capacity of 21 million tons of crude oil per year and it also has 50 percent holdings in the asphalt refinery ASESA in Tarragona (Spain) with an annual capacity of one million tons of asphalt. It carries out its wholesale and retail activities through its proprietary network of global subsidiaries and it also owns shares in Compaa Logstica de Hidrocarburos (CLH), which provides oil product storage, transportation and distribution services nationwide. This network consists of more than 1,700 storage and sales points in Spain and Portugal alone.
Co-gen is the answer

In order to enhance energy efficiency at its refineries, chemical plants and production sites, the group has five co-generation facilities which, quite magically, produce electricity and steam at the same time. These cogeneration plants form Cepsas wholly-owned subsidiary company Generacin Elctrica Peninsular S.A. (GEPESA). GEPESA manages the power output of these facilities in terms of production and distribution.
Chemical bonding
The 1980s was a time of expansion for many Spanish companies, as Spain entered the what was then the Economic European Community (now the European Union) and opened up to the European market. Companies such as the consumer goods giant El Corte Ingls, the energy firm Repsol YPF and Cepsa
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used Spains European adventure as a catalyst to branch out both nationally and internationally, setting up a network of divisions and subsidiary companies in Spain and throughout Europe. Between 1984 and 1987, Cepsa created two petrochemical subsidiaries: Petresa, a firm which manufactures and sells n-paraffin, linear alkyl benzene (LAB) and their derivatives worldwide and Interquisa, which is the only Spanish producer of purified terephathalic acid (PTA), dimethyl terephalate (DMT), purified isophthalic acid (PIPA) and raw materials for the manufacture of polyesters. The Cepsa network built up in Europe in the 1980s was extended in the 1990s through acquisitions such as the lubricants company Ertoil, the petrochemicals firm Ertisa and DETEN, the Brazilian manufacturer of linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (used primarily in laundry detergents and cleaning products). At the turn of the millennium, Cepsa also started to market butane gas cylinders, used primarily in outdoor heating and cooking appliances.
Asian chemistry
In 2007 Cepsa got busy in the Asian market, since the Latin-American market was going through a stagnant phase and the European market was becoming overcrowded. In July 2007, the company signed an agreement with the president of Hyundai Oilbank Co. Ltd (HDO) to begin activities in Asia. This has lead to Cepsas presence in South Korea, where the Spanish company will acquire an existing aromatics complex (paraxylene, cumene and benzene) and set up another. Both Cepsa and HDO have holdings in the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), a society which supports them in various endeavours, especially their development in Asia.
GETTING HIRED
Working out a place in Cepsa

The company offers opportunities for post-graduate students in energy-related disciplines at international engineering institutions such as the French Petroleum Institute and the Superior Energy Institute. The Superior Energy Institute in Spain is designed to give new graduates with a vocational degree complementary training in the energy field, while the French Petroleum Institute is a well-known international centre dedicated to industrial research and development in the petroleum sector. Check www.cepsa.com for further details.
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Cepsa also offers students the opportunity to train within the company if they have not yet finished their degree, offering scholarships in different departments, including engineering, production, administration, marketing, investigation and human resources again, see the Cepsa website for more details.
Cepsa S.A.
Refining trainees
Cepsa tailors its application processes to the variety of trainee roles it offers. Generally, the process is made up of an applied psychometric test which measures reasoning, aptitude and personality a language test and a personal interview with staff members. The last part of the process consists of a meeting with the manager of the department the new graduate would be working in, which is a time for both future employee and employer to suss each other out. The company emphasises the formality of the personal interview and advises candidates to come armed with a clear understanding of why they want to work for Cepsa and what they think they have to offer.
The first step

Positions range from administrative, sales and marketing roles to technical, engineering and research-based jobs. To apply, visit www.cepsa.com and under the career opportunities link click on information. From here, pick job offers and then the submit CV online link will enable you to apply directly (note that the submission page itself is in Spanish). CVs of unsuccessful applicants are kept on file by the company for an unspecified period of time, but it is advisable that candidates keep their applications current by resubmitting CVs when they see appropriate job offers. For students in their final year(s) of education, the company offers apprenticeships in engineering, production, administration, marketing, research and human resources. To apply, submit your CV online for suitable openings, using the link on the practice page, which is on the students area website.
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CORUS
Postbus 10000 1970 CA IJmuiden The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0) 251 499111 www.corusgroup.com
European Locations
IJmuiden (HQ) Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Norway Poland Portuga Romania Spain Sweden Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public (Part of Tata Steel) Ticker Symbol: 500470 (Mumbai), TISCO EQ (National Stock Exchange of India) Chief Executive: Philippe Varin 2007 Revenue: 12bn 2006 Revenue: 9.73bn 2007 Employees: 41,200 2006 Employees: 41,2001 No. of Offices: 30 sales offices
Employment Contact
www.corusgroup.com/en/careers
Divisions
Trip Products Long Products Distribution & Building Systems Research and Development Technology
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career library
THE SCOOP
teel has long been a euphemism for strength Superman is often referred to as the Man of Steel and strong people are often described as having steely resolve. So perhaps its no surprise then, that the steel industry has had such strong an influence on society that it is often considered by economists as being an indicator of a countrys economic progress, purely on the basis of how much steel is used in infrastructure and development. Steel-making companies have become global industrial giants over the years, and Netherlands-based Corus is no exception. Dually headquartered in the Netherlands and the UK, the Corus group aims to be a major mover in the global steel industry. As Europes second-largest steel producer, the group earns annual revenues of more than 12 billion pounds and boasts an annual crude steel production of approximately 20 million tonnes. Among its divisions, Corus counts strip products, long products and distribution and building systems. Corus itself is a subsidiary of Tata Steel, the sixth-largest producer of the worlds steel. By 2007, Corus had refuelled its focus on its carbon steel activities as a way to rally competition in the Western European markets and stimulate growth in regions with low costs and a high earnings potential.
Corus
Stronger than steel

Since then, The Corus Way is what the group calls its new business strategy and great leap forward. The cogs in the Corus Way wheel, it says, are in its ability to be a leading supplier to customers by providing superior customer service, product performance and growing brand recognition and quality, benchmarking with world class performance levels, and pursuing growth opportunities both in Europe and the regions beyond. A mighty statement, but Corus has made some major investments in order to enable it to achieve these goals. These investments include a 153 million pound investment in its strip products plant in IJmuiden, The Netherlands, to expand its product range capabilities for the automotive and construction markets. Others include a 130 million pound investment at its construction services and development base in Scunthorpe, UK, to strengthen its competitive position in structural sections, rail and wire rod markets. Corus also has its eye on Asia, a notoriously booming market in terms of population and infrastructure growth. Clearly an indicator of the companys ever-expanding global footprint, as of 2007, Corus had 23,700 employees in the UK, 11,500 in the Netherlands, 1,800 in Germany, 1,600 in France, 900 in other areas of Europe, as well as an additional 1,700 staff in other countries around the world. Globally, Corus total staff numbers approximately 41,200.
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Melting pot
Corus was formed in 1999 from a position of power as the merger of British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens. British Steel had a distinguished history, beginning in 1967. British Steel survived strikes, privatisation and an increasingly competitive market before combining with Koninklijke Hoogovens, which had an even longer history. The Dutch company started in 1919 as a way for The Hague to become less dependent on imports and instead utilise Dutch industry and inventiveness. The partnership with British Steel was a means for each company to diversify and combine talents. Both companies promised they would merge with the minimum of job losses and plant closings for each company. The arrangement was beneficial, although the numbers werent as strong as they could have been. In 2007, the company changed hands as it became an acquisition for steel giant, Tata Steel. At the time of the deal, Tata Steel was a leader in the steel industry but it wanted to have a bigger presence in even more countries. The acquisition, costing Tata 6.2 billion pounds, created the worlds fifth-largest steel producer with 84,000 employees across four continents.
Turning up the heat

Once absorbed, Corus became an integral part of Tata Steel, focusing on its main markets of aerospace, automotive, construction, consumer products, defence and security, energy and power generation, engineering, packaging, rail and shipbuilding. Being involved in these different markets enabled Corus to boost its position as a supplier for metal customers worldwide, which hugely increased brand recognition. As of 2008, Corus has steel-making facilities in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Each of these operations is bolstered by Corus technology, research and development department. Some key projects for this department have involved developing new alloys to meet specific market needs, adopting tin-coated steel packaging or zinc-coated steel for products, making raw steel production more efficient and testing refractories to possibly be used in other industries. To ensure that its research, technology and development department is stocked with the most up-to-date information, Corus has partnerships with universities and institutes worldwide, such as the Centre de Recherches Mtallurgiques, in Liges, Belgium, and IMMPETUS, the Institute for Microstructural and Mechanical Process Engineering at the University of Sheffield.
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Corus in the community

Corus also has strong roots in the communities where it is located, and encourages employee involvement with local groups. In the Netherlands, Corus has sponsored a local football team as well as a Dutch Premier League team, AZ Alkmaar, even providing the building materials for AZ Alkmaars new stadium in 2006. The UK has also had its fair share of community awards from Corus and donations have played a part as well, such as contributions to schools, hospitals, and charities. The British Triathlon, for example, counts Corus as one of its major sponsors. Schoolchildren also benefit from the company, with educational awards being offered, schools being adopted and partnerships being established. Kids in France even have a chance to form a junior company for a year. The group couldnt participate in all of these projects without financial resources behind it. Some ways in which Corus has increased its capital strength have been raising the prices for aluminised strip steels, forming a joint venture in Bulgaria to capitalise on a growing construction market and investing in reducing carbon dioxide emissions at Port Talbot in the UK. The companys strategies seem to be working, as turnover has increased year on year in recent years, from 8.37 billion pounds in 2004 to 9.16 billion in 2005 to 9.73 billion in 2006. By 2007, the company was riding high with revenue of more than 12 billion pounds. Additionally, the companys integration into Tata Steel has given it a further boost when it comes to future revenue potential. In 2008, the group hiked up prices for several of its products due to increases in costs of raw materials and energy, as global steel demand shot to unprecedented new heights.
Corus
GETTING HIRED
Becoming a voice in the Corus
Corus considers itself technology-driven and customer-oriented. Teamwork, innovation, the ability to demonstrate ingenuity and intuitiveness are qualities Corus looks for in employees. In the companys careers section on its website you can locate the area that sounds right for you. Apprenticeships are available in automotive, construction, rail, energy and power, engineering, business services, security and defence. The apprenticeship programme is a great way for a person to learn industryspecific knowledge through hands-on experience. Corus offers a generous salary, a full benefits package and good opportunities for promotion. Placements are available throughout the UK, in South Wales, Rotherham
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and Stockbridge, Scunthorpe, North Wales and Corby. The qualifications needed for these apprenticeships are a minimum of three GCSE passes at a C grade or higher. All applications should be completed on Corus online application system. See Coruss apprenticeships website for more information.
Fire with fire

Those with A-levels can apply directly from school to become Corus trainees. Trainees work in a designated area and after a three-month probationary period, have a chance to become involved in full-time roles at Corus. Corus also encourages its trainees to continue their education, as it seeks employees with strengths in multiple disciplines. The programme which begins every August opens at the end of April every year and can be viewed on Corus careers website.
Careers at Corus
A considerable amount of information is available to graduates potentially interested in a career at Corus on the companys careers website, including details on whether a person needs a work permit, language skills, Corus itself is a subsidiary of professional accreditation, o r a te c hnic al de gre e . Tata Steel, the sixth-largest Approximately 100 postproducer of the worlds steel. graduate students per year receive sponsorship from Corus in technical or engineering programmes. You can peruse this section online to find out what programmes and sponsorships are available. Alternatively, you can check out the general vacancies on Coruss general vacancies listings. Corus has jobs in the Netherlands, as well as openings in the Long Products division at one of the largest manufacturing sites in the UK. You can also directly search for job openings in the groups research and development division.
OUR SURVEY SAYS

The first steps
For the graduate programme, first you register an interest online. If a vacancy matches your profile you will be contacted asking to apply for it. Then you fill in an application form for real, says one keen employee. If the application passes the
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Top European Engineering Firms Corus

initial screening, applicants will undertake online numeracy and literacy tests. The experienced insider says, If these are okay, you will be given a telephone interview, and if that goes well you will be invited to an assessment centre, along with maybe ten other candidates. At the assessment centre, one employee says interviewees undertake a group exercise, a formal interview and a short presentation. All in all it is quite a long process and took me about three months from originally applying, to being offered a position. In terms of who Corus are looking to hire, one UK insider says, You need to be enthusiastic. You need to know what the job is you are applying for and want to do it. If you can demonstrate that you enjoy your field of study and would like to work in the steel industry then you wont do yourself any harm. Another employee stresses the importance of being honest during interviews, saying: If you dont understand something youve been asked then just say so they will respect the fact that youve had the courage to say so. Lastly, be confident. At the end of the day this is an opportunity to say Hey, here I am, and this is what I have to offer you.
Enjoyable hours
Employees at Corus say the company has a good approach to working hours and that the firm offers flexibility and an understanding approach to periods of necessary absence. One impressed staffer explains: The firm has a partial flexible hours scheme, where you are free to work at a time that suits you provided you are working during the core business hours of 9am12pm and 2pm4pm said one Corus staffer. Another insider (and new parent) added, They have been very helpful and understanding during my paternity leave, leaving me free to concentrate on my baby. One satisfied respondent on the graduate programme said: I had no real problems as a graduate engineer with the working hours. I fear that may change when I take on a substantive position as there can be a requirement for weekend work. Hours can be flexible, which is a bonus, and they were very helpful when I had an enforced period of absence last year. Some employees noted that sometimes shift working may be required or working during shut-downs. While another experienced insider described the hours as definitely not flexi-time, but flexible on prior arrangement with the management.
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Lets party!
For younger employees, it seems that Corus boasts an attractive social culture. One graduate engineer says the large company has many social sections, adding that socialising tends to be restricted to other graduates or other work colleagues who share similar past-times. He added: The older generations dont socialise so much. An engineer at the firm said Engineers tend to socialise together and seem to be treated as a collective. The engineering department isnt treated with as much importance as other departments, like production, even though our performance has a large impact on the manufacturing side of the business. Workers at the firm enjoy a positive culture with a good emphasis on team working. Social departmental activities are held regularly and professional development opportunities are supported, while funding is provided for further qualifications.
Delivering diversity
There are quite a few people from minority backgrounds working at graduate level, observes one Corus employee, who adds: My experience shows that engineers from ethnic minority backgrounds are employed purely on the basis of their skill and experience. In terms a gender diversity and opportunities for women, one Corus employ assures us, Female engineers rise to the highest levels of the firm and the number joining the firm continues to grow. A female engineer told us: Corus is very respectful towards women, and there are lots of women engineers on site.
Your boss is who you are

How youre treated as a graduate engineer largely depends on who is your direct manager said one respondent, explaining: Some take a lot of interest in you, others dont. Another source added: Engineers are generally kept abreast of any major developments in the company, though for a company of this size, it is a case of reading the bulletins rather than large meetings to inform everyone. One employee explains that trainee engineers are guided well and coaching is provided in areas requiring development. Another noted, We tend to have an input into decisions, but we are also expected to solve any complex situations that we were not party to in the first place. Employees listed free parking and relocation expenses among the perks offered by Corus.
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Weighing the pros and cons

Some employees suggested better salaries for graduates, much better salaries for chartered engineers. One insider says, It seems silly to incur the cost of recruiting and training people only to lose their skills because you wont pay the going rate. According to one source, working at Corus is challenging and constantly changing no two days are the same. He adds that employees enjoy a good level of responsibility not too much, not too little and good training. Another source added, I am pleased with the breadth of my work, the support I receive from colleagues and the satisfaction I receive from completing projects.
Corus
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DAIMLER AG
70546 Stuttgart Germany Tel: +49 711 17 0 www.daimler.com
German Locations
Stuttgart (HQ) Affalterbach Berlin Bremen Dsseldorf Gaggenau Hamburg Kassel Ludwigsfelde Mannheim Rastatt Sindelfingen Ulm/Neu-Ulm Wrth
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: DAI (XTRA, NYSE) Chairman: Dr. Dieter Zetsche 2007 Revenue: 99.39bn 2006 Revenue: 99.22bn 2007 Employees: 272,382 2006 Employees: 274,024
European Locations
Belarus Belgium Croatia Czech Republic France Hungary Ireland The Netherlands Romania Russia Spain Ukraine United Kingdom
Divisions
Mercedes-Benz Cars: Mercedes Benz Smart AMG Maybach Daimler Trucks: Mercedes-Benz Freightliner Sterling Western Star Mitsubishi Fuso Mercedes-Benz Vans Daimler Buses Daimler Financial Services
Employment Contact
career.daimler.com/career microsite/index.php/europe/en
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career library
THE SCOOP
aimler AG is one of the worlds leading automotive companies. Between 1998 and 2007 the automobile giant had been known as DaimlerChrysler after its 36 billion dollar merger with Chrysler, the iconic American car manufacturer. When Daimler let go of the underperforming Chrysler arm in 2007, everyone agreed it was for the best that both companies stood alone.
Daimler AG
Why is Daimler such a titan in the auto industry? The name Mercedes-Benz should give a clue. The luxury Mercedes brand has been popular for decades and during the Chrysler merger period, its vehicles were the only consistently high-performing division for DaimlerChrysler. Newly shorn of Chrysler, as of mid-to-late 2007, Daimler is the umbrella company for Mercedes-Benz cars, Daimler Trucks, MercedesBenz vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services. Boasting a 2007 revenue of 99.39 billion euros and more than 270,000 employees around the world, Germanys Daimler is a huge company on its own terms. Gross profit has risen since the demerger and in 2007, Daimler pulled in just under 50 billion euros of sales in Western Europe alone, of which 22.5 billion euros was in Germany. The same year, US sales rocketed to more than 20 billion euros.
The flagship brand

The central pillar of Daimlers operations is Mercedes-Benz, headquartered in Stuttgart with 97,526 employees to its name. In 2007, its unit sales were 1,293,184 vehicles, bringing in hefty revenues of 52.43 billion euros. The majority of MercedesBenzs automobiles are produced in Germany but this division also has production sites elsewhere around the world, including the cost-efficient locations of Brazil, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Daimler Trucks, also based in Stuttgart, is another important division for Daimler, as the company is the worlds leading truck manufacturer. Truck sales for 2007 sales hovered just under half a million. Revenues for this division amounted to 28.47 billion euros in 2007 and its employee figures stood at 80,067 in the same year. With vans and buses to its name along with a raft of subsidiaries including Daimler Research and Technology North America and Thomas Built Buses, which makes the iconic yellow school buses in the US, the Daimler empire is nothing if not built on solid foundations.
A tale of two companies

The history of Daimler begins with Daimler-Benz, which has its origins in the 1880s when two engineers, Karl Benz and Gottlieb Daimler, separately developed internal
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combustion engines. Without meeting, each man founded his own company, Benz & Companies and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft respectively, and both became profitable automakers. In 1886, Benz got a patent for a vehicle with an internal combustion engine, the first viable car to be fueled by gasoline. In 1900, Daimler secured financing from Emil Jellinek, consul general of Austria-Hungary, to create a new high-performance car with the stipulation that it would bear the name of his daughter, Mercedes. An engineer named Ferdinand Porsche was hired in 1906 as Daimlers Technical Manager, helping to secure Daimlers early engineering success. In 1926, Daimler and Benz merged and Mercedes-Benz automobiles were born. World War II saw Daimler-Benz manufacturing tanks, trucks and aircraft engines for the Germans. Post-war, with its production capacity severely reduced, the company went on to recoup its losses in the 1950s and become a leader automobile manufacturer in the decades that followed. By Daimlers gross profit the 1970s , w o rldw ide sales of Mercedes had has risen since the Chrysler taken off. Competitors demerger in 2007 were on Daimlers tail though, and in the 1980s and 1990s the group diversified into industrial technology and aerospace. In 1985, it bought German electronics company AEG, German aeronautical company Dornier and MTU, an engine and turbine manufacturer.
Schrempp strength
By the mid 1990s, the diversification tactic wasnt working for Daimler, despite being Germanys largest company, and it posted a loss of 5.7 billion marks in 1995. Restructuring and job cuts enabled a turnaround in 1996 and it was able to announce a net income of 2.8 billion euros. Jrgen Schrempp was the mastermind of this return to strength. As chairman of Daimler from 1995 to 1998, he was a principal architect of its merger with Chrysler and he stepped down from the Daimler hotseat in 2006.
Millennial blues
The Chrysler merger was a huge deal in global terms, with Daimler-Benz paying 38 billion dollars to acquire Chrysler Corporation in 1998. Analysts and industry media predicted that the union would create a global giant, with DaimlerChrysler cars dominating landscapes as far as the eye could see. The merger was forged with the best of intentions, such as to cut costs and achieve a balance in terms of geographical spread and product line. Combined group revenue shot up initially, but the turn of the millennium saw it run into trouble with Chrysler revenues falling steadily.
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Taking a 37 percent stake in Japans Mitsubishi motors in 2000 along with a ten percent stake in Korean car manufacturer Hyundai, DaimlerChryslers expansion continued apace. It added to its roster Canadian truck manufacturer Western Star Holdings and the 79 percent or so it didnt own already of Detroit Diesel, a truck engine company. The arrival of a new chairman, Dieter Zetsche, signalled more changes for Chrysler. Through job cuts, including senior management, Zetsche got Chrysler back on its feet. By January 2006, he was appointed chairman of DaimlerChrysler and he set about cutting losses. Both the companys domestic and foreign concerns were on the receiving end of more job cuts, and its Smart car division, marketing a cute two-seat attempt to break out of the luxury market, narrowly missed being sold off to a private equity consortium after it posted disappointing sales.
Daimler AG
Taking the high road

Daimler and Chrysler parted ways in May 2007, with Cerberus Capital Management, a private equity firm with stakes in more than 50 companies, acquiring an 80 percent stake in Chrysler in a deal worth 7.4 billion US dollars. Daimler was renamed Daimler AG and the new Chrysler entity became a privately-held company, Chrysler Holding. The deal saw Chrysler walk away with the lions share of the capital 6.05 billion dollars, with Daimler receiving 1.35 billion dollars. Whilst far less than its original payment for Chrysler, Daimler escaped taking on any liability for Chryslers massive pension and health care obligations. Since the break-up, Daimler has been able to regain its focus on pushing the Mercedes brand in growing markets such as Russia and China. While the credit crisis of 2008 has caused trouble to carmakers worldwide, especially in the American market, Zetsches orientation towards emerging markets as the next big thing for luxury car makers ensures Daimlers strength despite its exposure to the declining dollar.
GETTING HIRED
Want to get your hands dirty?

Daimler offers great vocational training opportunities, combining practical work experience with theoretical training in the following sectors: manufacturing, service and sales, administration, information technology and research and development. Anyone interested in such training needs to speak German and visit Daimlers careers website in German where all details can be found.
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Daimler is part of the University of Co-operative Education, an alternative to studying at a traditional university or technical college. It offers three year specialised business and technical degrees for those with the Abitur (high school graduation certificate). The degrees are well balanced between theoretical work and hands-on practical training. More details are available on the Daimler careers website. Numerous intern positions are available at Daimler worldwide. Its international top talent programme Daimler Student Partnership is a Germany-wide programme for engineering and business students with one or two years of their training remaining and some Daimler experience (as an apprentice or intern) under their belt. Selected students are given a mentor who helps them in their career path towards either a direct entry position or onto the company-wide trainee programme CAReer. This programme is designed for those with degrees in engineering or economics, offering fantastic opportunities to progress at Daimler. You can pick one of the following departments to start your training in: engineering, research and development, manufacturing and related functions, sales and marketing, procurement and supply, finance, leasing and banking, finance and controlling, information technology or human resources. Requirements include a passion for and experience in the automotive sector, plus fluent German if you want to work in Germany and sound English skills. Application processes vary regionally, though you can apply online to work in Germany. With 350 trainees taken on each year worldwide, if you want to work outside Germany its necessary to check the Daimler website for the country in which you want to work.
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ed, d e e n spee l th for Fee ed 1986 Gun, I ne Top the

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DASSAULT AVIATION
78 Quai Marcel Dassault 92210 St Cloud France Tel: +33 (1) 47 11 4000 www.dassault-aviation.com
French Locations
Saint-Cloud (HQ) Argenteuil Seclin Poitiers Argony Martignas Merignac Cazaux Biarritz Istres Surenes Le Bourget
The Stats
Employer Type: Private Chairman: Charles Edelstenne 2007 Revenue: 4.03bn (FYE: 12/07) 2006 Revenue: 3.35bn 2007 Employees: 12,082 2006 Employees: 11,928 No. of Offices: 17 production sites and seven liaison offices
European Locations
Greece
Employment Contact
Careers website: www.dassault-aviation.com/en/ aviation/careers.html
Divisions
Civil Aircraft Military Aircraft
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career library
THE SCOOP
Dassault Aviation
ne of the aviation industrys heavy hitters, Dassault Aviation, has a long and successful history of manufacturing aircraft for both civil and military use. Making planes since 1930, the company has always maintained a strategic focus on the pursuit of technological excellence in airborne systems. The civil and miltary wings of the private company, which is 50.21 percent owned by the Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault, are highly regarded for their engineers ability to put together complex airborne systems which match clients highly specialised logistical requirements. With a global presence including offices in India, Russia, Greece, Brazil, and the UAE, and subsidiaries in France and the US, as of 2007, Dassault had 2,500 military combat aircraft in service in 35 countries worldwide, and over 1,700 business jets in use in 70 countries.
A turbulent ride
The companys roots can be traced back to before World War I, when, in 1913, young Frenchman Marcel Bloch graduated from Paris Ecole Suprieure Aronautique as an aeronautical engineer. Three years later, he designed a military propeller, the clair, considered one of the best wartime propellers. It made Bloch a national hero. In 1917, he formed the Socit d'Etudes Aronautiques, but the end of World War I saw a cancellation of all military aircraft orders and he made an unexpected move into the real estate business. The setting up of the French Air Ministry in 1928 took the ardent aeronaut right back to the heart of the growing aviation industry. By 1930, he had founded the aircraft manufacturers Socit des Avions Marcel Bloch, which was nationalised in 1937. Bloch was deported to Buchenwald concentration camp in the early 1940s, where he was almost hanged for refusing to work with the Germans.
Flying free
Post-war, Bloch, who changed his name to Dassault in 1949, was free to focus on company expansion. Dassault, which in French means for assault, focused on three specialisations flight equipment, engines, and electronics. Aided by the increasing importance of combat aircraft in foreign policy, Dassault went from strength to strength, moving successfully into exports and becoming the French Air Forces major supplier. Having merged with Breguet Aviation in 1971, the companys chief focus in the remaining decades of the 20th century was technology, technology and yes, technology.
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New computer programmes and materials have consistently helped all aviation companies make huge improvements in quality and efficiency. Dassault fended off rival companies by being protected by the French state, who, in 1981, purchased 26 percent of the company. As Dassaults main customer, the state funnelled money into research and design in order to gain as much as possible from its acquisition. The Falcon is doing particularly well, registering record sales figures in 2006 with 158 aircraft made. Dassault continues to pour money into high technology so its planes can become all the more impressive. In 2007, work was underway on an executive jet in the super mid-size market, a range of unmanned combat aircraft, and technologies for a supersonic executive jet.
Who is flying this plane?

Perhaps the companys most exciting 2007-08 project is the unmanned combat aircraft vehicle (UCAV), rather frighteningly called nEUROn. The bird-of-prey shaped vehicle, for which Dassault is the prime contractor, is the first large The company traces its roots to sized stealth platform 1913 when Marcel Bloch, an designed in Europe, and aeronautical engineer, designed being developed in cooperatation with a team of a revolutionary propeller European partner companies, including Swedish Saab, Greek EAB, Swiss RUAG Aerospace, Spanish EADS CASA and Italian Alenia. The development of the vehicle is costing 405 million euros, with half of this being put forward by France. First test flights are scheduled for 2011, and Dassault states that its key technological challenges are to get right the shape of the aircraft, in terms of its aerodynamics, its tail-less configuration, and its internal weapons bay, along with the key role of software and the high-level algorithms necessary for automation.
GETTING HIRED
Get Dassault-ed
Dassault, as an industrial architect of complex airborne systems, offers a range of great opportunities for anyone who spent their childhood playing with model
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aeroplanes. Looking to employ those who wish to work in flight simulation, system modelling, information systems architecture, technical data management, production, logistics, maintenance, business engineering, purchasing, quality, and sales and commercial, the company vigorously recruits and promotes. It has no graduate trainee scheme but offers several alternatives to graduates looking to get in to the aviation giant. Approximately 600 internships are granted each year, lasting for up to six months, in all company divisions. Priority tends to go to those who have vocational training qualifications or to undergraduates in top-tier universities who have thesis interests that complement the companys research and development projects. Applications should be made in early October by applying online, through the "join us" section of the "careers" page. All vacancies can be seen on the company careers website, www.dassault-aviation.com/en/aviation /careers.html. Alternatively, you can send in an unsolicited application (as a handwritten or typed covering letter with CV) to the company recruitment officer, or to the recruitment officer of the Dassault entity most likely to be interested in your background addresses are listed on the careers website. The company does not offer jobs or placements abroad, except for with Dassault Falcon in the US visit www.dassaultfalcon.com for information.
Dassault Aviation
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EADS
37 Boulevard de Montmorency 75781 Paris Cedex 16 France Tel: +33 (1) 42 24 2424 www.eads.com
French Locations
Paris (HQ) Blagnac Bourges Caudebec-en-Caux Cazaux Colomiers Compigne Douarnenez Fontenay-aux-Roses La Fert Saint-Aubin Les Mureaux Le Subdray Les Ulis Marignane Maulte Mrignac Nantes Orlans Rochefort Saint-Aubin de Medoc Saint-Mdard en Jalles Saint-Nazaire Saint-Setiers Salaunes Selles-SaintDenis Tarbes Toulouse Val-de-Reuil
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: EAD (Euronext) Chief Executive: Louis Gallois 2007 Revenue: 39.1bn 2006 Revenue: 39.4bn 2007 Employees: 116,493 2006 Employees: 116,805 No. of Offices: n/a
European Locations
Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Finland Germany Italy The Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom
Divisions
Airbus Astrium Defence and Security Eurocopter Military Transport Aircraft
Employment Contact
www.eads.com (Click on Career)
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career library
THE SCOOP
EADS France S.A.S.
ormed by the July 2000 merger of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) of Germany, Arospatiale-Matra of France, and Construcciones Aeron of Spain, EADS is Europes largest aerospace corporation. The acronym stands for European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company. Manufacturing aircraft, missiles, space rockets and satellites, EADS clients are both civil and military. The company consists of five main divisions: Airbus, Military Transport Aircraft, Eurocopter, Defence and Security, and EADS Astrium. Airbus made 453 hundred-plus seat aircraft in 2007, bringing in a revenue of 25.2 billion euros, the large majority of EADSs revenue. In the same year, the military transport aircraft division brought in revenue of 1.14 billion euros and Eurocopter, which is the worlds leading helicopter manufacturer, took 4.17 billion euros. The Defence and Security division brought in 5.47 billion and Astrium, EADSs space technology and equipment division, generated 3.55 billion euros of group revenue. Ownership of EADS splits several ways. Almost a third of it is owned by a holding company comprising the French state and the media company Lagardre, called SOGEADE. Approximately 22 percent of it is held by Daimler, the German automobile manufacturer, just over five percent is owned by SEPI, a holding company belonging to the Spanish state, and just over 40 percent is owned by other retail, institutional and employee interests. In terms of geographical spread of revenues, it shouldnt be surprising that as EADSs name suggests, the majority of group product sales are in Europe, at 45 percent in 2007. Comparatively, North America generated 20 percent of group revenues in 2007, Asia-Pacific was responsible for 23 percent, and the rest of the world for 12 percent.
Houston, we have a problem

Despite its solid footing in its markets, EADS faces challenges. In June 2006, the companys delivery of its A380 superjumbo jet, the worlds largest passenger jet, with seating for more than 550 passengers, was delayed, due to problems with installing its electrical wiring systems. On June 14, 2006, EADS shares dropped 26 percent after the company announced that the A380 was not going to make its delivery date, inevitably causing problems that needed to be surmounted in the following months. Production of the A380 was soon back on track, with the first of the planes delivered to Singapore Airlines in October 2007. Other A380s have been sold to British Airways, Emirates, Air France, Lufthansa and Qantas Airways, and the group had 188 orders for the plane by end of play in December 2007. Heading up EADS is Louis Gallois, former head of SNCF. Gallois has been sole chief executive of EADS since August 2007. Alongside his tenure at SNCF, he offers EADS
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experience gained from many years working for the French state in the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Research and Industry and the Ministry of Defence. A graduate of the cole des Hautes tudes Commerciales in economic science, Gallois has guided EADS towards an order intake in 2007 which, at 136.8 billion euros, was double of that of 2006. The Airbus subsidiary was piloted by Christian Streiff during the A380 problem. Streiff, who had previously spent 26 years at buildings materials company Saint-Gobain, was chief executive of Airbus for only five months before he left to take the top job at car manufacturer Peugeot-Citron.
What does Le Figaro know?

In late 2007, the French newspaper Le Figaro suggested that EADS would be facing inquiries as to potential insider trading. The newspaper reported that high-ranking company officials had sold shares with advance Louis Gallois, former head of knowledge of the A380 SNCF, has been sole chief executive production delays, and so of EADS since August 2007 they had escaped the losses incurred by the plunge shares took when Airbus went public with the delays. The French stock market regulator is currently investigating Le Figaros claim, although Le Figaros report is far from conclusive, and Daimler and Lagardre have refuted the charges.
Reaching for the skies

Whilst EADS is undoubtedly undergoing turbulence, it is still early days for the company, as it has only been in existence for seven years. It was created because shareholders felt there was a need for a common defence and aerospace contractor between European countries, so they could share knowledge and technology and improve efficiency. The company launched on the Frankfurt, Madrid and Paris Stock Exchanges on July 10, 2000. From its earliest months, EADS racked up the orders for civil and military aircraft. Its early orders demonstrated that the company was creating a global footprint, selling products as far as Australia, the US, Russia, Qatar and South Korea.
Despite the dollar

The dollars slide in 2007-2008 has been problematic for EADS, as it sells planes in dollars but uses billion of euros worth of equipment. It therefore is feeling the pinch as the dollar weakens. Some belt-tightening has had to happen in 2007 by way of the
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Power restructuring plan, which focuses on streamlining assembly lines, concentrating on core business activities and cutting overhead costs. After its A380 setback, Airbus, in particular, had a good 2007, with global market demand peaking, leading to record net orders of 1,341, mostly in its A320 family and its A330 family, the latter being one of its range of larger aircraft. EADS is estimating 2008 aircraft orders of approximately 700, with forecasted revenues in excess of 40 billion euros. Good news also came in March 2008 in the shape of a 35 billion dollar deal with the US military to supply it with air tankers, which will be assembled in Alabama and create as many as 25,000 jobs.
EADS France S.A.S.
GETTING HIRED
Working with EADS
EADS obviously seeks out highly qualified technical applicants, and it has internship and training schemes available for undergraduates and graduates with relevant experience. Details about all schemes can be found on the companys careers website follow the jobs and careers link on EADS main website. You can then visit the entry options page, where you can choose between options for undergraduates, final year students, or graduate programmemes and apprenticeships. The company is most keen to recruit students in the fields of aviation, space technology, electronics, information technology and management.
Brains for planes

Undergraduates who are in their final year are recruited to do their final year project with EADS. Those who are studying in the field of engineering sciences are also invited to apply for Airbus student scholarship programme. In order to find out what positions are available to do either of these, and to find out other available options, you need to go to the job search portal and pick which work contract type you correspond to. Options available are agency contract, apprenticeship, final year thesis, fixed-term contract, graduate, internship, PhD/research contract, permanent work and the VIE scheme. Alternatively, you can search for work according to Group Division: Airbus, Astrium, Defense and Security, Eurocopter, and Military Transport Aircraft, or according to country, state, area, or work experience level in years. Many of its job offers seem to be Germany-based, so you will need to be willing to travel.
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Wings around the world

The company has worldwide opportunities those interested in working elsewhere with EADS can search for jobs through the job search portal. If you want to work in the US or the UK, go to the respective websites for each country: www.northamerica.eads.net, and www.eadsdsuk.com. The latter website is just for EADS defence and security systems in the UK, but it has a graduate recruitment programmeme with an international reach for English speakers who either wish to pursue a business career or have engineering qualifications and wish to work in engineering fields.
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LECTRICIT DE FRANCE
22-30 Avenue de Wagram Paris Cedex 8, 75382 France Tel: +33 (1) 40 42 2222 www.edf.fr
French Locations
Paris (HQ) Alsace Aquitaine Auvergne BasseNormandie Bourgogne Bretagne Champagne-Ardennes Corse Franche-Comt Haute-Normandie Ile-de-France Languedoc Roussillon Limousin Lorraine Midi-Pyrnes Nord-Pas-de-Calais Pays de la Loire Picardie Poitou-Charente ProvenceAlpes Rhne-Alps
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: EDF (Euronext) Chief Executive: Pierre Gadonneix 2007 Revenue: 59.6bn 2006 Revenue: 58.9bn 2007 Employees: not available 2006 Employees: 153,524 No. of Locations Worldwide: 51
European Locations
Austria Belgium Czech Republic Germany Italy Lithuania Poland Russia Spain Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom
Divisions
Distribution Generation Supply & Services Trading & Transmission
Employment Contact
www.edfrecrute.com
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career library
THE SCOOP
lectricit de France
ne of the worlds foremost electricity suppliers, lectricit de France (EDF) has enjoyed a prominent status on the global energy scene since its inception in 1946. Along with its sister company Gaz de France (GDF), EDF was the result of Frances push towards a post-World War II nationalisation of industry. The then Minister for Industrial Production, Marcel Paul, merged several electricity producers, transporters and distributors to create EDF. Like GDF, EDF is involved every step along the way of its electricity provision, from energy generation, trading and distribution to its supply and services. This integrated company boasts 37.8 million customers worldwide, a global workforce of 156,524, and a 2007 net income of 5.6 billion euros. The majority 71.8 percent of its electricity comes from nuclear energy, followed by 21.78 percent from thermal power, 7.8 percent from hydrocarbons, and 0.24 percent from renewable energy sources.
Nuke it!
Following the global oil crisis of the early 1970s, national energy independence became a priority for France, and EDF began to build nuclear reactors in 1974. The first was completed in 1977. By 1984, the country was a leading exporter of nuclear reactor technology and know-how. The July 1, 2007 deregulation of European energy markets has allowed EDF to position itself for more dynamic growth around the continent and to consolidate its extremely strong footholds in the UK, Germany and Italy. In its 2007 Annual Report, EDF said the energy sector accounts for 26 percent of global GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions. Its environmental experts note that electricity providers have a special responsibility to reduce this. EDFs key strategy for greener energy provision is to renew its nuclear fleet. Despite the well-documented downsides to nuclear power, it is the only large-scale thermal energy source that is carbon-free, and is supported by both EDF and the French government.
The answer is Nu-clear

EDF is in the process of designing and developing Europes largest nuclear power reactor, costing 3.3 billion euros, together with Areva, the French nuclear energy company, Framatome, the French nuclear power plant constructors and the German corporation Siemens AG. Since summer 2006, the European Pressure Reactor (EPR) project has been underway in Flamanville, north-west France. The
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reactor is EDFs key project at the moment as it will provide a long-term way to provide low-cost power for domestic use and export. As a third-generation nuclear reactor, the EPR has a capacity of 1,650MW and is at the forefront of nuclear technology. Its steam generator will use 17 percent less fuel than current reactors and its annual power output will outpace them by 36 percent. On the green front, once the reactor starts operating in 2012, the electricity it produces will be carbon dioxide emission-free.
Radioactive decay aint pretty

Such a huge nuclear project is not without controversy. Before it was given the goahead by the French government, the EPR was put to public debate. In October 2005, groups of experts including scientists, academics and environmental agencies such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth were called on to give evidence in public forums and in the media regarding the pros and cons of nuclear power. A public vote showed that while roughly a third of the French public voted against nuclear power, mostly because of the problem of the storage of nuclear waste, a majority were happy to see the EPR greenlighted. Protestors have not been stopped in their tracks, though. Environmentalists sitting atop EDFs cooling towers in protest at atomic energy generation are still a frequent sight.
East meets West

If China, with its population of more than 1.3 billion and increasing industrial and entrepreneurial activity, is the next big thing in the global economy, EDF is making sure its not missing out. It has had a presence there for over 20 years and is now the leading foreign investor in power generation in the country. This is by way of its investments in Chinese companies operating coal-fired power plants. In September 2007, it was reported that EDF signed an agreement with Chinese firm Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Company in which the French firm agreed to buy carbon credits from Guangdong for the equivalent of 1.5 million tons a year of carbon dioxide emissions. The credit will be purchased from Guangdongs wind power unit, which has a total installed capacity of 400MW. Under the Kyoto Treatys Clean Development Mechanism, clean energy projects in the developing world are permitted to sell credits to companies in developed countries. This enables the latter to meet their Kyoto commitments to reducing greenhouse gases. EDF is making headway in other parts of Asia too, by investing heavily in Vietnam. In September 2007, it was confirmed that it is building a 2.8 billion euro coal-fired
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lectricit de France
power plant in the Southern Vietnamese province of Hau Giang. It is rumoured that it is also planning to set up a nuclear power plant to be in operation in the country by 2020. EDF is also making advances in Indian, Thai, Korean and Laotian investments. However, not everything is smooth sailing. In Laos, one of the least developed countries in the world, EDF has a 35 percent share in NTPC (Nam Theun 2 Power Company), which runs a hydroelectric dam on the Mekong generating 1,070MW energy to be transported around South East Asia. The dam has raised scrutiny regarding its displacement of locals, reduction of biodiversity, and the reallocation of community resources. In its Annual Sustainability Report 2007, EDF has shown it is applying corporate social responsibility principles to the issue. The health of those relocated by the project is being monitored by the Pasteur Institute, the Paris-based biomedical research organisation, and housing provision is also being assured for them, according to EDF.
GETTING HIRED
Electrify your career
EDF offers several ways in. Those with two or more years of higher education and the Baccalaureate qualification (or equivalent) can apply for any vacancy online that they fulfill the eligibility requirements for and that suits their interests. See www.edfrecrute.com for a regularly updated list of vacancies. An advanced level of French is needed to negotiate this website. Those with undergraduate or graduate education are also welcome to apply for apprenticeships (apprentissages) or work experience (stagiaires) with the company within France. Approximately 1,200 such places are offered each year. Applicants need expertise or experience in one of the following areas: sales, administration, accounts, communications, electrical engineering, boiler manufacturing, civil engineering, industrial engineering, mechanics and production, environmental security technicians, IT, telecoms, legal, management or human resources. Details of how to apply are at the above web address. Finally, V.I.E (Volunteer for International Experience) positions are offered, which send those with suitable academic experience off to gain professional know-how in a variety of far-flung destinations. These positions are paid and are listed along with domestically based positions on www.edfrecrute.com.
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Have you got the energy?

If you want to work for EDF in a specific country where it operates but don't want to be sent to a randomly selected location as part of a V.I.E. scheme, your best option is to look at the individual countrys EDF website. Each has its own decentralised recruitment department which hires directly. In order to find out about the positions available in EDFs international locations, you need to visit the Human Resources pages of its website, and pick the country you wish to work in. You can then visit the careers page on that countrys EDF website. Working for EDF has many perks, including global travel and the chance to develop your technical skills to the highest level. The company is committed to retaining staff, and has a job centre, Group Employment Opportunities, which develops skills through training. EDF puts an emphasis on learning transferable skills and maintains that this facilitiates employee mobility within the group, and that employees are encouraged to learn new skills and move around departments. The company claims its core values are accountability responsibility to the world at large, along with open and honest communication and respect for individuals and the environment.
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ELECTROLUX
Media Relations/C-1 SE- 105 45 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 8 738 60 00 www.electrolux.com
European Locations
(Stockholm, HQ) Albania Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Moldova Montenegro Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Switzerland Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: ELUX B Chief Executive: Marcus Wallenberg 2007 Revenue: SEK104,732m 2006 Revenue: SEK103,848m 2007 Employees: 56,898 2006 Employees: 55,471 No. of Offices: n/a
Employment Contact
careers@electrolux.com
Divisions
AEG Electrolux Electrolux Electrolux-Arthur Martin Electrolux Chef Electrolux Dishlex Juno Electrolux Electrolux Kelvinator Electrolux Professional Rex Electrolux Zanussi Electrolux
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THE SCOOP
lectrolux is a Swedish company with an international reach, famed for making appliances youll find in households across the globe. The group sells its products to more than 40 million customers each year in more than 150 markets, and its a safe bet that most people will have stumbled across an Electrolux appliance at some point or other. The kind of products you may well have come across include refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cookers, and the brands these products appear under include AEGElectrolux, Eureka and Frigidaire. The majority of its sales are divided between Europe and North America, at 42 percent and 31 percent respectively for its consumer durables business area. For the future, Electrolux is looking at both consolidation in these markets and growth in its other markets Latin America, Asia Pacific and the rest of the world.
Electrolux
Same but better

Recent years have seen Electrolux expand by moving much of its production to low-cost countries. As it reported in 2007, almost 50 percent of production prioritises cost-efficiency on this basis. The company has implemented specific strategies to point it to fiscal success since 2002. Its not top secret though these strategies consist of garnering data from consumer insight, increasing the regularity of product renewal and more efficient production. The company also relies on increasing market penetration by raising the profile of its brands, and also counts on home renovations and the cyclical need to replace worn-out appliances for sales. Chief executive Hanns Strberg oversaw big product launches in Europe in 2007, when approximately 40 percent of Electroluxs products were replaced by new and improved versions. In spring 2008, the group repeated this in North America, its largest ever launch in the region.
The house that vac built

Electroluxs core products are its kitchen appliances, pulling in 58 percent of the companys revenues in 2007. Its laundry products, such as washing machines and tumble dryers, followed behind with 20 percent of the total 2007 revenues of 104,732 SEK.
A Wenner of an idea
The origins of the modern Electrolux can be found in the story of Axel Wenner-Gren, a Swedish businessman who saw an American-made Santo Staubsauger vacuum cleaner in a storefront window whilst visiting Vienna in 1909. The ancient
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predecessor to the modern vacuum, it weighed in at around 20 kilos and cost 500 Kronor, close to 2000 pounds in todays currency. Wenner-Gren was neither an engineer nor an inventor but a brilliant salesman, immediately seeing the potential for a lighter and cheaper version that could be sold in every household. He contacted the American manufacturer of the Santo vacuum cleaner and shortly thereafter went to work as a European sales representative, setting up shop in Berlin. Wenner left the company in 1912 and returned to Stockholm, where two companies, AB Lux and Elektromekaniska, were manufacturing copies of the Santo vacuum cleaner. In 1915, Wenner-Gren set up his own sales company, Svenska Elektron, which then purchased all of Elektromekaniskas shares, and in 1919 reached an agreement with Lux, in which Elektron was given the sole rights to AB Lux vacuum cleaners. Thus, AB Electrolux was born.
Household wizards
In 1925 Electrolux purchased AB Arctic, who were producing the worlds first modern refrigerators, and launched the D-fridge on the world market. For several decades to follow, these two products, the vacuum cleaner and the Not one to shy away from sci-fi refrigerator, would be the ideas, in 2000, Electrolux premiered bread and butter of the Screenfridge, a refrigerator Electrolux, with continuous innovations to models and connected to the internet the spread of production to countries the world over. With several acquisitions in the 1970s and 1980s, Electroluxs repertoire expanded to include laundry products, kitchen appliances and yard tools.
The machines are taking over

Not one to shy away from sci-fi ideas that still have their ergonomic uses, in 2000, Electrolux premiered the Screenfridge, a refrigerator that is connected to the internet, serving as a communications hub for the home in addition to keeping track of refrigerated goods. Electrolux is also responsible for the worlds first domestic robot vacuum cleaner, the Electrolux Trilobite. This vacuum-robot has the ability to map objects in a room with ultrasonic and infrared censors in order to avoid obstacles, and can come within one inch of an object without hitting it. When the Trilobite is done with its cleaning tasks, it automatically finds its way back to the base station where it charges its battery. In 2002 Electrolux introduced a talking washing machine, the Washy Talky, in India, which responds to voice commands in both English and Hindi. The company also has
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Top European Engineering Firms Electrolux

a line of products called the Electrolux Oxygen HEPA Canister Vacuum Cleaners, which are supposed to filter out 99.97 percent of airborne dust and allergens. This means, rather cleverly, that the exhaust coming out of the vacuum is cleaner than the actual air in the room.
Sucking up the excess

Electrolux has undergone two major periods of restructuring in the last decade or so. In 1997 and 1998, the company divested its industrial products sector and its production of sewing machines, agricultural products, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, recycling operations, professional cleaning equipment, heavy-duty laundry equipment and interior decoration equipment. Electrolux began an overall restructuring program in 2003, closing several factories in Western Europe and opening new ones in Eastern Europe. In 2006, the company spun off its lawn and garden division, Husqvarna. The end of 2007 saw an 8.6 percent drop in Electroluxs profits, a combination of rising costs of raw materials in Europe and a decline in demand in the United States, the latter attributed to the countrys failing housing market. At the end of 2007, the company struck an agreement to pay millions of dollars into the pension fund of laid-off factory workers in the United States in a 77.5 million dollar deal with the federal pensions agency.
Go green as you clean

In May 2008, Electrolux scooped the Inspiration Prize at the Swedish Recycling Industry Association for its Ultrasilencer Green vacuum cleaner. In the past, the Inspiration Prize has been awarded to companies doing groundbreaking work with recycled materials. The Ultrasilencer is the first environmentally-profiled vacuum cleaner on the market, impressively consuming a third less energy than normal vacuum cleaners, is quiet, 55 percent of it is made from recycled plastics, and more than 90 percent of it can be recycled once its product lifecycle is over. The company claims that: If all vacuum cleaners made in Europe in a year were made like this, we could save the amount of water that runs over Niagara Falls in 19 minutes. Expect Electrolux to be rolling out similarly breakthrough environmental products in the future.
GETTING HIRED
Turning your talents to Electrolux
Electrolux normally has recruitment opportunities across its divisions. The firm suggests that the best way to check them out is simply to use the job search function
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on the Careers section of its website. This shows open positions by country and function. English is the preferred language of recruitment for the firm, so dont be put off if your Swedish isnt too great. In terms of graduate opportunities, Electrolux says it offers a stimulating environment, the opportunity to work across borders in a global workplace and the chance to influence and improve the lives of people worldwide. There is no specific graduate or trainee programme but Electrolux instead recruits for specific positions, some of which are entry-level. So if you want to apply, its best to check the Career Opportunities section of Electroluxs website. As for internships, Electrolux collaborates extensively with several groups that connect students with business, such as AIESEC (the worlds largest student organisation) which has a global internship program, as well as CEMS (the Community of European Management Schools) and SIFE, a global non-profit organisation for campus entrepreneurship. Students can also arrange internships or training through their universities, and the company offers opportunities for thesis integration too.
OUR SURVEY SAYS

The weekly average
Theres no escaping hard work at Electrolux sometimes. The working hours are sometimes crazy, one employee told us, 60 hours a week plus weekends is not unusual. But some people manage to work around 45 hours a week.
Thats a lot of people

While one source said that company is quite over-populated, and the standardisation of processes is a long way off, he described the atmosphere as relaxed and laid-back. Its informal, with no specific dress code. Other respondents appreciated the emphasis on tolerance and diversity. One stressed that Electrolux enjoys a very nice multinational ambiance, and great people. The majority are young, open-minded, curious about things and intelligent, although they added many are almost too focused on their professional life. The companys activities are very complex and interesting another source added, and there are a lot of possibilities to travel and change position within the company subsidiaries all over the world.
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At any company, there are good and bad sides. Several employees had gripes with Electroluxs lack of organisation, with one source saying when you start to advance you discover that you probably have three normal companys worth of staff in the workforce here. Bureaucracy is high. Also, there is some work to be done when it comes to breaking the glass ceiling at Electrolux. Women tend to be employed in HR, marketing and sales rather than in production or at higher levels, a source told us.
Electrolux
Electro-bucks
Whilst salaries arent particularly stand-out for the industry, insiders vouch for the fact that perks are better than average, including ten additional days of holiday, financed meal vouchers, sports vouchers of 100 euros per year, health insurance, a pension plan and a company car.
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ENDESA S.A.
Ribera del Loira 60 28042 Madrid Spain Tel: +34 91 213 10 00 www.endesa.com
European Locations
Madrid (HQ) France Italy Portugal Poland Turkey
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: ELE (Madrid, NYSE) Chief Executive: Manuel Pizarro 2007 Net Revenue: 2.67bn 2006 Net Revenue: 2.97bn 2007 Employees: 26,758 2006 Employees: 27,204 No. of Offices: n/a
Employment Contact
www.endesa.com (Click on careers)
Divisions
Production and Distribution Renewable energies Real Estate Telecommunications and Information Systems Human Resources
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THE SCOOP
ndesa was, with no doubt, one of the biggest players in the Spanish business world from the end of 2005 to 2007. The energy company was a constant presence in the media, appearing time and again on television, radio and in newspapers, because other firms were trying to seduce it into being bought by them. Why? Lets start from the beginning.
Endesa S.A.
Trying to impress Endesa

The company Empresa Nacional de Electricidad S.A. (Endesa) was formed in 1944 and changed its name to Endesa S.A. in 1997, after taking control of the French company SNET in September 2004, and cutting 30 percent of its workforce. In 1983, Endesa was constituted as a group by the acquisition of shares that had belonged to the Instituto Nacional de Industria, a Spanish state-owned company. The Spanish state reduced its share in the company to 75.6 percent in 1988, the same year the firms stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The 1990s were marked by the acquisition of more domestic firms such as Electra, Fecsa, Sevillana de Electricidad, Nansa and Carboex. In 1994, the Spanish government further reduced its share in the electric company to 66.89 percent of the capital, and four years later Endesa became privatised.
Endesas reach
As of 2008, the company is organised into a handful of complementary business lines, providing it with some flexibility and versatility in the notoriously mercurial energy market. There are three main Directorates-General (DGs) to which different companies in each area report: one for Spain and Portugal, one for Latin America and another for Europe. Endesa Generacin was set up in September 1999 to oversee Endesas energy generation and resource mining assets in Spain, integrating it into mainland subsidiaries such as Sevillana and Viesgo a year later. Endesa Red, created at the same time, comprises two companies: Endesa Distribucin Elctrica S.L. (Endesa Electric Distribution) and Endesa Operaciones y Servicios Comerciales S.L. (Endesa Commercial Services and Operations). Endesa Energa was created with the aim of overseeing the energy supply business in the deregulated market. It is also active in the energy supply business in Portugal, France, Italy, Germany and Belgium. Finally, in Spain and Portugal,
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Endesa Servicios provides assistance to Endesa companies and outside customers in the areas of IT, telecommunications and sustainable development management. Endesa Internacional was created in 1998 to manage Endesas operations in the Latin American market. More than half of Latin Americans largest private electricity group, Enersis, is controlled by Endesa, giving the company significant clout in the region. Through this company, Endesa also has a controlling interest in Endesa Chile, where it is the largest power generator. Additionally, Endesa is present in Latin America through direct shareholdings in other companies such as Argentine generator Dock Sud and Peruvian generators Etevensa and Pyura. Endesa Europe is another growing subsidiary, created in 2001 to centralise the administration and management of Endesas stakes in electricity companies in Europe and North Africa: Endesa Italia, Snet, Soprolif and Powemext, Tejo Energa, Endex, Gielda Energii and Lydec.
Endesa melodrama: act one

Endesa is currently the largest electric utility company in Spain, with more than ten million customers in the country. Internationally, it serves another ten million consumers and provides over 80,100 GWh of electricity per annum. The company has additional interests in Spanish natural gas and telecommunications industries. Perhaps this diverse business presence is the reason why in September 2005 the company was the target of a messy takeover bid by Gas Natural, Germanys E.ON and Italian Enel. The first company to start the fight for Endesa was Gas Natural, launching a takeover bid for the whole firm by offering 21.30 euros per share. Just a day after this bid was made, Endesa refused it and began to take legal action to defend its interests. A few months later, in February 2006, a new company, the German energy giant E.ON, showed its interest in the Spanish electric firm and raised the bidding to 27.50 euros per share, valuing Endesa at almost 30 billion euros.
Meanwhile, the National Energy Committee of Spain Comisin Nacional de la Energa (CNE) and the Competence Defence Court, first halted Gas Naturals bid and then accepted it, in the same month the E.ON takeover on Endesa was pending.
Act two
The Spanish Congress then decided to intervene in the affair, allowing the CNE to block E.ONs bid to acquire Endesa. However, by this time, the European Commission had already approved it.
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Just like in a convoluted Spanish soap opera, a suave Italian player, the Enel energy group, then appeared on the scene, making a bid for ten percent of Endesa. Due to this new development, the German firm felt obliged to make a better offer, and in the final month of 2006, the European Commission asked the Spanish government to stop empowering the CNE against E.ON, and due to public knowledge of E.ONs interest in Endesa, declared their meddling illegal. The whole affair ended up in the European Court of Justice, with a March 2008 ruling that the decisions of the CNE and the Spanish government blocking E.ONs interest in Endesa were incompatible with European Union law. In 2007, Gas Naturals administration board gave up its offer, and E.ON raised its bid once again to 38.75 euros per share. Enel then acquired almost ten percent of Endesa for 39 euros a share. By March 2007, the Italian group controlled 25 percent of the electricity company and announced its intention of being the primary shareholder of Endesa by partnering with another Spanish energy firm, Acciona. This team effort finally defeated E.ONs takeover attempt in April 2007, and E.ON had to be satisfied with a far smaller slice of the Endesa pie than it had wanted. In April of the same year, E.ON gave up its bid to the duo of Enel and Acciona, in exchange for Endesas activities in Spain, France and Italy.
Endesa S.A.
Roll the credits?

In October 2007 the deal was completed, with an equal distribution of the ten administration cabinets seats on the Endesa board between Enel and Acciona, according to the Spanish financial newspaper Cinco Das. The companies also named several directors chosen by the company, some of whom were members of Partido Popular, the main rightwing/conservative political party in Spain and, in 2007, the largest opposition party in the Congress. Cinco Das suggested that such a political underpinning to a large Spanish corporation was not exactly welcomed by the Spanish government. However, Endesa has been going strong ever since.
GETTING HIRED
Step into Endesa

Endesa, like many other Spanish companies, offers students the chance to integrate their degrees, for example in engineering, electric technology or renewable energies, with hands-on work experience. For these courses, available for students and graduates Endesa provides theoretical and practical training, given by the companys experts as well as by university professors. Admittance into such programmes on the graduate level is
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competitive and new graduates interested in these courses must prepare for a complex entrance exam. Those who want more information on this opportunity should visit www.escuelaendesa.com or write to escueladeenergia@endesa.es. For graduate students looking for entry-level opportunities with the company, employment opportunities are listed on www.endesa.com, under the employment link, where there is also a link to submit your CV online.
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Endesa is currently the largest electric utility company in Spain, with more than ten million customers in the country. Internationally, it serves another ten million consumers and provides over 80,100 GWh of electricity per annum.
ENEL S.P.A
Viale Regina Margherita 137 00198 Rome Italy Tel: +39 (0) 6 83 05 34 37 www.enel.com
European Locations
Rome (HQ) Belgium Bulgaria France Germany Romania Slovakia Spain
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: ENEL (Milan Stock Exchange) Chief Executive: Piero Gnudi 2007 Revenue: 43.67bn 2006 Revenue: 38.5bn 2007 Employees: 85,966 2006 Employees: 58,548 No. of Offices: Offices throughout Europe
Employment Contact
www.enel.com (Click on Work With Us)
Divisions
Engineering and Innovation Generation and Energy Iberia and Latin America Infrastructure and Networks Management Sales
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CAREER LIBRARY
THE SCOOP
n November 1962, following a long parliamentary debate, the Italian Chamber of Deputies legislated to nationalise the countrys electricity system. This decision was taken in order to make optimal use of resources and to ensure equal provision for all. A month later, in December 1962, Ente Nazionale per lEnergia Elettrica (Enel), the National Electricity Board, came into being. The law reserved Enels monopoly on the generation, import, export, transport, trade and distribution of electricity.
Enel S.P.A
Carrying Italys currents

The company began its life by gradually absorbing already-existing electricity firms. By the end of 1995, it had acquired a total of 1,270 firms. One of the first operating units established by Enel was the National Dispatch Centre in Rome, whose task was to manage production facilities and transmission networks both domestic and international in effect, the brains of the entire Italian electricity system. The 21st century has seen Enel become a powerhouse, with a 2007 revenue of 43.7 billion euros. Climbing the charts of the competitive European energy scene, Enel claims that as of 2008, it is Italys second-largest Having been listed on the Milan natural gas company and Stock Exchange since 1999, Enel Europes second-largest boasts the largest number of listed utility company by shareholders of any Italian company installed capacity. At the end of 2007, its installed capacity was 82.3GW, which served 51.6 million customers in 22 countries on four continents.Geographically, the company mostly produces and sells its electricity to European, North and Latin American customers. Enel also has a strong presence in the Italian natural gas sector, with over 2.5 million customers and a ten percent share of this market. Other forms of energy are also part of Enels repertoire, and it has hydroelectric, thermoelectric, nuclear, geothermal, wind-power and photovoltaic power stations to its name alongside its main operations.
Leading the way

This Italian firm has some longstanding prowess in terms of customer satisfaction it was the first utility company in the world to replace its customers traditional electromechanical meters with modern electronic devices that make it possible to take meter readings in real time and manage contracts remotely. This innovation enabled Enel to implement time-of-use electricity
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charges and offer weekend and evening savings to customers a popular initiative that has caught on worldwide.
Power to the people

Having been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1999, Enel boasts the largest number of shareholders of any Italian company, clocking in at approximately 1.7 million retail and institutional investors. The Italian Economy and Finance Ministry holds 21.1 percent of the company directly and another 10.2 percent indirectly through the state-run lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti. This leaves a free-float of 68.9 percent for institutional and retail investors. These shareholders include international investment funds, insurance companies, pension funds and ethical funds.
Global expectations
Enel has mutated and grown consistently since its stock market listing. Acquisitions in recent years include the Bulgarian power plant Maritza East III in March 2003, one of the countrys largest, and in February 2005, 66 percent of Slovensk Elektrrne (SE), the largest electricity generator in Slovakia, whose assets comprised a mix of nuclear, thermal and hydroelectric power. In Romania, since its first acquisition there in April 2005, Enel has managed to build up its stakes in three electricity companies whose customers between them number approximately 2.5 million. Outside Europe, the company is growing fast. In North America, it owns 472 MW of hydroelectric, wind and biomass power generation facilities, and in November 2006 signed an agreement with a US wind power company TradeWind Energy to develop more than 1000 MW of pipeline and to procure wind turbines. The American acquisition bonanza has hardly stopped here. In March 2007, Enels North American subsidiary acquired AMP Resources, a company which allowed it to enter the US geothermal market. Enel already has solid experience in geothermal electricity generation from its experiences in Europe, claiming to have developed projects over a hundred years ago in Tuscany, Siena and Grosseto. More far afield, in 2002, the company started to operate geothermal generation activities in El Salvador. Latin American geothermal operations extend to Chile and Nicaragua.
Taking it to the End(esa)

Enels biggest move was the acquisition of ten percent of the Spanish utilities giant Endesa. In October 2007, Enel partnered with Spanish construction company Acciona to make a joint tender offer for Endesa. Having built up its stake in Endesa over 2007 from February, when it acquired almost ten percent of it, and then from that March, when it beefed up its stake to 25 percent, Enel and Accionas October bid saw them land 92 percent of Endesas
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Top European Engineering Firms Enel S.P.A

share capital. Enel owns the majority, at 67 percent, whilst Acciona owns 25 percent. In May 2008, Forbes Magazine reported that Acciona would not, despite press speculation, be selling its stake to Enel, and that it will stay in Endesa until at least 2010.
Finding the way forwards

The challenges Enel faces in the future mostly stem from the need to provide renewable energy sources. To that end, the company is investing further in a wide spread of alternatives. Having consolidated its Alternative Energy Strategy during 2006, it is now making sure that its targets and criteria match those of the European Commissions directive 2001/77. This piece of legislation, which came into force in March 2007, requires that 25 percent of electricity produced in Italy comes from renewable sources by 2010. Enel has shown it is clearly championing this push for alternatives. The company is intent on becoming a green leader and has numerous strategies up its sleeve, from diversifying its fuel mix and making more widespread use of cleantechnology coal to researching and developing new forms of energy and technology such as thermodynamic solar energy. As of 2007, 23 percent of the electricity produced by Enel comes from natural, renewable sources, predominantly hydro plants. Enel is planning to increase this to approximately 33 percent.
News on the nuclear front

In May 2008, the Italian government announced that the country would restart construction of its nuclear power stations. The Financial Times reported that Claudio Scajola, Italys Development Minister, declared that the government intended to resurrect the countrys nuclear power network by the scheduled end of the governments five-year term in 2013. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi confirmed the news, saying that Italy should start looking at nuclear power production. If the return to nuclear energy is unavoidable, Enel will have to find ways to manage its investment in other energy alternatives alongside this.
GETTING HIRED
Enel want you
As part of the companys human resources philosophy, which it says privileges the growth and enhancement of its employees skills, Enel has plenty of exciting opportunities for new graduates, with or without experience. Training is provided in
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all jobs. The company is on a recruitment drive, and in 2007 the energy giants plan of fervent recruitment led to more than 800 people being hired in Italy, of which 21 percent were recent university graduates. As the company continues to grow, it should be expected that hiring figures remain high.
The Italian job

For those who are looking for internships with Enel, the company invites applications from candidates at the Italian and overseas universities and postgraduate schools it has agreements with. Details can be seen on the companys website in its Work With Us section. Internships last up to six months, with work carried out in association with your university; project work can also be organised this way. For those with an engineering or related background, a good option is to check the Vacancies page on Enels website. Most positions are based in Rome and require good command of Italian and English. You can also register your CV on Enels database and apply for relevant jobs when they appear. Selection is based on several interviews, possibly along with technical assessments and an English language test. New recruits who have no work experience under their belt are put on an 18 month Induction Contract, which familiarises you with the company through a training plan and the help of a personal tutor.
Expand your energy at Enel

Another option for new engineering and economics graduates is Enels International Recruiting Program. The company is actively recruiting for engineers and economists to work in Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Greece, France, North America, South America and Italy. The programme involves a period of 12 to 18 months spent in Italy and then in ones home country or you could be based in Italy permanently. All application processes and work will be carried out in English. More information and the online application process can be found on Enels website.
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The challenges Enel faces in the future mostly stem from the need to provide renewable energy sources. To that end, the company is investing further in a wide spread of alternatives.
E.ON
E.ON-Platz 1 40479 Dsseldorf Germany Tel: +49 2 11 45 79 0 www.eon.com
German Locations
Dsseldorf (HQ) Bayreuth Erfurt Essen Frstenwalde Gelsenkirchen Hanover Helmstedt Kassel Landshut Munich Paderborn Quickborn Ratisbon Whilmershaven Numerous further locations throughout Germany
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: EOAX (Frankfurt, Xetra) Chief Executive: Dr. Wulf H. Bernotat 2007 Revenue: 68.7bn 2006 Revenue: 64.1bn 2007 Employees: 87,815 2006 Employees: 80,612 No. of Offices: Offices in 16 countries
European Locations
Germany (HQ) Austria Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Finland Hungary Italy Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Slovakia Sweden United Kingdom
Divisions
Gas Energy Energy Trading Climate and Renewables
Employment Contact
www.eon.com (Click on Karriere)
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THE SCOOP
lthough E.ON isnt that old (it began in 2000 as a merger of VEBA and VIAG), it has already made a splash in the competitive world of energy provision, standing in 2008 as the worlds largest investor-owned power and gas company. The company, headquartered in Dsseldorf, has a host of impressive figures to its name. Just as an example, between 2006 and 2007 sales increased by seven percent and net income rose 27 percent. Employee numbers are on the upswing too, swelling by nine percent in the same period, from 80,612 to 87,815 people. Such statistics could be put down to first, the companys presence in multiple markets across the globe, and second, its pursuit of an integrated business model which combines the provision of power and gas.
E.ON
It has the power

This German giant is involved in every aspect of the gas and power business, from generating power and gas to distribution to netting customer sales. Its power business is both domestic and international, stretching to the US, and based on a mix of sources. E.ONs nuclear reactors and hard and brown coal power plants can be found in Bavaria, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, forming the basis of E.ONs German operations. In the UK, the company relies on coal and natural gas and in the US, it relies predominantly on coal. Moving away from non-renewable fuel sources is of prime importance to all energy companies. E.ON is leading the way with renewable energies, with its subsidiary E.ON Wasserkraft the leading supplier of hydropower in Central Europe. The company also boasts that E.ON UK is rapidly becoming the leading supplier of renewable energy installations in Britain.
Its a gas, gas, gas

When it comes to its natural gas business, E.ON has a network that stretches over 11,000 km which provides gas extracted from beneath the North Sea. The companys natural gas is mostly used for heat and power generation, and while Germany is still a burgeoning market for it, E.ON claims that natural gas has achieved a share of almost 20 percent of overall primary energy consumption in just 30 years. In terms of territory covered, E.ON spreads out from Dsseldorf impressively. It has footholds throughout Europe, providing both gas and power to markets including the Nordic countries, Russia, Italy and Spain. The Spanish business unit of E.ON is
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scheduled to open in Autumn 2008. This pan-European presence has allowed E.ON to build up strong co-ordination between its target markets.
Around for aeons?

So how did a company with so many interconnected projects gain its footing? E.ON was officially formed in 2000, but its origins go back much further than that. They can be traced back as far as 1923, when the German government formed Vereinigte Industrie-Unternehmungen AG (VIAG) to manage its industrial holdings. Shortly after, in 1929, the Prussian government formed Vereinigte Elektrizitts-und BergwerksAktiengesellschaft (VEBA an electricity and mining company) as a holding company. Both operated independently, with VIAG opening a second headquarters in Bonn, Germany in 1951 and VEBA becoming partially privatised in 1965 . In 1970, VEBA overhauled its holdings and by 1986 it was completely privatised. VIAG had a relatively quiet time until 1986 when the German government followed its strategy with VEBA and placed 40 percent of its shares with private investors. By 1988, VIAG had been completely privatised. The 1980s and 1990s were decades dedicated to acquisition. VIAG, for example, gained Paris-based SKW Biosystems S.A. Trostberg, Switzerlands Master Builders Technologies, over 80 percent of Isar-Amperwerke AG, a 42.5 percent stake in Swiss Orange Communications S.A., a 93 percent increase in its Goldschmidt AG stake , and a mobile communications device in Lichtenstein in this period.
Buy! Sell! Trade!

The big merger came just after the millenium, when, by June 2000, the two companies had officially joined up and become E.ON. The energy provider did not waste time in focusing on its core business. Just after being formed, it sold its 73 percent stockholding in Gerresheimer Glas, transferred its 15.4 percent stake in Hamburg-based utilities company HEW to Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall , and sold its 42.5 percent stake in Orange Communications, a Swiss cellular phone company. Deals like these were a way for E.ON to scale down its operations whilst readying itself for acquisitions that were more in line with its strategy. Subsequently, in 2001, E.ON bought Powergen, a prime mover on the British energy scene. With Powergens inclusion into the E.ON fold came the opportunity to break into the American market the worlds then largest energy market. Through the Powergen purchase, E.ON got its hands on LG&E Energy, in the U.S. Midwest region and in 2002, LG&E Energy was renamed E.ON U.S.
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E.ON
The American market wasnt the only item on E.ONs agenda. Taking holdings in Finnish energy company Espoon Shk in 2001 and a Swedish utilities company Sydkraft AB, and a majority interest in its affiliate company, Thga, based in Germany and Italy, in 2002 showed how serious E.ON was about being a contender in the European energy industry. By 2007, it had also branched out as far as the Russian market, buying a majority stake in OGK-4, a Russian power producer.
A greener Europe
In 2007, E.ON took plenty of significant steps towards securing further provision of green energy. In June, it became Europes first company to test a process which is said to capture up to 90 percent of the carbon dioxide contained in conventional power plant emissions. Such a test is part of E.ONs initiative towards eco-friendly research and development, innovate.on, launched in 2006. Other than focusing on reduced carbon emissions, the key aims of innovate.on are to maintain the thermal efficiency of coal-fired generating units at more than 50 percent, and to investigate tidal energy, offshore wind farms, bio natural gas and gas-fired heat pumps. The energy group is progressing towards these aims at a rapid pace. In August 2007 it purchased a windfarm with approximately 260 megawatts of generating capacity in Spain and Portugal from a Danish energy company. The Dow Jones Sustainability Index, in its own words, the first global index tracking the financial performance of leading sustainability-driven companies worldwide, came calling in September 2007, signalling E.ONs commitment to corporate responsibility. In the same month, E.ON chose the site for what it claimed was the worlds first coalfired power plant with a thermal efficiency of more than 50 percent Wilhelmshaven, a port city in northwest Germany. This plant is likely to cost approximately a billion euros to build and will be ready by 2014. And to continue with its green theme, in December 2007, E.ON acquired an Ireland-based wind farm. This boosted its wind power capacity to around 900 megawatts and makes the group one of the worlds largest wind farm operators.
GETTING HIRED
Get in on E.ON
E.ON proclaims that your energy shapes the future in the careers section of its website, and it claims to actively recruit people of all walks of life with a range of skillsets. Engineering students are particularly sought after, and can register for a
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variety of internships at E.ON. Check the website for details. Students with aboveaverage performance skills, reliable work patterns, and strong references are encouraged to apply. The E.ON graduate programme allows students to study at three domestic bases and one abroad, so its an ideal placement for those wishing to work internationally. Details about the structure and basics of the post can all be seen on E.ONs website. Taking on approximately 300 graduates each year, requirements for entry are a university degree already obtained (in either marketing, management, economics, industrial engineering, or engineering sciences), excellent grades, fluency in German and English; initiative and extracurricular activities, as the company is keen on offering its employees a good work-life balance. Post-graduate scholars have the opportunity to complete their degrees with E.ONs university thesis programme. More details are available on the website check out the Students and Alumni page. There are numerous other options available for training with E.ON either as a vocational or academic student or as a graduate.
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ERICSSON
Torshamnsgatan 23 164 83 Kista Stockholm Sweden Tel: +46 87 19 00 00 www.ericsson.com
European Locations
Stockholm (HQ) Austria Albania Belarus Belgium Bosnia Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: ERIC (NASDAQ), ERIC B (OMX) President and Chief Executive: Carl-Henric Svanberg 2007 Revenue: SEK187,780m 2006 Revenue: SEK179,821m 2007 Employees: 74,011 2006 Employees: 63,781 No. of Offices: 220
Employment Contact
www.ericsson.com/ericsson/careers
Divisions
Communications Finance Global Services HR and Organisation Legal Affairs Market Units Multimedia Networks Sales & Marketing Strategy and Operational Excellence Technology
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THE SCOOP
Ericsson
wedish company Ericsson is one of the worlds leading global telecommunications equipment providers. As of 2008, its mobile equipment was used in 140 countries and the company boldly estimates that a whopping 40 percent of all mobile calls, globally, are made through its systems. Ericsson pulled in revenues of 187,780 million Swedish Kronor (approximately 20 billion euros) in 2007. It is rapidly positioning itself as one of the prime suppliers of not only voice and text telecommunications but also of images and video content to eager consumers who love their mobile technology.
Its time for the fourth generation

Like all telecommunications companies who are trying to be ahead of the curve, Ericsson is focusing on 3G (third generation) wireless network technologies and on developing a 4G (fourth generation) standard which Hkan Eriksson, Ericssons chief technology officer, predicts that by 2020, everyone will have. Another of the Swedish telecoms titans key Ericsson has been instrumental in strategies is to corner making Stockholm a European information the competitive global technology research hotspot telecoms market in multimedia technologies and content in both developed and developing countries. As telecommunications is a field in which companies are constantly trying to outdo each other with the latest in innovative wizardry, its a good thing for Ericsson that it boasts a particularly strong patent portfolio, with 23,000 patents to its name as of 2008.
Soundwaves from Stockholm

Founded as a telegraph equipment repair shop in 1876 by mechanic Lars Magnus Ericsson, Ericsson became a limited company in 1896. It has since been instrumental in making Stockholm a European information technology research hotspot. The companys history is impressive by the mid-20th century, Ericsson already had sales companies in 12 countries, manufacturing companies in 11 countries, and concession companies in seven countries. By the end of the century, its move into mobile telephones had, unsurprisingly, served it well, as demand for mobile equipment grew. In 2001, Ericsson teamed with Sony to make mobile phones under the name Sony Ericsson. However, the turn of the millenium proved to be difficult, with Ericsson experiencing orders and sales declines. This prompted it to go forward with an efficiency programme, including workforce reductions, to get it back on its feet.
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A finger in the China pie

In April 2008, Ericsson signed contracts with the two largest mobile phone companies in China, China Mobile and China Unicom. At a value of 1.44 billion dollars, with the China Mobile deal worth 1.3 billion dollars and the China Unicom deal worth 140 million dollars, they served to cement Ericssons standing as one of the most prominent equipment suppliers in the rapidly growing Chinese market. So important were the deals that Swedens Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt, was in attendance at the contract-signing ceremony. China is working to develop TD-SCMA, a 3G technology similar to GSM and CDMA200, the mobile networks extensively used in Europe and the US China is, perhaps unsurprisingly given its population of more than 1.3 billion, Ericssons largest market, with seven percent of the companys total sales in 2007. The US and India are not far behind in their enthusiasm for Ericsson, with six percent of total 2007 sales each.
Ericsson loves mother earth

As part of the China Green Company Annual Conference in Beijing on April 22, 2008, Ericsson was awarded the title China Green Company for its commitment to environmental protection in China. Companies were rated on environmental and social indices, with environmental impact, transparency of environmental policies and social commitment being a few of many considerations. Top business magazine and host of the conference, China Entrepreneur, said that Ericsson has developed forward-looking strategies from an early stage to deal with climate change, such as continuous technology innovation, the development of energy efficient telecom equipment, network and sites optimisation, and pioneering alternative energy sources. Ericsson continues to improve environmental standards in its products and networks, clocking up an 80 percent improvement in energy efficiency between 2001 and 2008, by closely monitoring and extending product life-cycles and by developing alternative energy sources. For example, in 2007, the company put a priority on powering many of its radio base stations by solar power, which use 60 percent less energy than traditionally powered stations.
Lofty ambitions
The new president of Sony Ericsson, Hideki Dick Komiyama, has announced that he intends to lead Sony Ericsson, a 50/50 joint-owned company between Ericsson and Sony, to becoming one of the top three handset manufacturers by 2011. The previous president of the company, Miles Flint, avoided making such predictions, possibly because the company had missed its earlier goal of becoming the largest mobile phone producer by 2006.
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Competition has increased recently with Apple joining in with its iPhone and speculations abounding in the media of Google soon joining the market. Komiyama says that sales remain strong in Western Europe, but that Sony Ericsson must increase its presence in areas such as the US, India and China. The company hopes to do this by tailoring phones to meet what it believes are the different demands of different markets.
Ericsson
Turbulent times
Problems arose for the company in late 2007. In October, Ericsson issued a surprise profit warning that severely depleted its share value. The companys chief financial officer subsequently resigned in an effort to strengthen investor confidence. The warning came as a shock after a September 11, 2007 conference in which Ericssons management assured those attending that the numbers for the quarter were looking healthy. In February 2008, Ericsson was looking to cut jobs by as much as 4,000 due to a less than cheery financial outlook for 2008.
Stocks still mobile

Its not all doom and gloom, however. In April 2008, the company executed a turnaround that surprised investors, announcing far better than expected results in the first quarter. Whilst net profit in the first three months of 2008 was 2.65 billion kronor compared with 5.8 billion kronor for the same period on 2007, which was a 55 percent drop in earnings, it was still far better than predicted, and company shares rose sharply as a result. This made management, shareholders and anaylsts optimistic for a rosier future. As the company further moves along the road to standardising the provision of wireless broadband systems and its seemingly infinite array of related technologies, and consolidates its position in emerging markets, it should become even stronger.
GETTING HIRED
Takes all types

Whilst approximately 20,000 of its 74,011 employees, as of 2007, are based in Sweden, Ericsson is a global company intent on expansion. This means it offers all sorts of oppportunities both in Europe and abroad for those who have a taste for telecoms. Ericsson offers internships and thesis integration work arrangements for students in many of its locations. To find out what it offers in the country you wish to work in, you need to visit its main careers website and select your desired country.
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For European graduates, the company generally offers three main graduate programmes, in research and development, finance and multimedia. The research and development program is an 18-month action-packed international training program for graduates with a Master of Science (MS) in engineering, computer science, information technology or a similar field. Graduates with a degree in business administration, commerce, economics or similar disciplines can apply for the Ericsson Finance Graduate Programme, which is for those with a genuine love of finance and involves intensive experience in Ericssons finance departments. The Multimedia Trainee Programme is an 18 month programme for anyone from those trained in engineering to those with experience in arts or design. The aim of this programme is an intense study of multimedia technologies, with Ericsson keen to recruit those with a good undergraduate degree and one to two years of relevant work experience.
Send out signals

For those thinking about direct entry into the company, Ericssons newly implemented online job search feature can sort by location and function. There is also a service which allows you to submit your CV if you cannot find a suitable job posting. Ericsson Research is the companys division dedicated to pioneering telecommunications technology. With approximately 600 engineers all over the globe, it is actively recruiting. In order to apply you can submit your CV online, either marking your application with Ericsson Research and the area(s) youre interested in, or scan for vacancies that suit your experience in the applied research selection. The hiring process at Ericsson was described by one Spanish employee as pretty regular some tests, a curriculum review, and one interview with the direct manager. The emphasis was on cooperation capabilities and English language ability.
Happy talk
In 2007, the company undertook an Employee Satisfaction Survey in which the overall employee satisfaction level stood at a very strong 70 percent. Compensation is based on performance, and Ericsson is proud of its culture of fairness, teamwork and investment in individual competence and skills development.
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OUR SURVEY SAYS

Were all friends here
General opinions at Ericsson are enthusiastic: Overall, its a good company to work for one employee said. Employees are given a high degree of autonomy with flexible times and, in general, self-management of their activities. Dress and general appearance are not expected to be formal except for during meetings with customers. Cooperation is good among and within units; the work culture promotes collaboration over competition.
Ericsson
Can I borrow your stapler?

There may not be the option of reclining luxuriously at your desk though. Work resources are adequate noted an employee in Spain, in terms of software, hardware, working space and so on. He added the local company is quite autonomous, though there is a high dependency on the central office at times, especially for technical issues.
The futures bright

Employees tend to see Ericssons market position in glowing terms. Spanish employees didnt hold back from describing it as a market leader in the overall telecom sector, both globally and in Spain. Enjoying strong technical advantages, particularly in the wireless space enthusiastic employees summed up that the outlook is quite good. Perks at Ericsson are considered to be good, with staffers counting year-end bonuses, a month of yearly holiday, medical insurance, meal tickets and a programme to buy into company stocks among their benefits.
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FIAT AUTO S.P.A.

Via Nizzi 250 10126 Turin Italy Tel: +39 (0) 1100 61111 www.fiatgroup.com
European Locations
Turin (HQ) Albania Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia Bulgaria Cyprus Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Ireland Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Malta Moldova Netherlands Norway Poland Romania Serbia and Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: FIA (Milan Stock Exchange) Chief Executive: Sergio Marchionne 2007 Revenue: 58.5bn 2006 Revenue: 51.8bn 2007 Employees: 185,227 2006 Employees: 172,012 No. of Offices: n/a
Employment Contact
www.fiatgroup.com (Click on careers @ FIAT Group)
Divisions
Automobiles and light commercial vehicles Agricultural and construction equipment Powertrain components and production systems Publishing and communications Trucks and commercial vehicles
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career library
THE SCOOP
Fiat Auto S.p.A.
iat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobil Torino) is an Italian automobile and engine manufacturer which stakes a claim to being the largest industrial enterprise in Italy a claim that could well be true just think of how many Fiat cars you must have seen in your life. Based in Turin, northern Italy, the companys main focus is the automotive sector, though its grip extends to agricultural and construction equipment, trucks and commercial vehicles, components, powertrains and production systems and publishing and communications. The group is a major player on the international automative scene. Its 2007 total revenue of 58.5 billion euros, much of that from famous models such as Fiat Bravo, Fiat Grande Punto, Lancia Ypsilon and Alfa Romeo, is indicative of its huge clout.
Smoother, faster, more productive

In 2004, Fiat made a strategic move to focus more intensely on the automotive sector. The company reorganised itself, which involved the sale of businesses considered non-strategic, as well as the execution of cost-cutting measures. Fiats business is now divided into five segments. The main business, the automobiles segment, also includes the luxury car brands Maserati and Ferrari. Aside from this, Fiat comprises an agricultural and construction equipment segment, which goes by the subsidiary name CNH and a trucks and commercial vehicles segment whose products go by the IVECO brand name. The production of components and power-train systems form another segment. FPT powertrain technologies focuses on the research, development and production of engines and transmissions for the vehicles of both Fiat group subsidiaries and third parties. Magneti Marelli and Teksid produce the components that complement engines, such as exhaust systems and engine control systems and Comau makes industrial automation systems. Fiat also dabbles in publishing, owning La Stampa, Turins daily newspaper.
From carriage to car

Founded in 1899 by a group of investors, the first managing director of Fiat was Giovanni Agnelli, who helmed the company until his death in 1945. Turin was Fiats base at its founding and has long remained the companys headquarters. The first plant opened in 1900 with 150 workers who made 24 cars in their first year. Known from the start for the creativity of its engineering staff, by 1908, Fiat had founded a sister company in the US. The 20th century was a long history of Fiat rolling out new car models as the company kept up with techological advances.
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All about the Agnellis

Giovanni Agnellis grandson Gianni Agnelli, considered by Esquire magazine to be one of the best-dressed men in the history of the world, was Fiats chairman from 1966 until his death in 2003. Gianni rebooted the firms management structure, giving far more autonomy to each product line and subsidiary. By the late 1990s, Fiat had consolidated its position in international markets, with more than 60 percent of its turnover coming from outside Italy.
Taking over in the business lane

The past few years have seen an impressive U-turn at Fiat. The company had been struggling in the early years of the millennium but by 2005 had left analysts forecasts in the dust, executing a sharp turnaround under chief executive, Sergio Marchionne. Banking on its ability to make beautiful cars, Fiat managed to steal back a hefty market share from its competitors in 2006. In September 2007, The International Herald Tribune stated on its website that the Fiat Group had confirmed a 50-50 joint venture with the carmaking division of the Russian steel group OAO Severstal Auto, with the The company had been aim of building and struggling in the early years of the selling the Fiat brand of millennium but by 2005 had left cars and commercial analysts forecasts in the dust vehicles in that country. This joint venture began the production of Fiat vehicles in Russia in early 2008. The deal between Fiat and the Russian firm is part of a strategy by chief executive Marchionne to seek industrial alliances and joint ventures in important developing markets. This strategy is meant to boost growth while keeping a tight lid on costs.
New look, vintage cars

In the same year, the company unveiled its re-branding strategy, culminating in a new logo. This re-branding exercise came alongside the release of some scenestealing vehicles, such as a revamped version of the classic Fiat 500 in July 2007. Just as Fiats new logo is a reinterpretation of previous logos, its new cars have been created along similar lines. As of May 2008, the company was concentrating on issuing new versions of its award winning Fiat 500 model, with the prospect of releasing an eye-catching convertible version almost a certainty, according to Reuters.
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Fiats comeback continued as 2007 results came in; net profit rose from 452 million euros to 570 million euros and operating profit from ordinary operations rose from 542 million euros to 947 million euros. Riding particularly high for the company were its luxury brand Maserati, which reported increased revenues of 33.7 percent from the previous year and sought-after brand Ferrari, with revenues up 15.3 percent from 2006. For 2008, Fiat aimed for sales of more than 60 billion euros, which would mean an increase of close to ten billion euros in two years if this target is hit. According to Forbes, these expectations were based on the assumption that the financial market turbulence of 2008 will have limited impact on the real economy outside of the US.
Fiat Auto S.p.A.
A bite of the Chery

One of Fiats most promising markets is Brazil, where Fiat Group Automobiles managed to scoop a 31.9 percent increase in deliveries and a 25.9 percent share of the nations automobile market, which confirmed its leadership position. Another territory looking full of potential for the group is China, where Chery Automobile, a manufacturer based in the Wuhu region of southeastern China, signed a deal with Fiat in August 2007. The deal set in place a joint venture between Fiat and Chery for Fiat to roll out 175,000 cars each year from 2009. Both Fiat and Chery models are set to be made and the agreement came hot on the heels of a supply contract deal whereby Chery has agreed to supply 100,000 engines per year for Fiat. Chief executive of Fiat, Sergio Marchionne, made it clear that China was an important market: Entering the Chinese market at this stage is a key milestone of our plan to revamp and expand the Alfa Romeo business worldwide. How Fiat fares in the competitive Chinese market remains to be seen.
GETTING HIRED
Put wheels on your career
With a presence in 190 countries, Fiat offers significant international opportunities. For students, Fiat has internships along with project work openings for those working on their thesis. Fiat claims it will match all interns to an expert tutor and will give them a chance to take part in projects related to their studies and interests. The company also has a mind to future collaboration with the students it takes under its wing, which means a job offer, if your internship or thesis-related project work goes well.
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Start your engines

New graduates who, Fiat says, are passionate about the automotive industry can get their chance through either a paid internship that lasts six to 12 months, or through a direct entry job placement opportunity. For further details, check the careers @ Fiat section on Fiats website. The selection process is based on interviews in order to suss out your technical expertise and motivation for wanting to join Fiat. For direct entry jobs, you can go straight to Fiats job search page and pick the country, location, sector, job family or position type that suits you. If you pick graduates for the position type, you will be directed to Fiats graduate opportunities worldwide. Applications, initially, can be made online.
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GAZPROM
16 Nametkina St. 117997 Moscow V-420 Russia Tel: +7 495 719 30 01 www.gazprom.com
European Locations
Moscow (HQ) Austria Belarus Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Finland France Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Italy Latvia Lithuania Moldova The Netherlands Poland Romania Serbia Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: GAZP (RTS, MICEX), OGZD (LSE) Chairman: Alexei Miller 2007 Revenue: RUR 1,774.98bn 2006 Revenue: RUR 1,632.65bn 2007 Employees: 432,230 2006 Employees: 430,000+ No. of Offices: n/a
Employment Contact
www.gazprom-neft.com/career
Divisions
Gas Resources Gas & Oil production Transmission Processing Power industry
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career library
THE SCOOP
ussias state-controlled energy group OAO Gazprom is the worlds largest producer of natural gas. Controlling a quarter of Europes gas supplies, the Moscow-headquartered company is predominantly engaged in natural gas and oil production, transmission, processing and marketing. The global gas giant is, unsurprisingly, the primary provider of gas to the Russian market, with a hefty 84.7 percent share of national gas provision.
Gazprom
Something to be proud of
One of Gazproms claims to fame is that it owns the worlds longest gas pipeline network, the Yamal-Europe, which runs for 150,000 km across Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany. Also impressively, Gazprom possesses the richest explored natural gas reserves in the world of any one company, comprising 60 percent of Russias reserves and 17 percent of the worlds total. Illustrating the magnitude of the Gazprom groups global footprint, the total number of Gazprom personnel is approximately 432,000 worldwide, of which 150,000 are employed in Siberia alone. The main businesses and subsidiaries of umbrella company OAO Gazprom (OAO means Open Joint Stock Company), alongside working along the full oil and gas value chain, are the extraction, production, transmission and marketing of other hydrocarbons, thermal and electric power generation, research and development and, finally, banking services. It doesnt stop there. In addition to its core energy business, Gazprom also has peripheral businesses in insurance, construction, equipment maintenance, agriculture and media.
The tsar of gas

With a market capitalisation of more than 330 billion US dollars, Gazprom was ranked No. 6 in The Financial Times annual FT Global 500 listings. The Russian group sat behind only five American multinationals: oil goliath Exxon Mobil, technology conglomerate General Electric, computer software pioneers Microsoft, financial services powerhouse Citigroup and telecommunications corporation AT&T. Gazprom has whizzed up the charts in less than 15 years. In 1994, the energy groups market capitalisation was a mere 1.5 billion dollars.
Time to take that fur coat off

In 2006, Gazproms explored gas reserves were estimated at some 29.85tcm (trillion cubic metres). Production figures have been just as high in recent years. In 2007, the group produced 548.5bcm (billion cubic metres) of natural gas. Though this was an
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enormous amount, it was actually a marginal slide from 2006 and 2005 production figures. This stemmed from lowered demand due, according to Gazprom, to the abnormally warm winter of 2006-2007.
The oligarchs playground

Founded in the 1940s by the reigning Soviet government, Gazprom was privatised after the fall of the USSR on Christmas Day, 1991. The sale of the energy giants shares began in 1993 and ended in 1995, with 41 percent of company shares remaining under state ownership. Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin headed Gazprom at the time. As of 2008, Gazprom stands as Russias largest joint-stock corporation, with more than 500,000 shareholders. In mid-2005, state-owned OAO Rosneftegaz acquired a 10.74 percent stake of the energy giant, which, combined with a 39.262 percent stake already held by the Russian state, brought its total clout of shares in Gazprom to a controlling 50.002 percent. Crucially, this majority stake has assured the states strategic control over Gazprom for the foreseeable future. In addition to this key acquisition, former Russian president (now Prime Minister) Vladimir Putin, shrewdly instated his former chief-of-staff, Dmitry Medvedev, as Gazproms chairman, eventually handing over the presidential reins of the entire Russian state to him in May 2008.
Playing strategy games

The energy giant has great strategic significance for the Russian economy. Putin has worked on lifting legislative restrictions on trading in Gazprom shares throughout his leadership of the nation. Its energy market was liberalised in 2006 and since then, the price of the companys shares have been on a steady rise. The conversion of Gazproms shares into ADRs (American Depository Receipts) has made the company more appealing on foreign stock exchanges, opening the trophy Russian multinational up to high-end investors interested in the companys long-term development. This has also had a favourable effect on the Russian stock market as a whole, attracting international investors to many different sectors.
One Gazprom for all

With business booming, Gazproms deputy chief executive, Alexander Medvedev, announced in mid-2007 the company would aim to achieve a market capitalisation of one trillion dollars in a period of seven to ten years. He followed this with another ambitious claim he would like Gazprom to be the most-valued and mostcapitalised company in the world.
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Gazprom
The strategies of attaining this goal, which would entail eclipsing American oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil, the current largest company in the world, have sometimes been questioned, but Gazprom shows no signs of slowing down. In December 2006, Royal Dutch Shell and its partners were forced out of a controlling share in the 20 billion dollar Sakhalin-II oil and gas development in the Russian Far East, after their license was revoked by Putins government. In June 2007, a BP subsidiary agreed to sell its stake in Kovytka, filed in Siberia, to Gazprom after Russian authorities questioned BPs export rights. In the same month, the governments of Russia and Italy signed a deal to co-operate on a joint venture between Gazprom and Italian utilities company Eni SpA to construct a 2,000 kilometre-long gas pipeline from Russia to Europe. This will extend under the Black Sea to Bulgaria as well as Russias state-controlled energy to Italy and Hungary, group OAO Gazprom is the worlds further ensuring the largest producer of natural gas, controlling European Unions future a quarter of Europes gas supplies. dependence on Russian gas. The monolith then demonstrated its clout by turning off gas to Ukraine after a subsidy dispute on January 1, 2006, worrying the rest of the continent. The European Union gets roughly 20 percent of its gas from Russia, and the dispute only highlighted this dependence.
Scoring goals for Gazprom

However, an agreement was reached with Ukraine and prospects look rosy for Gazprom. For 2007, the group reported an increase of its full-year net profit of 7.3 percent, from 2006 figures of RUR 613 billion to RUR 659 billion (as of August 2008, one Ruble was worth about 0.02734 euros, which would put the profit figures at around 16.5 billion euros). Factors that have contributed to a neat profit rise well above Bloomberg News median predictions of RUR 621 billion include surging European energy prices. They also include cost benefits arising from Gazproms 2005 acquisition of Sibneft, a profitable oil company owned by Londoner Roman Abramovich (yes, the same exile Russian magnate who owns Chelsea Football Club).
GETTING HIRED
Devoting your energies
Human resources policy at Gazprom is aimed at selecting and training personnel experienced in the spheres of foreign trade and the gas and energy industries. The
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core and oldest firms within the group, such as Gazprom Export, have developed a system of continuous in-house training, occupational training and advanced training of personnel at Russian trade educational centers, like the I.M.Gubkin Russian State Oil and Gas University and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Gazprom also carries out practical training in cooperation with its international partners, at institutions like the French Institute of Petroleum and the Italian School of Business and Management. But the road to getting a job at one of these subsidiaries can be a bit tricky, due to Gazproms decentralised recruitment.
Getting to the prom

Though the various companies under the Gazprom umbrella do hire from outside the Russian Federation, recruitment is carried out through the subsidiaries themselves. For example, Gazprom Neft (www.gazprom-neft.com) has a Careers section where you can read about HR initiatives and submit your CV via an online form. Though the website itself can be navigated in English, the CV submission form is only available in Russian. If you do not speak Russian, Gazprom has operations through its core and subsidiary businesses in countries around the world, including representative offices in Europe and abroad. The range of opportunities stretches from working in marketing in Central Europe to training as an engineer on an oil rig. To find out more about opportunities in European countries, you need to check websites of specific subsidiaries, a full list of which can be found on www.gazprom.com. Gazprom Marketing and Trading, for example, has offices in the UK and France (its careers website is www.gazprom-mt.com/aboutus/careers.htm), and the German subsidiary Gazprom Germania lists its recruitment information on www.gazprom-germania.de/karriere.html.
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Jerry M e, aguir 1996
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GRUPO FERROVIAL S.A.

Prncipe de Vergara, 135 28002 Madrid Spain Tel: +34 91 586 25 00 www.ferrovial.com
European Locations
Madrid (HQ) France Greece Ireland Italy Poland Portugal Switzerland United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: FER (Madrid) Chief Executive: Rafael del Pino 2007 Revenue: 14.63bn 2006 Revenue: 12.35bn 2007 Employees: 102,447 2006 Employees: 88,902 No. of Offices: in 13 countries
Employment Contact
www.ferrovial.es (Click on Recursos Humanos)
Divisions
Construction Electricity Graphic Design Laboratory Law and Industrial Engineering Mechanics Quality and Environment Workplace Security
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career library
THE SCOOP
Grupo Ferrovial S.A.
rom the start, Ferrovial played a key role in the modernisation of Spanish infrastructure that took place throughout the second half of the 20th century. Founded in 1952 by entrepreneur Rafael del Pino, the company originally consisted of workshops that fitted train sleepers and replaced tracks for Renfe, the state-owned Spanish railway company. As Ferrovials main shareholder, del Pino, who died in June 2008 aged 87, was one of the richest businessmen in Spain. His is a rags-to-riches story, starting in post-civil war Spain and ending with the ownership of a company that brought in a 2007 net revenue of 14.63 billion euros, has a presence in 42 companies and a workforce of more than 100,000 employees.
The Godfather of construction

Setting out by taking advantage of its railway expertise, under del Pino, Ferrovial began its first major project 1958 with the Madrid Railway Link Plan, redeveloping much of Spains railway network for the Ministry of Public Works and Urban Planning. The company also made its first foray into the construction of hydroelectric complexes at the time Spains main means of electricity generation in the same year, with Salto No. 2, on the river Sil in Pramo del Sil.
King of the road

The 1960s saw Spains new Minister of Public Works commence plans for a network of Spanish motorways, along with the Redia plan, for a national network of asphalt roads. Ferrovial was key to the implementation of these plans, beginning its lengthy history of road construction with the Redia plan, building the CN-430 in Albacete province, the Villaiovosa-El Moliner road in Alicante, and consolidating its reputation with the Zaragoza-Calatavud road, the Luisiana-Carmona stretch, and further highways in Navarra, Burgos and Madrid. By the 1970s, the firm had diversified further into water treatment plant engineering with the acquisition of Spains premier water treatment company, Cadaqua. Moves were also made in earnest towards international expansion. Ferrovial built nearly 700km of roads in Libya between 1978 and 1985 and worked on projects in Mexico, Kuwait and Paraguay.
Taking its toll

With its acquisition of the concession to build the Burgos-Armin toll road in 1978, followed by obtaining a further concession for the construction of Sant CugatTerrassa-Manresa in 1984, Ferrovial had found a profitable area of specialisation which gave it the status and resources to expand and diversify further. Through the
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latter quarter of the 20th century, the firm created subsidiaries for facilities management and car park construction, and consolidated its position with the acquisition of leading Spanish construction firm Agroman. A series of high profile construction projects in the 1990s, the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum foremost among them, was followed by Ferrovials creation of subsidiary Cintra (Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A.), with the brief of bidding for and managing concessions in Spain and overseas. The advent of the companys expansion into the airport construction industry, with the acquisition of nine airport concessions in Mexico, was begun in 1998.
Constructing an empire
When Ferrovial celebrated its 50th anniversary on December 18, 2002, it celebrated its expansion into one of Europes premier construction giants in just half a century. With its acquisition of Amey in 2003, it secured a significant presence in the UK. In the past few years, the Spanish company has undertaken a series of major projects both in the UK and internationally, together with a cluster of significant acquisitions that further bolstered its standing. Perhaps foremost among these was its 2005 acquisition of 100 percent of Texan civil engineering group, Webber. Ferrovial is now the fifth-largest Spanish construction firm, with a truly international presence, being the first foreign construction firm to settle in Italy and Portugal.
The Spanish invasion

In June 2006, a Ferrovial-led consortium purchased the London-based British company BAA (British Airports Authority), valuing the company at ten billion pounds. BAA owns and operates seven British airports, including the busy London Heathrow Airport, and operates or carries out retail management in several others. Grupo Ferrovial also owns, through its subsidiary Amey, a share of Tube Lines one of two public-private partnership companies responsible for the maintenance of London Undergrounds lines and rolling stock. A year after the acquisition, the British airports operator gave Ferrovial a warning over BAAs monopoly. As well as controlling 60 percent of Englands aerial transport, BAA owns 90 percent of three of the five major airports in London: Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted. In March 2007, the Office of Fair Trade (OFT) advised Ferrovial to sell some of its shares of BAA airports in order to create competition, with Stansted being the main target for a potential share sale. The group has also mentioned that it plans to sell off one of the three major airports as part of a restructuring plan aimed at easing debts which were mostly incurred after its purchase of BAA.
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However, in November 2007, the company sold its shares in six Australian airports to bolster the financing behind the purchase of BAA, according to Spanish newspaper El Pas. The sale, worth a total of 775 million Australian dollars, was part of Ferrovial strategy aimed at selling all its non-strategic assets located outside the UK.
Grupo Ferrovial S.A.
Capitalising on success
With a market capitalisation of more than ten billion euros, Ferrovial is one of the worlds leading infrastructure groups, boasting over 100,000 employees around the world. After selling its real estate division in 2006, the firm focused on investments in four strategic business areas: construction, airports, toll roads and car parks. As a result, just 50 years after its inception, Ferrovial has become one of the leading construction companies in Europe, specialising in developing, financing, maintaining and managing transport, urban and services infrastructure. Ferrovials expansion has caused the group to undergo sweeping changes, from being exposed primarily to cyclical businesses to obtaining 89 percent of its earnings from airports, toll roads, car parks and services. The new image of Grupo Ferrovial, focused on major DBFO (design, build, finance and operate) projects, is that of a company growing rapidly and substantially.
GETTING HIRED
Building the road to your career
With 40 percent of Ferrovials staff employed in Spain, there are ample opportunities for working abroad with the company, particularly in the UK, the US, Poland and Switzerland. New graduates interested in positions at Ferrovial should check for vacancies under the www.ferrovial.es, Recursos Humanos link. It should be noted that the job board is only available from the Spanish website. CVs can also been sent to the company through the same link or to j.morales@ferrovial.es. The firm also offers internships to those in their final year of university and want hands-on experience of its businesses. Placements are offered in several departments and at any one of Ferrovials sites, so it pays to be both specific in your application about what youre after, and flexible as to location. To apply for any Ferrovial vacancies, new graduates or students can register and apply on the website using the online application material provided. The outlook is bright for potential Ferrovial employees in 2007, the companys net creation of employment was 15 percent.
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MICHELIN
12 Cours Sablon 63000 Clermont-Ferrand France Tel: + 33 (1)45 66 12 34 www.michelin.com
French Locations
Paris (HQ) Avallon Bordeaux Bourges Clermont-Ferrand Cholet Epinal La Roche/Yon Le Puy Lille Montceau Orlans Poitiers Roanne Toul Tours Troyes Vannes
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: ML (Euronext) Chief Executive: Michel Rollier 2007 Revenue: 16.867bn 2006 Revenue: 16.384bn 2007 Employees: 121,356 2006 Employees: 115,755 No. of Offices: 83
European Locations
Germany Hungary Italy Poland Romania Russia Spain United Kingdom
Employment Contact Divisions

Aircraft Agricultural Components Earthmover Lifestyle Light truck Maps and guides Truck Twowheelers www.michelin-emplois.com
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career library
THE SCOOP
Michelin
magine a corporate success story that sells two wildly different products but manages to become a global household name for them both. Who would this company be? Try Michelin. And what are the company's signature products? Car tyres and restaurant guides. This might sound like an unlikely double-act, but it works. In reality, more than two-thirds of the companys sales are of replacement tyres for cars, trucks, tractors, lifting equipment, industrial and construction earthmovers, cycles, aircraft, subway trains and trams. The rest of Michelins revenue stems from, along with the guides, Michelin-branded lifestyle products. These include automotive and cycle accessories and technical gadgetry, work, sport and leisure equipment, and maps and travel services under the ViaMichelin brand.The company manufactures its tyres under several different subsidiary brands globally Uniroyal in North America, Kleber in Europe and Warrior in China. The history of this somewhat incongruous company dates back to 1889, when the Michelin brothers, Andr and Edouard, opened their first factory. Based in Clermont-Ferrand in Frances Auvergne region, the fledgling rubber empire initially employed 52 people, and within the year Michelin had filed a patent for Andr and Edouard developed detachable tyres that could the Eclair, the first car to be be repaired in 15 minutes. fitted with pneumatic tyres So confident were the brothers about these newfangled detachable tyres that they organised a cycle race between Paris and Clermont-Ferrand in which they scattered nails on the road. This gave them ample opportunity to show off the fact that flat tyres were no big deal anymore. 1895 was a breakthrough year Andr and Edouard developed the clair, the first car to be fitted with pneumatic tyres. Not long after, the famous Michelin Man logo was created.
Tell me where to go
Everything fell into place for Michelin as it moved into the 20th century. Michelin guides were created in 1900 and were not so initially incongruous a partner to tyre manufacturing as they seem now. The guides were first written as a source of reliable and practical information for the traveller, explains Michelins website, and so were the perfect companion to any Michelin-enabled road journey. Michelin stars have now become a famous benchmark of culinary quality around the world. With the huge increases in personal and business automobile use in the 20th century, tyre manufacturing was an extremely good business to be in. Michelin expanded its French
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operations, opened a base in London and an Italian plant as early as 1906, and followed these rapid expansions with an American plant in 1907. The company also moved into making aircraft, producing 1,884 aircraft for the French governments military use in World War I. Through its invention of the radial tyre, a design which soon became an industry standard, Michelin stayed ahead of the curve in automobile tyre technology. By 1966 the company had 81,000 employees to its name, spread all over the world.
Wheely good
The past 40 years have witnessed more strong growth for the company. Michelin now produces approximately 190 million tyres annually and 15 million maps and guides at 69 plants in 19 countries. Worldwide, Michelin has 38 tyres plants in Europe, 18 in the United States, seven in Asia, four The Michelin guides were in South America, and first written as a source two in Africa and the for reliable and practical Middle East. By 2010, the information for the traveller company aims to have increased its capacity in most of these plants significantly. In China, for example, it will have increased production capacity by 1.4 million tyres annually, and in 2007, it increased its yearly tyre production in its Polish plants by 3.5 million.
Tough times
Life hasnt been all smooth going for Michelin. Its chief executive, 62 year-old Michel Rollier, who joined the company in 1996, has made a lot of noise in recent years about the fact that it has suffered from huge hikes in the cost of rubber and energy in particular, from higher fuel prices in the US and in external logistics costs. Altogether, such hikes cost Michelin more than 800 million euros in 2006. The same year also brought troubles of a different kind when in May, Edouard Michelin, the fourth-generation Michelin family member to run the company, drowned in a boating accident in Brittany at only 42 years old. Since then, Rollier, previously a managing partner, has had to steer Michelin through one of its hardest eras. He has cut costs and boosted productivity so as to be on course for the 2010 goals of costs reduced by 1.5 billion euros and productivity up by 30 percent. Despite these cutbacks, Rollier still intends to invest 3.6 percent of the companys revenue in technological research and development which is more than either of its closest tyre manufacturing rivals, Japanese firm Bridgestone and American giant Goodyear, who invest three percent and 1.8 percent respectively.
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GETTING HIRED
No-slip success
Michelins careers website for jobs in France is www.michelin-emplois.com, and fluent French is needed to navigate it and apply for positions through it. The company has separate recruitment sites for those who want to work for it in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Germany, Spain and the US. The company's fields of work include sales, finance and management, logistics, marketing and communications, administration, quality control, research and development, supply chain management and IT. The job application process is simple simply see which jobs match your profile, and then apply online with a detailed CV and cover letter. The company offers internships, and to apply for them you need to visit the same website and submit your CV and cover letter for any internships you feel would suit you, your education level and your professional experience. An alternative method is to submit your CV and cover letter to the personnel department of the country where you are studying or seeking to work. For those who attend the Grandes coles and wish to pursue a career with Michelin, long-term apprenticeships are available. The application process is the same as above. Check the recruitment website to see whether your profile matches their criteria and if so, apply online with your CV and cover letter.
Michelin
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MOTT MACDONALD
St Anne House 20-26 Wellesley Road Croydon Surrey CR9 2UL United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 8774 2000 www.mottmac.com
Locations in Europe
Croydon (HQ) Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary Ireland The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Turkey
The Stats
Employer Type: Private (employeeowned corporation) Chief Executive: Peter Wickens 2007 Revenue: 748m 2006 Revenue: n/a 2007 Employees: 13,000 2006 Employees: n/a No. of Offices: 150 in 140 countries worldwide
Employment Contact
www.careers.mottmac.com UK Graduate Recruitment: graduate.recruitment@mottmac.com UK Student Recruitment: student.recruitment@mottmac.com
Divisions
Capacity building Construction economics Consultation and market research Contract advisory services Corporate sustainability Design Environmental Infrastructure management Management consultancy Planning Procurement Project management Programme management Project finance Research and development Risk management Software development Studies Supervision, inspection and commissioning Technical advisory Waste management
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career library
THE SCOOP
n engineering, management and development consultancy working in more than 120 countries, Mott MacDonald provides expertise to both public and private clients in a wide range of sectors. The global group assumed its current incarnation in 1989, by way of a merger of civil engineering firm Mott, Hay & Anderson with engineers Sir M MacDonald & Partners, who were particularly known for their experience in water-related projects. As of 2008, Mott MacDonald stands as a world-renowned company, responsible for such projects as the design of the Channel Tunnel and the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium. The sectors its engineers cover include transport, energy, buildings, water and the environment, health and education, industry and communications.
Mott Macdonald
A taste of MacDonald
A good example of the kind of project Mott MacDonald gets involved in is the worlds first project-financed offshore wind farm in the Dutch sector of the North Sea, Q7, which, in December 2007, exported power to the Dutch grid for the first time. Throughout this project, began in 2005, Mott Mac scooped The Sunday Mott MacDonald was Times 11th best big company to work lenders engineer to for in the newspapers annual Top Dutch bank Rabobank, 100 Companies to Work for list Belgian bank Dexia, and Denmarks EKF, and oversaw the whole construction process. Located in deep offshore waters, requiring specialist marine engineering, the project is a good example of the scale and level of expertise Mott MacDonald is accustomed to working on.
Mott-ho, chaps
Mott MacDonald comes from a strong pedigree of engineers. Basil Mott and David Hay, who formed a partnership in 1902, were mentored by JH Greathead and Sir Benjamin Baker, the latter best known for the construction of the Forth Railway Bridge and the Aswan Dam. Both experienced in railway engineering, Mott and Hay invited engineer David Anderson to join them 1921, to form Mott, Hay & Anderson. In the same year, Sir Murdoch MacDonald retired from his post as Advisor to Egypts Ministry of Public Works, after the opening of the Aswan Dam. Six years later, he formed Sir M MacDonald & Partners and embarked upon a series of large scale projects, not least among them the second heightening of the Aswan Dam.
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Getting a Preece of the action

Both firms experienced solid growth throughout the 20th century until their 1989 merger. Five years after the union, in 1994, the power and telecoms consultants Ewbank Preece came into the Mott MacDonald fold, enabling the engineering specialist to broaden its range of expertise. In the run up to the 21st century, Mott MacDonald expanded through acquisition and the integration of subsidiaries in the health and education markets. Its key health subsidiary is HLSP, a project management and technical services firm which works in global healthcare provision. The groups education consultancy wing is Cambridge Education, which works on a worldwide basis. The rest of the groups newer additions also take in a global reach. Taking advantage of the booming North American transportation market, for example, in 1996 it launched Hatch Mott MacDonald, a joint venture with Canadas Hatch Associates, with whom it worked on Torontos subway network in the 1950s. This subsidiary Hatch Mott MacDonald provides project management in water and transport infrastructure design and construction in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Sea change
In 2006, Mott MacDonald became involved in a project to tackle the massive loss of water suffered by the Aral Sea, sandwiched between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Russian irrigation efforts in the 1940s saw the inland sea deprived of its water supplies and over the decades that followed, its water levels reduced considerably. Fishing industries disappeared, sailing vessels lay stranded on the sand, and hundreds of thousands of people were affected. Eventually the levels dropped so low that a 100km spit of land surfaced, dividing the sea into two bodies of water, named the Northern and Southern Aral seas. Alongside Turkish firm Temelsu International, in 2006, Mott MacDonald supervised the construction of a dyke connecting the North and South Arals. The effort aimed to raise the water level in the North Aral, replenish its fish population and local agriculture, and restore what was once an economic hub. Water levels have already risen by 8m, a higher rate than expected. Re-engineering work on the local Chardara Dam, which could only start when the dykes were completed, came to a finish in September 2007.
Taking home the goods

Mott has won a host of awards recently. Just a handful of them include the Best Renewable Project gong at the 2008 Scottish Green Awards for the Stevens Croft biomass power
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station, the UKs largest, for which it is project manager. Similarly, its Manchester Civil Justice Centre won the Green Major Project of the Year award in the Green Construction Awards 2007. In terms of international work, for its Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (SMART) in Kuala Lumpur, which reduces congestion and diverts flooding, it won Major Consultancy Firm of the Year at the 2007 British Expertise Awards. The firm racked up two especially impressive accolades the same year Best Technical Advisor at the Public Private Finance Awards 2007, and The Sunday Times 11th best big company to work for in the newspapers annual Top 100 Companies to Work for list.
Mott Macdonald
GETTING HIRED
Building your career
Each year Mott MacDonald offers 100 paid summer and industrial placements across 19 disciplines to both undergraduate and pre-university students. Details of individual disciplines can be found on the careers website by following the students link, and the disciplines link at the bottom of the page this leads to. Applications are made via an online form by clicking how to apply followed by the application form. The company offers bursaries to a number of graduate students each year who have completed a summer or industrial placement.
Career engineering
Mott MacDonald takes on 150 graduates each year with degrees in the full range of engineering disciplines. The firm puts its graduates to work on projects involving airports, bridges, energy, environmental services, consulting, geotechnics, highway construction, quantity surveying, railways, transport planning, tunnels, hydrogeology and dam and reservoir engineering. Applications can be made year round, but the company strongly advises candidates apply early in their final year. Successful applicants will be called to interview at their nearest Mott MacDonald office. The Mott MacDonald careers website provides useful information as to whats in store for those who join the group. Most successful candidates will begin by working in the UK, with opportunities for travel increasing with experience. Both a buddy and a mentor are assigned to all graduate trainees.
Smiley, happy engineers

As befits a company scoring so highly in The Times list of top employers, Mott MacDonald makes much of its community spirit and its prowess at integrating new
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staff. Its website provides staff perspectives for potential candidates to get a sense of the firms corporate culture and the different career paths available. You can find these under the working with us link on the careers website, and follow the Mott MacDonald community link. Information on projects carried out by recent graduate employees can be found by following the making a difference link. To search vacancies, look under vacancies and pick your relevant location, discipline or market.
OUR SURVEY SAYS

First impressions
Mott MacDonald employees assure that interviews are focused on engineering knowledge and background. My first interview was with three people: two from the team I would be working in and one from HR. My second was with one of the directors. There were no special tests, questions about my previous jobs or the industry Id been working in, one British respondent told us.
Open all hours, or not

I work a 37.5 hour week, and I can take time off during the day to sort things out if I need to, one British employee comments. If I work a long day for any reason, I can work a short day later in the week. A London employee reported working 45-50 hours weeks, and added that it was very rare to work outside the capital: most of the clients I work with are London-based, but I do have occasional meetings outside London.
Kicking back with the engineers

Its a friendly and supportive place, one source working in the UK revealed, adding, they treat me as an intelligent, competent person, and theres a variety of work. Another British staffer told us the culture is very much no-blame, to the point of almost being laissez-faire. This is no place for slackers though; hard work is expected, and autonomy granted: Were always very busy, one respondent told us, but if you organise your time well, you can strike a reasonable balance.
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As of 2008, Mott MacDonald stands as a world-renowned company, responsible for such projects as the design of the Channel Tunnel and the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium.
NOKIA
Keilalahdentie 2-4 FI-02150 Espoo Finland Tel. +358 (0) 7180 08000 www.nokia.com
European Locations
Espoo (HQ) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Israel Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer type: Public Ticker Symbol: NOK (NYSE) NOK1V (Nordic Exchange) NOA3 (Frankfurt) Chief Executive: Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo 2007 Revenue: 51.06bn 2006 Revenue: 41.12bn 2007 Employees: 112,2621 2006 Employees: 68,483 No. of Offices: 5 regional headquarters and offices in 66 countries
Employment Contact
www.nokia.com/careers
Divisions
Enterprise Solutions Mobile Phones Multimedia Nokia Siemens Networks
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career library
THE SCOOP
hen you think of Finland, you might think of reindeer, saunas and fir trees. The country is, however, also home to Nokia, the worlds largest manufacturer of mobile phones. With a claim to an estimated 38 percent of the global mobile devices market, according to its 2007 figures, Nokia sold 437 million mobile phones in just one year in 150 countries at approximately 350,000 points of sale.
Nokia
More than reindeer

The Finnish groups international presence and brand power should not be underestimated. By far the largest company in its home country, it is also one of Finlands most innovative companies to work for, undergoing constant expansion in order to consolidate on its leading position in the competitive and rapidly growing market of mobile telecommunications. After a re-organisational programme in 2007, since January 1, 2008, Nokia has been structured into four segments. The devices segment is responsible for its devices portfolio, including but not limited to its many mobile phone models. Services and software is responsible for developing Nokias consumer internet Perhaps predictably, as of services. The markets 2007 China was Nokias largest business group oversees market, followed by India, supply chains, sales Germany, the UK and the US channels and brand and marketing activities. Finally, Nokias corporate development office is the nerve centre of the entire operation, focusing on strategy and future growth and on integrating the other business units so this huge company runs smoothly.
Rubber soul
Nokias company history goes back to the mid-19th century when it was founded in 1855 in Espoo, near Finnish capital Helsinki. Although it may seem strange for what is now one of the largest players in the telecommunications market, Nokia actually started life as a paper mill before being swept up in the growing market for telegraphs and telephone cables. The Nokia Corporation, founded in 1967, moved into mobile telecommunications in 1981, when Nordic Mobile Telephone, the first international mobile phone network, was built. The 1980s saw Nokia launch portable phones and the first handheld mobile phone, the Mobira Cityman, was introduced in 1987. This phone made its mark when then-
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Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev used a Cityman to make a call from Helsinki to his communications minister in Moscow. The stage was set for mobile telephones to become a part of everyday communication and in 1992, Nokia took the strategic step of focusing purely on mobile phones.
Nokias in their hands

By 1998, the company was the world leader in mobile phones. New developments swiftly followed. The Nokia 7100 handset was not only the Finns first WAP handset but the worlds first. The first 3G phone, the third generation technology devices which allowed the user to download music, make video calls, watch television on the move and browse the internet, took the markets by storm in 2002. In the same year, Nokia launched its first phone with a built-in camera, the Nokia 7650 and its first video capture phone, the Nokia 3650. When Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Nokias former chief financial officer, took over at the top in June 2006, he immediately set about expanding the company. The very same month, the merger with Siemens AG was announced. As of April, 2007, Nokia Siemens Networks became a fully-fledged entity, comprising Nokias former networks business group and Siemens carrier-related operations for fixed and mobile networks.
Two brains are better than one

The principle behind merging the businesses was that collaboration often yields better results. Pooling Nokia and Siemens technology and research resources gives the joint business the means to produce the equipment service providers need. It will also supply network subscribers with faster, larger transfers of data and mobile content, which is good news for consumers. Nokia chief executive Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo oversaw Nokia Siemens Networks decision to invest 100 million euros in that much-talked-about upcoming market, India, over the next three years. Kallasvuo announced in July 2007 that Nokia was committed to building the telecom ecosystem in the country through its investment, which has funded various projects including a telecommunications equipment manufacturing facility in Tamil Nadu for wireless network equipment, new offices across various cities and the expansion of an existing research and development centre.
Global domination
With its 2007 sales clocking in at over 50 billion euros, Nokia reported an excellent increase of 24 percent from 2006. Net sales of mobile phones increased
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Nokia
one percent, net sales of multimedia products increased 34 percent and net sales of enterprise solutions increased an awe-inspiring 101 percent.
Calling China
Perhaps predictably, as of 2007 China was Nokias largest market, followed by India, Germany, the UK and the US. As such, there are plenty of opportunities to work for Nokia in its strongest markets, especially China and Germany. According to Forbes magazine, Nokia is number one company in terms of sales in the fastest-growing global markets, China, Southeast Asia and India. However, according to the same report, the Finnish giant is also keen to increase its presence in the US and, of course, on the internet.
They got Twangod

An interesting recent acquisition by Nokia is that of photo-sharing website Twango, which it purchased in July 2007. While Twango is one of the smaller websites compared to Yahoos Flickr or Googles YouTube, what attracted Nokia is Twangos innovative technology and suitability of its content for use on mobile phones and handheld devices. Further evidence of Nokias commitment to the scope of mobile multimedia possibilities came in September 2007, when it acquired Enpocket, a US mobile advertising firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. The acquisition gave Nokia the leverage of Enpockets excellent partnerships with advertisers and publishers. In the summer of 2007, Nokia rolled out its new internet services brand, Ovi, which includes the Nokia Music Store and N-Gage, music and games services. Throught this, Nokia hopes it will capture the attention of the key youth demographic. Another growing market is that of environmentally friendly commerce. On trend with the increasingly mainstream emphasis on sustainability, in December 2007 Nokia announced the development of its 3100 Evolve, a mobile phone with bio-covers made from more than 50 percent renewable material.
A hotline to brainpower
In terms of research and development, due to the amalgamation of Siemens into the Nokia Siemens Networks business, Nokias research and development spending shot up from 3.9 billion euros in 2006 to 5.6 billion euros in 2007. With a research and development workforce of 30,415 people, this comprises 27 percent almost a third of Nokias workforce working in ten countries around the world.
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GETTING HIRED
Please wait while we try to employ you
With more than 110,000 employees, mostly in Finland but also in more far-flung corners of the world, Nokia is a great place to start your career, especially if you are passionate about telecommunications. To see all available jobs, you can either search for careers by visiting a local country website China, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Japan or the US or you can do a basic job search and specify field, location or organisation.
Nokia comes knocking

For students and graduates, the company has numerous opportunities on its Careers website. The company accepts students as part of its workforce at various points throughout the year, either as part-time or full-time, abroad or in Finland, or integrated with their thesis project. All student job opportunities can be found online and applications can be made online. You can register and update a candidate profile too and be contacted by Nokia when relevant positions arise. Nokias graduate recruitment program is primarily geared towards business or technical school graduates coming from highly-ranked schools. The ideal degree subject to have under your belt would include: electrical engineering, electronic engineering, mechanical engineering, software engineering, computer science, information technology, telecommunications, physics, mathematics or business, commerce and management.
Have a hand in the future of the phone

The programme, designed by world-class experts, looks for those with business acumen and relevant technical or industry competence as well as prior international exposure. Tailored to the individual, it involves the chance to undertake learning in different areas and pick up new competencies through e-learning, self-directed learning and special forums in which recent graduates can share experiences with one another. To see Nokias graduate careers options, visit www.nokia.com/graduates online. Nokia stipulates it is looking for those with leadership skills and an ability to work in a fast-paced environment. It also places an emphasis on applicants who can show they are highly-motivated self-starters.
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PEUGEOT CITRON
75 Avenue de la Grande-Armee 75116 Paris France Tel: + 33 (1)40 66 55 11 www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com
French Locations
Paris (HQ) Aulnay Poissy Rennes Sochaux Mulhouse Sevelnord
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: PEUP (Paris Euronext) Chairman: Christian Streiff 2007 Revenue: 60.6bn (FYE: 12/07) 2006 Revenue: 56.6bn 2007 Employees: 207,000 2006 Employees: 211,700 No. of Offices: 23 (around Europe)
European Locations
Czech Republic Italy Portugal Slovakia Spain
Employment Contact:
Careers website: www.psa-peugeot-citroen.com (Click on Candidate)
Divisions
Automobiles Citron Automobiles Peugeot Banque PSA Finance Faurecia Gefco Peugeot Citron Moteurs Process Conception Ingnierie Peugeot Motocycles
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THE SCOOP
n 1974, French carmaker Peugeot bought 38.2 percent of its domestic rival Citron, increasing this share to 89.95 percent in 1976. The two companies now operate under shared management as Peugeot Citron. Peugeot and Citron retain separate sales and marketing departments but they share technology and assembly facilities. The company is currently considered the pre-eminent manufacturer for reducing production costs by sharing engine development and whole vehicle development with other car manufacturers. The group sells approxmiately 3.3 million vehicles worldwide per year, with a 5.2 percent market share in the global automotive sector. Turnover in 2007 was 60.6 billion euros and the manufacturer ranks second in European The company offers market share, with 13.9 approximately 550 percent. Since the turn of gap year internships the millennium, it has also proven a dynamic force overseas. Peugeot Citrons priority regions China, Russia and the Mercosur countries of South America (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) saw sales rise from 2006 to 2007 by an average of 16.1 percent.
Peugeot Citron
Inside the machine

In 15 production centres dotted around the globe, 90,000 Peugeot Citron employees make 16,000 powertrain components (such as engines, driveshafts, transmission components) and 14,000 vehicles each day. These centres are divided into four workshops: stamping, body-in-white construction, paint and assembly. PSA Peugeot Citron's industrial base in Europe highlights cooperation with other auto manufacturers. Overall, it consists of six facilities in France (Aulnay, Poissy, Rennes, Sochaux, Mulhouse, and Sevelnord), two in Spain (Vigo and Madrid), and one each in Portugal (Mangualde), Italy (Sevel), as part of a cooperation agreement with Fiat, the Czech Republic (Kolin), and as part of a cooperation agreement with Toyota, and Slovakia (Trnava). Aside from the automobile manufacturing under the Peugeot and Citron brands, the company has three other main businesses: Banque PSA Finance, which offers loans and related services to car buyers, Faurecia, which produces automotive modules including seats, cockpits, acoustic units and exhaust systems, and Gefco, which provides vehicle logistics, freight transport and international logistics. None of these makes much impact on the balance sheet; automobile sales accounted for
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4.45 billion euros of the groups 5.66 billion euros 2006 turnover, while Banque added 0.16 billion euros, Gefco 0.32 billion euros and Faurecia 1.16 billion euros.
Streiff at home
Peugeot Citrons current head is Christian Streiff, who took the top job of chief executive in February 2007, after leaving commercial airline Airbus after only three months. Streiffs background is less turbulent; he previously spent 26 years at Saint-Gobain, an international building materials manufacturer. He inherited Peugeot Citron in a troubled state. Whilst the companys international sales have continued to grow for the past five years, it has been losing market share in Europe. According to Streiff, The rhythm of product roll-out was too slow we were not in the right segments and the range did not have the right breadth; the design was missing the vital spark. Results bear out Streiffs comments. European sales of the Peugeot 206, one of the companys star brands, plummeted from 2005 to 2006 by 47.3 percent, and a programme to reduce manufacturing costs of 600 million euros is currently in place. Peugeots closure of its car factory in Coventry in the UK may have caused 2,300 job losses but it saved the company 90 million euros in fixed costs, 60 million euros of which was then reinvested in the Trnava plant in Slovakia, where overheads are cheaper.
Baby, you can drive my car

In the face of sluggish sales, Peugeot Citron has been trying to outclass its competitors through ergonomic and technological innovation. One thing the group is good at is high quality car safety, for which it is consistently recognised. As of November 2007, The European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP), which is backed by the European Commission, has awarded 12 of its cars the maximum five star scores in crash test safety. Out of the groups 2.2 billion euro yearly research and development budget, ten percent of it goes towards researching environmental factors and vehicle and driver behaviour on the roads.
Beep beep, mbeep beep, yeah!

For Peugeot Citron, becoming more user-friendly comes hand-in-hand with an increasing concern for the environment. The company is not alone in the automobile sector in diversifying into greener technologies, but it is making an impact where it matters. The group has poured money into trying out new engine technologies to get cleaner combustion, and it is beginning to see results. One of its technologies, HDi engines, which is direct injection diesel technology, has gone down a storm.
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Peugeot Citron
New HDi common-rail engines have been installed in nine million vehicles and counting as of early 2008. These hi-tech engines ensure that carbon dioxide emissions from fuel burning are reduced by approximately 20 percent. HDi engines will also be included in a range of hybrid vehicles Peugeot Citron are planning to bring to market in 2010. The company claims that this advanced technology will do even better than the breakthrough 2006 Peugeot 307 and Citron C4 hybrid HDi vehicles in terms of low carbon dioxide emissions.
GETTING HIRED
Plan your journey
To work for either Peugeot or Citron, first you must choose which category you fall into: engineers and executives, or technical, sales and administrative staff. In both categories, the company recruits those who are enthusiastic about cars. The first category covers the following fields: professionals in research and innovation, production, information systems, purchasing, management and finance, communications, industrial design, logistics, human resources, and legal. The second category covers those with technical, sales or administrative skills in these categories. Visit the company website to check your eligibility. Competition is stiff, however: in 2006, Peugeot Citron received more than 61,000 CVs and hired only 1,433 engineers and executives and 1,589 technical, sales and administrative staff. More than half of these were employed in production and industrial design. There is a three-step recruitment process which includes interviews with recruitment officers and operating managers. Once in, new employees are shown the ropes in one or more of the following areas of specialisation: engineering, manufacturing, sales and logistics, services including research and development and information systems and management.
The company also offers approximately 550 gap year internships. See the "you are candidate" page of its website, and select, under "career development", "frequently asked questions", and then "gap year internship" for more information. It also offers work-study programmes for students on their way to obtaining a professional qualification see the website for more details. Europe-wide vacancies can also be found on Peugeot Citrons website area for candidates. Under "offers" on the Candidates section of the website, just select "international".
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PHILIPS ELECTRONICS
European Locations
Breitner Center, Amstelplein 2 1096 BC Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)20 59 77 777 www.philips.com Amsterdam (HQ) Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: PHIA (Euronext), PHG (NYSE) Chief Executive: Gerard Kleisterlee 2007 Revenue: 26.8 bn 2006 Revenue: 26.7 bn 2007 Employees: 159,226 2006 Employees: 121,732 No. of Offices: n/a
Employment Contact
www.philips.com/about/careers
Divisions
Philips Consumer Electronics Philips Domestic Appliances & Personal Care Philips Lighting Company Philips Medical Systems Other Businesses
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THE SCOOP
etherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics, commonly known as Philips, is a corporate giant that spreads its tentacles over numerous markets. Though the company is perhaps best known for its electronic goods, Philips also has interests in the healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle sectors.
Philips Electronics
More than just electric toothbrushes

Employing more than 30,000 people, with the majority of these in the US, Philips Healthcare is responsible for medical equipment such as X-raying and radiography equipment and ultrasound technology, among other products. The lighting segment of the group employs 55,000 people and is renowned for producing energy-efficient lighting possibilities for homes, offices, industrial and roadways. Philips Consumer Lifestyle is the brand behind many products ranging from televisions and DVDs to personal care and baby care products.
From Amsterdam with love

From its base in Amsterdam, Philips stretches out to more than 60 countries, employing over 159,000 people. From a financial point of view, this giant is also exceptionally healthy, enjoying sales of more than 26.8 billion euros according to 2007 reports.
Early days of a Dutch giant

Philips was founded in 1891 in Eindhoven, in the south of the Netherlands. It started as a manufacturer of carbon-filament lamps and quickly rose to the top of this sector in Europe. As technology rapidly evolved, the company established a research laboratory in 1914 to stay ahead of the game . By 1918, it was taking baby steps into diversification, a moment marked by the introduction of a medical X-ray tube. Deeply immersed in the technological zeitgeist of these years, Philips flirted with the new media of TV and radio during the 1920s. By the 1930s, it was producing and selling them on a massive scale, reaching the one million mark for radio units sold by 1932. By the end of the 1930s, Philips had already become a giant, employing over 45,000 people worldwide. Over the following decades, one invention followed another. The 1980s was somewhat of a golden era, as Philips research department undertook crucial work in the fields of storage and transmission of images, sound and data. Soon after, digital storage solutions, such as the laser disc and the compact disc, were introduced. The latter was a technological milestone that would change the world after its entry into the market in 1982.
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Trimming away the excess

During the 1990s, the company underwent a restructuring process that scaled down the number of its business areas. To crown the decade and Philips new slimline look, in 1997, the Dutch gadget wizard was involved in the release of one of the most successful home electronic appliances ever, the DVD player. The companys restructuring process ended in January 2008, when Philips adopted the three sector business structure it retains today. On January 1, 2008, Philips consumer electronics and its domestic appliances and personal care businesses merged into one, its consumer lifestyle sector. In October 2007, Philips announced its Vision 2010. The three consolidated sectors, healthcare, lighting and consumer lifestyle, will be pushed by company executives to become, as Philips says, people-centric, market-driven global leaders. By 2010, Philips is expecting the EBITA (earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation) margin of its current business to exceed ten percent through improved margin management, increased contribution from recent acquisitions, improvement of its product mix and, of course, as a result of its streamlined structure.
Eco concerns
Along with its revised economic goals, Philips seems hard at work on bettering itself environmentally. Since 1994, it has been implementing sustainable policies. In 2007, the company adopted the EcoVision4 program, a series of targets adopted since 2007. With a 2012 deadline, the EcoVision4 goals include generating 30 percent of Philips revenue from environmentally-friendly products, doubling the companys investment in green innovations to one billion euros and increasing the energy efficiency of its operations by 25 percent. Such green concerns aim to take into consideration several aspects of Philips products life cycle, such as energy efficiency during production, eco-friendly packaging, recycling and disposal of waste increasing product reliability. By 2012, the company is also aiming to achieve a reduction of its operational carbon footprint by 25 percent.
With a little help from my eco-friends

As another part of its environmental strategy, Philips announced in November 2007 a 1.8 billion euro investment for the acquisition of US-based lighting fixtures manufacturer Genlyte Group. At the time of the acquisition, Genlyte was the second largest manufacturer of lighting fixtures and controls in the US, a market in which Philips was lagging behind. This new venture, making Philips the US market leader, will catalyse the groups further growth in the North American market in its other business areas.
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Top European Engineering Firms Philips Electronics

In March 2008, Philips announced that it would undertake a joint venture in South Africa for the manufacture of energy-saving light bulbs in the country. The counterpart in this operation will be CEF, a private company owned by the South African state. The Lesotho b a s e d f a c i l i t i e s w i l l be f u l l y o p e r a t i v e b y September 2008. This market is particularly appealing to the Dutch luminary, as the South African government has Along with its revised economic announced plans to goals, Philips seems hard at work on replace 80 percent of bettering itself environmentally incandescent light bulbs in four to six years. The Dutch giant hopes to reduce this period to three years, as it is scheduled that the Lesotho factory will be able to manufacture up to 15 million energy-efficient light bulbs per year.
All that glitters aint a light bulb

The companys growth is hardly limited to the energy-efficient lamps sector. Several acquisitions were announced by Philips in the first half of 2008, most in the health products sector. The most important was the acquisition of the Brazilian Dixtal Biomdica e Tecnologa, a company specialising in the manufacture of monitoring, anaesthesia, ventilation and electrocardiogram equipment. The deal was valued at approximately 1.2 billion euros.
GETTING HIRED
Join the Philips family
Being a large international company, Philips is, unsurprisingly, constantly hiring. Vacancies can be searched according to various criteria, such as country, area of interest, or experience level. If you dont find a position that suits you, you can still submit an open application and fill in an online profile that the company will assess to see if you fit the criteria for a post. Applications must be supported by a covering letter. Philips actually shows its candidates how to write an effective cover letter with a tips page in the Careers section of its website.
The hiring Dutchmen

If your application is successful you will invited to a series of interviews, either in person or over the phone. The company also gives tips for going through this process successfully on its Careers section.
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For students, the company offers a variety of internships and graduation projects worldwide in all its departments. These can be searched from the same page as Philips job vacancies. Internships vary in length according to specific divisional requirements. Though most are unpaid, having the Philips brand printed in your CV will undoubtedly be a plus when you are looking for a job after graduation. It may also be a way into a career with the company itself. For Masters graduates, the company offers a European business course with a focus in sales and marketing a European business course with a focus on technology. These courses last three days and are a very effective way of stepping into the company. This said, places for the course are limited and entry requirements are demanding. To find out about them, check on Philips Careers website under Talent Recruitment.
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PORSCHE SE
Porscheplatz 1 D-70435 Stuttgart Germany Tel: +49 711 911 0 www.porsche.com
German Locations
Stuttgart (HQ) Bietigheim-Bissingen Essen Leipzig Ludwigsburg Munich Weissach Wolfsburg
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: POR3 (Frankfurt) Chief Executive: Dr. Wendelin Wiedeking 2007 Revenue: 7.36bn 2006 Revenue: 7.27bn 2007 Employees: 11,571 2006 Employees: 11,910 No. of Offices: numerous locations throghout Germany
European Locations
Austria Baltics Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Luxembourg The Netherlands Poland Portugal Russia Romania Serbia & Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
Divisions
Consulting Engineering Financial Services Sales and Marketing
Employment Contact
www.porsche.com (Click on About Porsche then Jobs & Careers)
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THE SCOOP
Porsche SE
n instantly recognisable name worldwide, Porsche is associated with sleek cars, wealth, luxury design and top performance. Since Ferdinand Porsche produced his first electric car over a century ago, Porsches reputation has steadily risen and it has long been one of the most revered names in the automotive industry. A tribute to its excellent craftmanship is that Porsches sales figures for the past decade have risen steadily, peaking in 2007 at 7.36 billion euros. In terms of cars sold, this translates to 97,515 units of all Porsche models sold in 2007, up from 96,794 in 2006, and up from 36,686 units sold a decade ago in 1997/98, showing very solid growth. With the classic 911 series holding firm as Porsches top selling model, the second generation of Porsches all-terrain vehicle Cayenne also attracts the eye of international markets, bringing in just over a third of Porsches revenue. With the auto wizards Boxster series bringing up the rear, the international presence of the group is enjoying a smooth ride.
Beetles about
Despite Porsches long-held reputation for excellence in engineering, Ferdinand Porsche actually learnt his craft at a different car company, Austrian firm AustroDaimler, where in 1906 he was made Technical Director. In 1923, he unveiled his design for the Mercedes Compressor Sports Car, and with that creation behind him, he went on to open an office in Stuttgart in 1931 to consult on vehicle engineering and design. The engineering maestro developed the prototype Volkswagen Beetle along with the first of what was to become a long line of his own brand of cars, the 365 sports car in 1948. The involvement with Volkswagen has stretched out through history; Volkswagen owns 30.6 percent of Porsche as of spring 2008, and Porsche, in return, owns approximately 31 percent of Volkswagen.
Family fortunes
Ferdinand Porsche died in 1951 and his son Ferry took over the business, which was growing in size and reputation as Porsche sports cars claimed victory after victory in motor racing throughout the bulk of the 20th century. In 1972, the company prepared to go public and officially floated as Dr. Ing h.c. F. Porsche AG in 1973. Managing to lead the way in safety as well as on the racetrack, in 1991, Porsche was the first carmaker in Germany to introduce airbags for car drivers and frontseat passengers as standard equipment.
Wendelin the wunderkind

In 1993, the man who still helms Porsche took over in the companys front seat. Dr Wendelin Wiedeking. Wiedeking, who has a background in mechanical
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engineering, has steered Porsche into being a steadily successful business during his long reign at the top. In its 2007 Annual Report, Porsche proclaims its confidence about the sports car market, with North America an extremely strong market and sales in upcoming markets such as China and Russia doing brisk business. In 2007, unit sales in export markets outside North America rose by 9.2 percent from 45,442 units to 49,625. The company also has good news for graduates, both design dreamers and those who want to get their hands dirty, as the 1.6 percent increase in employee numbers from 2006 to 2007 was concentrated in its research and development unit and at its Leipzig plant.
Congestion suggestion
In early 2008, Porsche took it upon itself to oppose the rise of Londons congestion charge, introduced by Londons then mayor Ken Livingstone in order to limit vehicle access to congested central London. Livingstones plans to raise the charge from eight British pounds to 25 British pounds for high emission vehicles found a fiery adversary in the German company. Porsche challenged the proposed rise in court in April 2008, fuelling angry responses from the congestion charge lobby as well as from green campaigners Friends of the Earth. With Porsche claiming that the tax is not only unfair but also counter productive in terms of its environmental impact, it has science behind it according to a study by Kings College London, commissioned by Transport for London, a rise in the congestion charge would raise carbon dioxide emissions in outer London as drivers take more circuitous routes to their destinations. While opposing the congestion charge for high-emission vehicles, Porsche is also making headway in manufacturing lower-emission vehicles. In 2008, the company planned to present a new line of environmentally friendly cars at the Geneva Auto Salon. Using an environmentally friendly fuel called E10, the new line of Cayenne models uses at least 15 percent less fuel than its predecessors. Porsche has outlined its eco-friendly policy as producing cars that will combine ahead-of-the-curve driving technology with the most environmentally efficient technologies available.
Too Porsche to push

In June 2007, Porsche underwent a big structural change, adopting the supranational European legal status SE, making it a European stock corporation. This new organisational set-up means that Porsche AG becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company Porsche Automobil Holding SE. Numerous global subsidiaries now exist under the umbrella of this holding company.
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Porsche SE
In March 2007, Porsche upped its stake of Volkswagen shares to 30.6 percent, triggering a takeover bid according to German law. A Volkswagen Law, however, had been in place which protected Volkswagen from takeovers by capping shareholders voting rights at 20 percent, whatever the size of their holding. The European Court of Justice struck down this law in October 2007 and while Porsche is now hopeful that a takeover bid for Volkswagen is not far off, further changes in the law regarding Volkswagens shareholding structure and voting rights are still needed before Porsche can launch a bid.
GETTING HIRED
Car-eers
Porsche offers a wide range of career opportunities from practical, hands-on technical jobs to international marketing, sales and finance. Porsches website features all jobs currently available at the company and you can search by level of qualification, job category and/or region the majority of jobs are in Germany, the Czech Republic, Italy, North America, Spain and Portugal. You can apply for a specific position or send your CV as a speculative application to recruitment@porsche.co.uk. Sales and finance opportunities are available in Germany, Australia, France, Italy, Japan, Spain, Portugal and the UK as well as in the US and Canada, while engineering roles are available at Porsches headquarters in Stuttgart, its nerve centre in Weissach, southwest Germany, in the US and in the Czech Republic.
The Apprentice
Porsche runs apprenticeship programmes which combine technical experience with theoretical training in several European countries, though mastery of the relevant language is required for successful applicants. Apprenticeships offer intensive courses in areas of car making such as Technology, Body Repair and Parts. To find out more details and apply online, visit the jobs and careers pages on Porsches website.
Ride through the ranks

Porsche has a strategic leadership process in which it monitors employees for leadership potential. Its training programme includes schemes for younger employees and for those with their sights set on entering its management team. The programmes aim to ensure that key roles in the company are filled from within its own ranks, so once you have your foot in the door, you may be in the front seat before too long.
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RENAULT
13-15 Quai Alphonse Le Gallo 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt France Tel: + 33 (1) 76 84 04 04 www.renault.fr
French Locations
Paris (HQ) Douai Aubergenville Le Havre Le Mans Clon Batilly Ruitz Maubeuge
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: RNO (Euronext) Chairman: Carlos Ghosn 2007 Revenue: 40.68bn 2006 Revenue: 39.97bn 2007 Employees: 130,179 2006 Employees: 128,893 No. of Offices: 118+
European Locations
Austria Belgium Croatia Czech Republic Germany Hungary Italy Luxembourg The Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Switzerland United Kingdom

Automobile Design and Manufacture Sales and Marketing Careers web site: www.renault.com (Click on Jobs and Careers)
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THE SCOOP
Renault
n a winters day in December 1898, Louis Renault took up a challenge to race his A-type Voiturette up the steep Rue Lepic in Montmartre, Paris. So impressive was his self-made motor tricycle that Renault drove away from the race with his first 12 orders. He soon formed the Socit Renault Frres, a factory based in the Paris suburb of Billancourt. In its early decades, it specialised in constructing racing cars, passenger cars and taxis. During World War I, it diversified into making trucks, light tanks and aircraft engines. In the 1920s, Louis Renault built a huge factory on the le Seguin in Billancourt and moved into making buses, tractors and light commercial vehicles. The company gradually emerged as a French market leader. Nationalised in 1945 following World War II, the company then expanded internationally by way of alliances and takeovers. After severe financial difficulties in the early 1980s, the company returned to profit in 1987. Renaults first steps towards privatisation were taken in 1996.
Driving the distance

Renault has a solid position as a global market leader in car production with a presence in 118 countries. In 1999, it formed an alliance with Japans Nissan and Romanias Dacia, giving it a foothold in Asia and Central Europe. In In its early decades, Renault 2000, it bought out South specialised in constructing racing Koreas Samsung Motors cars, passenger cars and taxis for 357 million euros, and in 2001, became the main shareholder in the Volvo Group, the worlds second biggest truck manufacturer. The turn of the millennium also saw privatisation loom ever-nearer, with the French government reducing its share in the company to only 15.7 percent in 2002. Renault has had to report dropping figures in recent years in 2007, global net income slid from 2.96 billion euros in 2006 to 2.73 billion euros. The total number of cars sold is still impressive by anyones count though, hitting close to six million worldwide. More than half of these sales come from Renaults alliance with Nissan, which Renault has owned 44.34 percent of since May 2002. The groups activities are organised into two divisions. The automobile division designs, develops and markets passenger cars and light commercial vehicles. In 2007, this divisions revenue, at 38.68 billion euros, provided the bulk of Renaults total revenue. The sales financing division is the companys sales and marketing arm, which in 2007 accounted for two billion euros of total revenue. Including RCI Banque and its subsidiaries, this division comprises a total of some 60 companies underpinning the groups international platform.
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Get out of my dreams, get into my car

Like many other French companies angling for growth, Renault has set itself a corporate vision and a timeline in which to achieve it. The company is in the hands of chairman Carlos Ghosn, previously chief executive of Nissan, where he did so well in turning around its ailing fortunes that Japanese fans created a comic book in his honour. Ghosn announced to Renaults staff that by 2009, he wanted it to realise his three dreams of quality, profitability, and growth. This Renault Commitment 2009 includes turning Renaults 2007 flagship Laguna model into one of the three top-selling automobile models globally in its sector in terms of product and service quality. Ghosn also wants to achieve an annual operating profit margin of six percent and shift an additional 800,000 units per year by 2009. Alongside target-setting, the quality of life of Renault employees was given the onceover. Renaults management commissioned an independent assessment of their staffs attitude towards Ghosns 2009 goals. Of The Renault-Nissan Alliance 100,000 employees who took part in the survey, 91 allows for synergy between the percent said they were two companies in all areas proud to work for Renault, and 85 percent found the companys strategy and objectives clear and motivating. Even with this employee support however, the company in its 2006 Annual Report admitted that the international car market has become an increasingly challenging environment in which to operate. Renault has suggested that reaching its targets may be difficult due to the high cost of raw materials and tough competition from Spain, Germany, Italy and the UK.
Turning Japanese
The Renault-Nissan Alliance ranked in 2007 as the worlds fourth-biggest vehicle manufacturer in terms of production volume, behind General Motors, Toyota and Ford. Before the 1999 merger, Renault was No.11 in terms of global market capitalisation value and Nissan ranked No.10. The Alliance now comprises the Nissan Groups Nissan and Infiniti brands along with Renaults self-named brand, Dacia and Samsung. Along with Renaults part-ownership in Nissan, the Japanese company holds shares in Renault as of October 2007, this was 15 percent. The Alliance allows for synergy between the two companies in all areas of car design, production and manufacture. Such collaboration is working particularly well, according to Renault, when it comes to exchanging management techniques. In 2006, the major growth markets for the joint company were Russia, Colombia, China, the Middle East and Africa.
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Cruise control
Initially, the merger wasnt easy. In its early days, cost-efficiency was key and the Alliance had to weather some major restructuring. A total of 43 out of Nissans 46 products sold in Japan were unprofitable, so three assembly plants were closed and and 21,000 jobs were cut. Different maangement styles and principles took time to integrate together, but the Alliance is now a strong global force with a very bright future. Its board comprises three of Renault and three of Nissans executive vice presidents, and aims to be genuinely collaborative. A major area of cooperation is purchasing. The RNPO (Renault-Nissan Purchasing Organisation) was founded in April 2001 to achieve economies of scale. This is done by ordering large volumes to decrease costs and by developing standardisation procedures across the board in manufacturing.
Renault
Road trip
In 2007, the major locations for Renault-Nissan cross-production were in France, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and South Korea. Chennai, India, was announced, in February 2007, as a key new site with a 400,000 car capacity. The group produces and markets a total of 88 different automobiles.
The cars the star

Renault has proved a winner in recent years both with petrolheads and eco-warriors. The company has had a team competing in Formula 1 races for 30 uninterrupted years and has pulled off the rare feat of winning both the drivers and constructors world championships in 2005 and 2006. As 2007 didnt prove as triumphant on the track, chief executive Ghosn said in interviews that Renault will only stay in Formula 1 as long as it is in the companys financial interest to do so. As a counterpoint to revving up on the racetrack, Renault is gearing up its sustainable development efforts. Its range of eco vehicles, launched in Europe in 2007, aims to be environmentally friendly and affordable. eco vehicles emit less than 140g of carbon dioxide per kilometre and run on E85 ethanol or B30 biodiesel. At least five percent of an eco vehicle is constructed out of recycled plastic, and at the end of its life, 95 percent of it can be recycled. Whilst this is a good start, the future looks even better for Renault in terms of technological wizardry. The groups engineers are at work on several projects such as the new combustion process, Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition, for petrol engines. Engines with this technology will reabsorb and reuse a portion of gases burned in combustion. This will produce low levels of
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soot and nitrous oxide. Renault is also pushing hybrid engine technology, which lets you drive on an electric motor and produce no emissions as you righteously cruise the city.
GETTING HIRED
Working for Renault
Renault offers several different routes to getting hired. It has jobs in France, Europewide and worldwide, and hires in the following professions: sales, industrial design, mechanical and vehicle engineers, researchers, communications professionals, accounts, legal, human resources and IT. In France, the company seeks to hire young professionals, experienced professionals and Masters students. Fluent French is needed for all jobs, and eligibility depends on your level of education. For sales, those with a high school diploma, aged 20-25, can apply for a work-study programme. For all Renault careers, internships are available for either those who are still studying or have a Baccalaureate, or a Baccalaureate equivalent with five years of post-Baccalaureate studying. They last for a minimum of three months. Those who have technical experience gained from two-to-four years of higher education can apply for technical positions. Those who have five or more years of higher education can apply for engineering and executive positions. Incoming staff undergo a two-year induction which includes a three-week placement in a Renault factory to learn about vehicle manufacturing and another three-week placement with the companys sales teams in the field in order to get to grips with the market. You can use the job search function on Renaults careers website to match your level of education up with available opportunities. You can also sign up to receive email alerts regarding jobs that suit your skills and education. For opportunities outside France, visit jobs and careers on www.renault.com, and you can pick the country you wish to work in to see what job opportunities are available there.
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The company is in the hands of chairman Carlos Ghosn, previously chief executive of Nissan, where he did so well in turning around its ailing fortunes that Japanese fans created a comic book in his honour.
REPSOL YPF
Paseo de la Castellana, 278-280 28046 Madrid Spain Tel: +34 91 348 80 00 www.repsolypf.com
European Locations
Madrid (HQ) Denmark France Italy Poland Portugal Russia
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: REP (Madrid, Buenos Aires, NYSE) Chief Executive: Antonio Brufao Niub 2007 Revenue: 3.18bn 2006 Revenue: 3.12bn 2007 Employees: 36,700 2006 Employees: 36,931 No. of Offices: Offices in 35 countries
Employment Contact
www.repsolypf.com (Click on the Work With Us link) joinus@repsolypf.com
Divisions
Corporate Communications Directive Development DG YPF DG Downstream DG Upstream DG GNL Finance and Corporate Strategy Human Resources Information Systems Legal Affairs Media Relations Operations
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THE SCOOP
ith modern Spanish-Argentinean origins, Repsol YPF is an internationally-integrated oil and gas firm that operates in more than 30 countries, while being a market leader in its home locations of Spain and Argentina. It is also one of the ten-largest private oil companies in the whole world.
Repsol YPF
Repsol YPF came about as a result of a few key economic developments, namely the creation of the Spanish state-owned oil company (Repsol) in 1987, the end of the monopoly age in Spain and the liberalisation of the hydrocarbon energy sector in Spain in the late 1990s. All these factors made possible the birth of this oil company in Spain, which acquired later, in 1999, the Argentinean oil firm YPF, changing its name to Repsol YPF.
Refined business
In its evolution, Repsol YPF has passed from being a company dedicated solely to the refining and commercialisation of oil products in Spain to becoming one of the tenthlargest international firm integrated into the oil and gas industry. To that end, the company has incorporated existing brand products into its business, while maintaining its exploration and production activities, both in Spain and in the rest of the world. Doing this has enabled the company to introduce new products and services as well as shift its orientation towards different market sectors. The firm produces, distributes and trades petro-chemical products directly. This is Repsols main activity, undertaken primarily in Spain, Argentina and Portugal, with its principal markets being Europe and the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay). Repsol YPF also develops chemical production lines in Italy, Denmark and Mexico.
From the oil well to the pumps

By December 2006, Repsol YPF, either directly or through its affiliates, held stakes in oil and gas exploration and production assets in 25 countries, and was operating in 20 of these. Repsol YPF also holds a 75 percent stake in Canaport LNG, Canada, a ten percent interest in WSR, a company with assets in Russia, and holds stakes in firms in Kazakhstan and Liberia. This multi-brand strategy affects downstream activity encompassing refining, product commercialisation, LNG and chemicals. Repsols varied portfolio is, according to the company, a direct result of its growing values, as it has learned to
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assimilate cultural and economic differences. The company prides itself on always maintaining an attitude of openness and flexibility. Repsol YPF sells gas under the brands Campsa, Petronor, and Repsol at more than 6,900 service stations in Europe and Latin America. Repsol service stations, Repsol and Campsa, are associated with the new Repsol company and are identified with technological innovation. Campsa is a historical brand of longstanding credibility, while Petronor is a brand with its heart in the north of Spain, where the refinery of the same name is located.
Drilling for profits

The growth strategy in the coming years for Repsols upstream division (its exploration and production business), the companys main driving force, is to continue strengthening and consolidating its positioning in its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) offerings. The company intends to pursue any profitable opportunity that may arise. Activities will also continue to focus on organic growth by increasing selective exploration drilling and the acquisition of new high-potential mining rights. This strategy also targets growth of traditional resources by maximising the exploration potential of mature assets already in Repsols portfolio. The upstream division also aims to develop heavy crude oil projects that will be selected by taking into consideration their profitability potential for the company.
Another Argentinean?
At the end of July 2007, Repsol declared that the company wanted to transfer its Argentinian subsidiary YPF to the hands of another private Argentinean group. Five months later, the Spanish firm sold 14.9 percent of its subsidiary to Enrique Eskenazi, owner of the financial entity Grupo Petersen, in an agreement that stipulated the Argentinean firm will increase its purchase of YPF to 25 percent, a deal valued in 3.75 million dollars, according to Spanish newspaper Cinco Das.
GETTING HIRED
Energising your career
Repsol YPF offers its employees a chance to build a professional career in the group through different options such as training, transfers or placements abroad. The training is offered in technical fields which give the employee functional knowledge and teach
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Repsol YPF
specific techniques. The professional exchange programme is for Repsols employees to, hopefully, be enriched by the companys fertile multinational environment. A good perk at the firm is that employees have the option to request a transfer to another position within the organisation after two years in the same post. This means that personnel learn about the various sectors Repsol is involved in while simultaneously broadening their knowledge of the companys operations.
Choose your station

At Repsol YPF, hiring occurs on an ongoing basis, so your best bet is to make an open application by sending your CV to joinus@repsolypf.com or submit an employment form on the website to get included on the Repsol is a market leader database used during the in its home locations selection process. Most of Spain and Argentina opportunities offered by the company mean working in Spain. However, new graduates interested in working in other countries should check the website for more information on international opportunities in any of the five continents. In most countries, Repsol YPF offers positions for new professionals, technical graduates and other recruits, such as those who have received technical training or have human resources, administration or marketing qualifications. The firm also provides scholarships and internships in Spain, Argentina and Ecuador, among others. In Spain and abroad, Repsol collaborates with various universities and academic institutions to recruit what it hopes are the brightest and best, so keep a lookout for Repsol at university careers days. For job vacancies, to find out the requirements for each position, visit the required backgrounds link in the human resources section on Repsols website. Production engineers, for example, wanting to work for Repsol in any country should have an engineering degree and at least five years of experience under their belt. On the other hand, business development analyst applicants should have a degree in petroleum engineering, a technical background, strong international experience and strong communication skills among others. Fluency in Spanish is, unsurprisingly, an asset.
The selection process

Repsol YPF has two different selection processes depending on whether the candidate has experience or not. Junior candidates need to pass various tests to gauge
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their technical and general aptitudes. After that, applicants are asked to participate in a group interview and if they pass this, they are interviewed by Repsols human resources department. There is also a technical interview, where candidates receive information about the companys main projects. All this takes place on the same day, but candidates will have to wait up to approximately 20 days for the results. The selection process for senior candidates consists of three interviews on the same day as well. The candidate is interviewed by the human resources department, the international hiring department and a technical recruiter, so they can compare and learn more about the aptitude of the applicant and discuss more about job positions and working conditions at the company. This process lasts two and a half hours and you can expect to wait for the results up to 20 days. If you are applying for a post in a different country from where you are based, Repsol YPF has video conferencing facilities which allow them to interview you wherever you are. Saving the cost of travelling, this should encourage applicants from all over the globe.
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Repsol is a market leader in its home locations of Spain and Argentina as well as one of the ten-largest private oil companies in the whole world.
ROLLS-ROYCE PLC
65 Buckingham Gate London SW1E 6AT Tel: +44 (0)207 222 9020 www.rolls-royce.com
European Locations
London (HQ) Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Italy Norway Poland Spain Sweden
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: RR (LSE) Chief Executive: Sir John Rose 2007 Revenue: 7.4bn 2006 Revenue: 7.1bn 2007 Employees: 39,500 2006 Employees: 38,000 No. of Offices: offices/service facilities in 50+ countries
UK Employment Contact
www.rolls-royce.com/careers
Divisions
Civil Aerospace Defence Aerospace Marine Energy
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THE SCOOP
olls-Royce plc, the manufacturer of power systems for four markets civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy became a separate entity from its luxurious automotive sister company in 1971. Whilst the car manufacturer has had a torrid time since then, Rolls-Royce plc has gone from strength to strength. Posting sales totalling 7.4 billion pounds for 2007, the company boasts a rock solid customer base which includes 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces clients and more than 2,000 marine customers. Added to this roster are energy customers stretching out over 120 countries. The corporate reach of Rolls-Royce extends to 50 countries, with more than 38,000 people working for this famous brand.
Rolls-Royce plc
Keeping things civil

Rolls-Royce claims its position as the worlds number two engine maker in the civil aerospace market, with annual sales of four billion pounds, due to its gas turbine technology. The company powers passenger aircraft ranging from business jets to enor mou s a i rc ra f t i n both commercial and Rolls-Royce has estimated that over corporate fields. More the next 20 years, the global accessible than 40 of the worlds top market for its products will be 50 airlines have selected worth some two trillion dollars Rolls-Royce engines for their Airbus and Boeing aircraft, including Virgin Atlantic, Singapore Airlines and Nippon Airways. The Trent aero engine family is the market leader with 50 percent of the new generation of wide-bodied aircraft, with General Electric and Pratt & Whitney sharing the rest. In the defence aerospace market, in which the company produces engines for combat aircraft, helicopters and military transport and tactical aircraft, Rolls-Royce has something more to boast about. The company declares itself the leading military aero engine manufacturer in Europe and the number two military aero engine manufacturer in the world, powering approximately 25 percent of the worlds military fleet. The three bases of this juggernaut of military aerospace power are Bristol in the UK, Dahlewitz in Germany and Indianapolis in the US.
Ready for combat

In terms of combat aircraft, Rolls-Royce is playing a major role in Eurojet, a European engine consortium including MTU Aero Engines of Germany, Italys Avio and ITP of Spain, that produced the EJ200, the engine of the Eurofigher Typhoon fighter aircraft. The
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Eurofighter Typhoon is a joint effort to produce a leading fighter aircraft and the EJ200 is its catalyst engine technology of impressively advanced design. Rolls-Royce has long provided design, development manufacturing and support work for the EJ200. The company is involved in numerous other activities in the combat aircraft world. Included in these is work on the Pegasus, the worlds only operational short take-off vertical landing engine, called STOVL. The companys expertise in this engine technology is being used in its work with Lockheed Martin, the American aerospace manufacturer, to develop the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet.
The gift that keeps on giving

When it comes to the crunch, Rolls-Royces civil aerospace division accounts for over half of the companys total revenues, bringing in 4.01 billion pounds in 2007, including services, with its defence aerospace division ranking second in terms of income, generating 1.67 billion pounds. The marine division accounted for 1.55 billion pounds of revenue in 2007 and the companys energy division brought home 558 million pounds in the same year.
Manufacturing: from Derby to Dahlewitz

Rolls-Royces manufacturing is based across 20 countries, serving customers in 150 countries. The sites located in the UK, US, Canada, Germany, Finland, Korea, Poland and China account for most of the companys manufacturing and assembly operations for all of its gas turbine, diesel, marine, oil and gas and power generation products. Germany has become the secondary site for the bulk of the companys civil manufacturing, after the UK and its civil aerospace wing was bolstered in 2006 with the transfer of the V2500 engine production from Derby to Dahlewitz, Germany. The company has also spread its manufacturing further across Europe through a series of joint ventures with Spains Industrial de Turbo Propulsores (ITP), Europea Microfusioni and Aerospaziali (EMA) in Italy and IAE International Aero Engines in Switzerland.
Brains of the world unite

Much of Rolls-Royces resources are put into research and development. In 2007, the company spent 381 million pounds on research and development, a three percent increase on 2006. This spending is, as Rolls-Royce chairman Simon Robertson proudly announced in the companys 2007 Annual Report, being harnessed in a number of international programmes. The hope is that a broad, international platform for investments in new technologies will keep the company ahead of the pack.
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Rolls-Royce plc
Another factor helping keep Rolls-Royce competitive is the global spread of its research and development facilities. By 2007, 32 percent, almost a third, of the groups R&D was conducted outside the UK. Out of its network of 29 University Technology Centres, nine of these are located outside the UK. These are in the US, Canada, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Italy, India, China, Singapore, Korea and Japan
Green expectations
Rolls-Royce has long been investing in R&D specifically to reduce the environmental impact of its products. Aviation is often one of the main targets of criticism when it comes to increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Rolls-Royce is on the ball in this respect. The company pumps approximately two-thirds of its research and development budget into reducing the environmental impact of its products and services. It is intent on coming up with more environmentally friendly technologies, especially aviation technologies. Aiming to achieve the long-term environmental goals set by the Advisory Council for Aeronautics Research in Europe (ACARE) of reducing fuel burn and carbon dioxide emissions by 50 percent by 2020, noise by 50 percent and nitrous oxide by 80 percent, the company spends in excess of 60 million pounds each year on developing more environmentally-friendly engines.
Clear skies over Europe

Europe has come knocking too, with its regulations playing a part in RollsRoyces environmental strategy. The group is part of the seven year European Clean Sky Joint Technology research project, along with six other major European aerospace manufacturers: Dassault Aviation, Airbus, Eurocopter, Liebherr-Aerospace Lindenberg, Safran and Thales. The project, set up in partnership with the European Union, is one of the largest European research projects ever. It aims to radically improve the impact of air transport on the environment by speeding up the technological breakthroughs that will, hopefully, make all the difference.
The companys active support of green concerns can also be seen by its membership of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and the Chicago Gas Emissions Trading Scheme in the US, which it joined in 2002 and 2003 respectively.
Fuelling some changes

In its 2006 Corporate Responsibility Report, the company declared that its priorities for the next few years included a structured approach to technology acquisition in the long term, the modernisation of factories and beefing up its aftermarket services
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division, which that year represented 53 percent of group sales. Rolls-Royce has estimated that over the next 20 years, the global accessible market for its products will be worth some two trillion dollars, of which approximately half will relate to the provision of its aftermarket services.
GETTING HIRED
Start your career in style
Rolls-Royce offers offers a wide range of graduate, undergraduate, internships and apprenticeship opportunities via its main website. On the website, prospective candidates can proceed to a relevant country site, choosing from the UK, US, Canada, China, Germany, Norway or Sweden. With 40 percent of the countrys workforce based outside the UK, Rolls-Royce offers much potential mobility. The graduate programme, which requires a 2.1 degree and a relevant Masters qualification for engineering-specific programmes, is split into two sections. The first, the Professional Excellence scheme is a 12-to-18 month programme involving a series of three-month rotations in the engineering, purchasing, logistics, commercial or marketing areas. The second, the Leadership Development programme, is a longer 18-to-24-month scheme, focused, as the title suggests, on developing future business leaders. Again the programme involves area rotations, but one of which is an international placement of six months.
Rolling forwards
There are also country specific programmes for graduates, details of which can also been seen on the groups careers website. The engineering-specific China programme is in manufacturing engineering and it is a programme of up to 18 months which includes stints in the UK and China/Hong Kong.
Applications are accepted via the companys website initially by questionnaire and CV, to be followed by an assessment centre for first round successes. With only 160 graduate places available each year, competition is fierce. For experienced hires, again, one of the seven country-specific sites can be accessed from Rolls-Royces main site. The ubiquitous registration form and CV upload is the preferred application method, but in addition, the company lists a helpline where candidates can call for advice in processing their applications.
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ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

Carel van Bylandtlaan 30 The Hague, 2596 HR The Netherlands Tel: +31 70 377 9111 www.shell.com
European Locations
Amsterdam (HQ) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Estonia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Luxembourg Norway Poland Portugal Slovakia Slovenia Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: RDSA, RDSB (Amsterdam, LSE, NYSE) Chief Executive: Jeroen van der Veer 2007 Revenue: $318.85bn 2006 Revenue: $355.78bn 2008 Employees: 104,000 2007 Employees: 99,000 No. of Offices: n/a
Employment Contact
www.shell.com/home/content/careers
Divisions
Exploration and Production Gas & Power Oil Products Oil Sands Chemicals
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career library
THE SCOOP
anked as the sixth-largest company in the world in Forbes Magazines 2008 Global 2000 countdown, Royal Dutch Shell plc is also one of worlds most high-profile and multinational oil companies. The Netherlands based giant is one of the largest private sector energy corporations in the world and one of the six supermajors alongside ExxonMobil, BP, Total S.A., Chevron Corporation and ConocoPhillips, in 2007, Shell scooped a mind-boggling revenue of 355.78 billion US dollars.
Royal Dutch Shell plc
Powering us all
Of joint British and Dutch origins, Shells headquarters are in The Hague, Netherlands, whilst its registered office is in London. From these two bases, it controls its empire of diverse upstream and Shell is more than eager to repair downstream operations its image, persuading stakeholders that span more than 140 of its commitment to corporate countries. In the UK, Shell social responsibility. provides approximately 25 percent of the nations gas and 16 percent of its petrol and diesel from its 850 retail sites, all of which flows from the Stanlow refinery in Cheshire. Shells five business divisions are exploration and production, gas and power, oil sands, oil products and chemicals.
Risen from the ocean floor

The origin of the brand name Shell is surprisingly literal. In 1833, London antique dealer Marcus Samuel founded an import business to sell seashells to British collectors. Whilst collecting seashells in the Caspian Sea area, he realised the potential in exporting lamp oil from the region. It didnt take long for the market to grow massively, with Samuels company pioneering the bulk import of oil, making use of the Suez canal for the first time in 1892. The company merged with its competitor Royal Dutch Petroleum in 1907 to form the Royal Dutch Shell Group. By the end of the 1920s, it was the worlds leading oil company. The 1973 Oil Crisis forced Shell into a policy of diversification, and the company began its explorations into other forms of energy.
Under one shell

For much of its existence, the group was a dually listed company, the two holding companies being the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company of the Netherlands and Shell
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Transport and Trading Company plc of the UK. Under this arrangement, the two companies jointly owned all operating companies in the group, with the interest in subsidiaries divided 60/40 in favour of Royal Dutch. In 2004, the company announced its proposal to merge Royal Dutch and Shell Transport and Trading into one entity, Royal Dutch Shell plc.
Lining up with the others

This arrangement was approved by investors in both companies in June 2005, with the new single company worth 120 billion pounds (219 billion dollars). This new, more transparent structure was widely welcomed as it brought the groups organisation into line with other private sector oil companies.
Shell shocked
Over recent decades, some of Shells activities have been rocked by controversy. One area of concern has been health and safety. A number of incidents over the years have led to criticism of Shells record, especially the poor state of the companys North Sea platforms. The company was fined 900,000 pounds following the deaths of two workers on a North Sea platform in September 2003. To be fair to Shell, the company has consistently attempted to improve its records, making safety a priority. Its goal is zero fatalities and accidents.
Green concerns
Another headache for Shell has been criticism of its environmental record seemingly something no energy company can avoid. Prominent cases for Shell include the planned disposal in 1995 of the Brent Spar oil production platform in British waters. Organisations such as Greenpeace organised a media campaign against the plan to sink the platform, which the company eventually abandoned. Shell is open about its failings, with an archive of information about the Brent Spar decommissioning available to the public. Whats more, the company first made its commitment to sustainable development back in 1997, as part of The Shell General Business Principles, the core values of the company. In 2005, former Shell chairman Lord Oxburgh publicly declared global warming a disaster and encouraged governments to provide a regulatory framework to encourage greenhouse gas reduction.
Life on the other side of the Equator

A challenge for Shell in 2008 has been the security of its operations in Nigeria. The Niger Delta region has become a major source of petroleum resources for the
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company, with Nigeria now one of the leading OPEC nations. However, ethnic groups such as the Ogoni protested against Shells oil fields in their country. Even armed groups attacked. In June 2008, the Nigerian government asked Shell to leave its oil fields in Nigerias Ogoniland by the end of the year.
Take a walk on the greener side

Shell is more than eager to repair its image, persuading stakeholders of its commitment to corporate social responsibility. Numerous initiatives such as the global LiveWIRE youth entrepreneur programme prove the companys commitment to CSR. One of the key signs of the energy giants concern is that it has, since 1990, committed to a 60 percent reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions. And when it comes to further greening, Shells 2007 Sustainability Report has sketched out plans to increase responsibility for biodiversity, limit fresh water use and prevent oil spills. Whats the alternative? Clearly, alternative fuels feature in the way forwards for Shell. The company is eagerly investing in the development of alternative fuels, such as biofuels, gas to liquid fuel (GTL), cleaner diesel made from natural gas and biomass, and hydrogen. For these purposes, the company announced a series of partnerships in 2007, one being with US company Codexis for the development of super enzymes which convert biomass into high-performance fuels at an impressively high rate of efficiency. Another partnership, called Cellana, is with HR Biopetroleum, a Hawaii-based algae biofuels company. Cellana involves the construction of a plant in Hawaii where algae is grown to produce vegetable oil that can be converted to biofuel.
The global economy hots up

Just as important, however, is the outlook on the financial side. In 2007 and 2008, oil prices increased and stayed robust due, primarily, to political tensions in the Middle East and Nigeria, a shortage of non-OPEC supply, and OPEC supply restraint. Future demand for petrochemicals is expected to increase in line with the growth in the global economy, particularly in line with the speedy growth of the Asia Pacific region. Shell sees the future energy industry as still being centered around a combination of oil, gas and coal, with more oil production from unconventional resources such as oil sands. The company has declared that managing the environmental and the social impact of energy use and production will remain a priority, and that, as ever, partnerships with governments and national oil companies will play a key role in deciding the future shape of the industry. Judging by Shells track record, whatever challenges arise from this, the company will easily weather them.
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GETTING HIRED
Cracking that Shell
As befits a multinational behemoth, Shell offers a wide range of roles for potential employees. These are divided into technical roles (eg. geology/geophysics, petrophysics, production technology, process engineering, asset maintenance engineering, project/facilities engineering, reservoir/petroleum engineering, well engineering) and commercial roles (finance, commercial midstream/upstream, contracting and procurement, human resources, information technology, sales and marketing, supply and distribution, trading). All roles can be seen on Shells jobs & careers website, where you can do a job search and investigate job requirements in more detail.
Getting the hang of it

There are three main ways into Shell for students. After completing an online application form, sending off your CV and completing two questionnaires to assess your suitability for working at Shell, you can either attend a Shell recruitment day, which involves exercises, presentations and a group discussion to assess your potential for business or technical leadership. Or, you can take up Shells Gourami business challenge, a week-long residential event which might lead to the offer of a full-time position. Finally, you could take an internship. If youre in the final two years of your undergraduate course, you can join Shell for eight weeks up to a year. Details are available on Shells website under joining us as a student. The majority of internships take place in your country of residence. In the UK, for example, Shell offer internships for penultimate-year students throughout the year, as well as year-long industrial placements for non-final year students. Check application deadlines on the website.
Looking for oil?

As for graduates, the company doesnt run a generic graduate recruitment scheme, instead offering role-based recruitment. Technical graduates, however, should apply online, where you can select the role you wish to apply for. If your application form stands out, you will be invited to an interview and a recruitment day. Be warned, at these, Shells recruiters are are on the lookout for evidence of your technical skills in particular. Shell also looks for intellectual, analytical and creative ability, enthusiasm, resilience and confidence, and interpersonal skills. More details about how to get picked for a graduate role at Shell are available on its comprehensive website.
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RWE GROUP
Opernplatz 1 45128 Essen Germany Tel: +49(0) 201 12 00 www.rwe.com
German Locations
Essen (HQ) Locations throughout Germany
The Stats
Company Type: Public Ticker Symbol: RWE.DE Chief Executive: Dr Jrgen Gromann 2007 Revenue: 42.5bn 2006 Revenue: 44.25bn 2007 Employees: 63,439 2006 Employees: 68,534 No. of Offices: numerous locations throghout Germany
European Locations
Locations throughout Europe
Employment Contact
www.rwe.com (Click on Career)
Divisions
RWE AG RWE DEA RWE Energy RWE Innogy RWE Npower RWE Power RWE Supply & Trading RWE Systems
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THE SCOOP
RWE Group
ith its population of more than 82 million, Germany consumes its fair share of the worlds energy resources. As the countrys second-largest utilities provider, RWE is the force that generates much of this power. A huge company with operations in some of energys key sectors, RWE comprises several sub-divisions. RWE AG is the multi-utility parent company to seven further companies: RWE Power, RWE DEA, RWE Innogy, RWE Supply & Trading, RWE Energy, RWE Npower and RWE Systems. These companies core businesses are the generation, transmission, sale and trading of electricity and gas. RWE racks up approximately 20 million customers for its electricity business and ten million for its gas operations. With a 2007 revenue of 42.51 billion euros, and a workforce topping 60,000, RWE might not be Germanys number one utility provider by revenue that title goes to E.ON, but it is not far behind.
Bursting with energy

RWEs umbrella company, RWE AG, based in Essen, is the small nerve centre of the group, responsible for strategy development, planning, finances and communications as well as being the lynchpin for the groups human resources development. The largest of RWE AGs offspring, RWE Power, produces RWEs umbrella company, lignite brown coal to RWE AG, based in Essen, is the generate electricity, along nerve centre of the group with nuclear fuel and gas power. RWE Npower is a UK energy provider, with approximately six million British customers switched onto its electricity, gas and renewable offerings. The groups explorers have a home in RWE Dea, which produces gas and oil, with a major focus on Europe and North Africa, which is then sold and traded by RWE Supply and Trading. The latter company was formed in April 2008 by the integration of two former RWE companies, RWE Gas Midstream and RWE Trading, and it is responsible for RWEs non-regulated gas activities and its energy trading in Europe.
RWEnewable
RWEs answer to the future of renewable fuel resources is RWE Innogy, which plans and builds renewable energy generation facilities around Europe, in particular wind power, biomass and hydroelectric power plants. The previous version of RWE Innogy is RWE Energy, the groups energy network for continental Europe,
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stretching over 12 regions and bringing in revenues for the group of 28.1 billion in 2006, supplying 15.8 million customers with electricity and 7.7 million customers with gas. Last but not least, RWE Systems is the backbone of RWEs whole huge operation. The 3,000 employees in RWE Systems perform IT, management consulting, facilities management, accounts, and real estate management, among many other services, for the rest of the group.
The gold and the green

With the liberalisation and ever-increasing internationalisation of the worlds energy markets, all energy companies have to make careful plans for the future. RWE is no exception. Competition, efficiency and sustainability are the buzzwords the industry is awash with. While RWE is adamant on reaching its target of five percent growth per year until 2012, it has also set itself the target of more than tripling its installed renewable energy generation capacity and to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by nearly 40 million tons by the same time. An increase in profits along with an increase in using renewable sources is tricky to pull off, since renewable energies can be less cost-effective than traditional fuels. RWE is, however, clearly on top of the need to move to renewables as traditional fuel sources become more scarce in coming decades.
Energy flows
In 2008, RWE announced its intention to plough further into Eastern Europe and the Meditterranean by establishing a local company in Turkey, planning expansion in Greece and into new South-East European markets. The expansive group also intends to further explore its options in Russia. In February 2008, RWE became the sixth company backing the proposed Nabucco pipeline to bring gas from the Caspian region to Europe, joining companies from Austria, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey. The Nabucco pipeline is set to supply gas from Azerbaijan and possibly Iran, Iraq, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan to the European Union. According to The Financial Times, RWE is willing to invest one billion euros in exploration and development and infrastructure-building for Caspian gas.
Expansion comes hand-in-hand with increasing workforce numbers in 2007, RWE grew by 1,714 employees, a third of whom were employed in Germany. Activities arent just focused on expansion though. The group divested major subsidiary, UK water company Thames Water, in 2006, for 7.2 billion euros. The reason for this was so that RWE could focus on the European electricity and gas markets. On a similar note, in November 2007, RWE postponed the IPO of its American Water business due to unfavourable market conditions in the US. The IPO was announced in 2005 but has faced administrative delays in the US. It was set to go through in mid-2008.
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GETTING HIRED
Careers with RWE
RWE offers numerous career paths to students and graduates, looking to sweep up the brightest and best engineers and scientists and business, economics and law scholars. Just like many other German companies, RWE has an exceptional array of opportunities for school-leavers, taking on approximately 1,700 school-leavers in its wide variety of offices and industrial jobs. Those who are looking for vocational training to get to grips with the latest engineering and energy technologies are advised to check out the career link on the RWE website and look at the information given in From school to RWE. University students are well-catered for at the sprawling group. In 2007, RWE had approximately 1,900 interns and theses students come through its doors and hired approximately 350 graduates, with 300 of these on various training schemes. Range is what should be highlighted as the company says: the job prospects that will open up for you in the RWE Group are as varied as our business units. While RWE readily accepts applications from a diversity of academic backgrounds, most of its new trainees have an engineering degree, such as architecture, construction, mining, chemical, electrical, mechanical engineering, communications and data technology or production and process engineering. Two specific Germany-based graduate trainee schemes are offered RWE Systems and the International Graduate programme. Both are excellent ways to swim quickly up the RWE stream. The RWE Systems scheme lasts 18 months, involves numerous projects and challenges including a nine month basic training phase and a nine month professional training phase in a core business area. Training activities are tailored to suit your individual development plan and each trainee is assigned a mentor in the specific field they work in. More information is available on the RWE website.
RWE Group
Pack your suitcase

The International Graduate programme, according to RWE, promotes entrepreneurship and intercultural competence. Seeking graduates with an interest in management tasks and excellent examination results, the programme offers the chance to change workplace within RWE every three to four months. You need to be fluent in English and German to apply, have relevant work experience and have studied or worked abroad for at least six months. Applications can be made online and there is an online test to do if you fit RWEs requirements. The process doesnt stop there, with interviews at the RWE headquarters in Essen being the next stage, with immediate individual feedback promised. The application period for this scheme is typically March to May, so keep your eyes on the RWE Careers website for more details.
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SAAB AB
P.O. Box 703 63 SE- 107 24 Stockholm Sweden Tel: +468 463 0000 www.saabgroup.com
European Locations
Stockholm (HQ) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg The Netherlands Norway Romania Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: SAAB (Stockholm Stock Exchange OMX Nordic Exchange) Chief Executive: ke Svensson 2007 Revenue: 23,02bn SEK 2006 Revenue: 21,06bn SEK 2007 Employees: 13,757 2006 Employees: 13,577 No. of Offices: locations in 60 countries around the world.
Employment Contact
www.saabgroup.com Click on Career
Divisions
Aerostructures Aerosystems Aerotech Aircraft Leasing Avitronics Barracuda Bofors Dynamics Communication Grintek Microwave Systems Space Surveillance Systems Systems Training Systems TransponderTech Underwater Systems Combitech Gripen International
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career library
THE SCOOP
he Saab brand is familiar the world over as an innovative car manufacturer, so you could be forgiven for not knowing that the companys business lines extend beyond the motorway. Though they started out as one and the same, the Saab name is shared today by two separate business entities, Saab Automobile AB and Saab AB. Saab Automobile AB was spun off in 1990 to focus solely on car production and has, since 2000, become subsumed into US automotive giant General Motors as its Swedish subsidiary. SAAB, however, still works on an enormous range of products and services, from aircraft engineering to military systems.
SAAB AB
Off-road
As of 2008, Saab AB comprises three business segments: systems and products, aeronautics and defence and security solutions. Out of the firms 2007 total revenue of 23,02 billion SEK, defence and security systems was responsible for 36 percent, systems and products reaped the same amount and aeronautics brought in 28 percent.
Saab starts its engines

Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget (Saab) was founded back in 1937 as a Swedish national military aircraft manufacturer intended to help the war effort. Post-war, Saab chose not to dismantle. Instead, the company decided to branch out to car production, picking 15 of its best engineers to put their aviation expertise into its first vehicle prototype, the Saab 92001, a Beetle-esque model with front-wheel drive and a two-stroke engine. The company would go on to be an early adopter of many automotive improvements we now take for granted, including the turbo engine, seatbelts as a standard feature, windshield wipers, split side-view mirrors and electronic brake-force distribution. After Saabs automobile manufacture unit was launched, the company diversified. In the 1960s it played a major role in the emergence of Swedens computer, missile and space industries. It is primarily in the latter two of these industries that Saab group has, in the 21st century, made a major name for itself.
Saab-solutely Swedish
Continuing to extend its engineering expertise, in the late 1960s Saab merged with Swedish truck manufacturer Scania, but this merger broke apart in 1995. The turn of the millennium saw a key hook-up, with Saab acquiring the Swedish defence group Celsius for approximately five billion SEK. This created what was heralded as the leading Nordic defence company. At the time, British military equipment manufacturer British Aerospace (BAE) owned 35 percent of Saab, which it had purchased after Saab listed on
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the Swedish Stock Exchange in June 1998. Both Celsius and BAE helped Saab through close cooperation with them and their expertise. Since then, Saab has been doing its best to be at the forefront of military systems and related engineering in the Nordic region.
Getting a Gripen
Saabs aeronautics programmes are particularly key to maintaining a leading position in the global engineering stakes. Whilst it has a strong civilian aeronautics base, providing aerostructures and subsystems to such companies as Airbus and Boeing, it is in military aircraft technology that Saab Though they started out as one really shines. One of the and the same, the Saab name is shared main pillars of its business today by two separate business entities, is its Gripen programme. Saab Automobile AB and Saab AB. Gripen is, Saab claims, the w o rlds mo s t mo de rn fighter aircraft in operational service. In 2006, Saab clocked up some big orders for it, including the Swedish Air Forces request for a major upgrade of its Gripen systems, a ten year contract from the US army, the delivery of five Gripen jets to Hungary in May and Pakistans confirmation of an 8.3 billion SEK order for Saabs airborne surveillance system in June 2006. Alongside these countries, Gripen is currently used in Norway, South Africa and the Czech Republic and in early 2008, the Thai government sealed a deal with Saab for a defence package. The Swedish Defence force renewed its order in 2007 by requesting an upgrade of 31 Gripen aircraft at the very latest standard; the request also included a programme which demonstrates the future of these aircraft, showing off Saabs strengths as engineers.
To infinity and beyond

Future versions of Gripen will feature stronger engines, a new modular avionics system, longer range and a completely new type of radar developed in collaboration with French aerospace firm Thales. The technology Saab and Thales are developing is called the AESA (active electronically scanned array) radar, which uses many small antenna elements to create a larger radar antenna which performs many functions. Compared to previous designs, this is a big step forward.
A clear outlook?
The groups goals for 2008 were to reach five percent organic growth and an operating margin of ten percent. In 2007, the group scored four percent organic
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growth with an operating margin of 11.3 percent. With 65 percent of sales coming from markets outside Sweden, Saab is focused on beefing up its revenues in all areas of operation, globally, in the short-term future. The company claims its edge is in the development and integration of aircraft systems hence its Gripen programme but its other offerings are just as impressive.
SAAB AB
A capable company
Under its division called capabilities, Saabs extended engineering range encompasses numerous cutting-edge technologies. Its command and control offerings for civil security, land, air and naval operations range from infrastructure protection products to maritime surveillance systems. The group builds complex systems for communications, sensors and electronic warfare usage such as combat vehicle protection products. It also makes space equipment, unmanned systems for air and underwater applications and weapons. Saab has numerous contracts to its name for all these products, both domestic and international. Keeping itself at the heart of Swedens industrial complex, in early 2008, Saab struck a deal to supply a custom-designed surveillance system for Swedens Ringhals nuclear power plant.
GETTING HIRED
Summer with Saab
Saab has great opportunities for students who are looking to intern or arrange their thesis in partnership with an engineering company. Every year, the firm takes in hundreds of temporary employees from high schools, colleges and universities. In particular, the Swedish engineers offer four-to-eight week summer work placements, mainly for Swedish students. To apply for these, you will need excellent Swedish and the application, which you can find online, should be filled out in the February before the summer you wish to intern. Youll hear by that April whether youve been successful in gaining a place.
Saab standard
In terms of thesis placements, Saab provides great integration with working on the frontline of the latest of technological developments. All opportunities in your field of study and others, can be found through Saabs vacancies link, if you select thesis project as your employment type. However, if you cant find a thesis subject
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that suits you, Saab recommends contacting the human resources department in the business unit of interest to you directly. Each year, Saab organises a Swedish Championship in Technology, which attracts engineering students from all over Sweden. More information about the Championship can be found under the Student link in the Careers section of Saabs website. The company also visits university and college career fairs worldwide. The event calendar under the student section of the careers website shows when and where the company is recruiting next. Saab advertises all its positions under the vacancies link on its careers website, where you can also register and update your CV and personal profile. If you do not see a suitable job position advertised, spontaneous applications can be uploaded to a CV database.
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The turn of the millennium saw a key hook-up, with Saab acquiring the Swedish defence group Celsius for approximately five billion SEK, creating what was heralded as the leading Nordic defence company.
SCHINDLER GROUP
Zugerstrasse 13 6030 Ebikon Switzerland Tel: +41 (0) 41 445 30 60 www.schindler.com
European Locations
Ebikon(HQ) Austria Belgium Croatia Czech Republic Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: SCHP (SWX) Chairman: Alfred N. Schindler 2007 Revenue: 13,875m CHF 2006 Revenue: 11,106m CHF 2007 Employees: 45,000 2006 Employees: 43,679 No. of Offices: 1,000 locations worldwide
Employment Contact
www.schindler.com (Click on "Careers")
Divisions
Elevators Escalators Moving Walks Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Consumer Electronics
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THE SCOOP
nyone who has taken an elevator to avoid climbing ten flights of stairs, anyone who has run up an escalator when rushing to catch a train, or anyone who has regarded a moving walkway at an airport as a blessing when travelling, all, probably, have something in common: they have appreciated the world-class Swiss engineering of Schindler Group. Schindler is the worlds second-largest elevator and escalator manufacturer, with approximately 45,000 staff worldwide. Its parent company, Schindler Holding Ltd, listed on the Swiss stock exchange, comprises two core businesses. The first, elevators and escalators, was responsible for 63 percent of sales in 2007. ALSO, a distribution and logistics company, specialising in information and consumer technology and consumer electronics, is Schindler Holding Ltds other main business interest.
Schindler Group
Schindlers Lift
As of 2008, Schindler manufactured and provided services for elevators and escalators through a network of subsidiaries and branches spanning 130 countries over all continents. This network includes production sites and There is even more room for research and development manoeuvre in Asia as the Middle Eastern centres in Europe, China market opens up for Schindler and North and Latin America. So what kinds of elevators does Schindler produce? The group works in five key segments: residential elevators, commercial elevators, high-rise elevators, freight and special elevators and finally, marine mobility systems. In terms of its escalators and moving walks, Schindler divides its products into four segments. These are: commercial escalators, public transport escalators, inclined moving walks and horizontal moving walks. The latter are specifically designed for airports and shopping malls where passengers with trolleys or hefty goods can glide smoothly and safely from one destination to the next.
Schinder at your service

Along with all these ways of getting from A to B, Schindler makes sure it is on hand with tools for modernisation when those elevators, escalators and walkways start getting cranky. Such services range from minor improvements to full system replacement, either independently or in conjunction with the remodelling or refurbishment of a building.
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Chocolate, cuckoo clocks and lifts?

The story of Schindler begins in the same place as the story of scores of quality chocolatiers, clock manufacturers and prestigious banks do: in Switzerland. In 1874, two men by the names of Robert Schindler and Eduard Villiger established a joint partnership called Schindler & Villiger and opened a mechanical engineering workshop in Lucerne, where they produced various machinery and lifting equipment. Year after year, the company grew. In less than 20 years, it had manufactured waterdriven and hydraulic elevators. In 1892, the year that the company built its first electric elevator, Villiger left the partnership. Schindler carried on with the business under the name Robert Schindler, Machinery Manufacturer. As soon as the 20th century kicked off, Alfred Schindler, Robert Schindlers nephew, took over. Expansion started apace and continued through the following decades. Today, the company is helmed by another Alfred Schindler, the grandson of the first Alfred.
American dreams
The company entered the North American market in 1979 with the purchase of the Ohio-based Haughton Elevator Company. Initially, the company re-branded as the Schindler-Haughton company; however, after acquiring the elevator and escalator division of Westinghouse Electric one of the biggest manufacturers in the industry at the time Schindler significantly increased its presence in the massive US market. After the acquisition, the company rebranded its US operations as Schindler Elevator Corporation, which is based in Morristown, New Jersey.
International heights
In 2006, Schindler acquired a 25.5 percent stake in Hyundai Elevator Co.Ltd in South Korea. At the time, Hyundai Elevator Co. was the second-largest elevator and escalator manufacturer in South Korea and had numerous subsidies reaching out to Asian markets. In October 2007, Schindler announced at a press conference that it was to take the collaboration with Hyundai Elevator Co. a step further. The companies are setting about establishing joint working teams. This would make sense as Asia is already a booming market and Schindler already has a presence in all major Asian countries. Complementing its burgeoning interest in Asia, in May 2008, Schindler partnered up with a Mumbai-based computing company, Patni Computer Systems Ltd, in order to develop and test services for Schindlers double-deck elevator. The Indian research and development team is creating complex algorithms and simulators of elevator designs for Schindlers future technological use.
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Raising its game in India

In May 2008, Schindler launched its best-selling elevator lines, the Schindler 3300 and the Schindler 5300, in both India and China. Schindler is looking to capture a huge chunk of these enormous and still growing residential and commercial markets. According to Indias Economic Times, Schindler knows how to make a lift that hits the spot in environmental terms. Its lifts are said to be environmentally friendly, energy efficient and operate at low expenses.
Schindler Group
Asian attractions
There is even more room for manoeuvre in Asia as the Middle Eastern market opens up all the more for Schindler. A significant mid-2008 acquisition is a 49 percent stake in a Qatari elevator firm, set up by a member of the Gulf states ruling family. Another notable contract signed at around the same time is one to supply and service 299 elevators for a new city of more than 400,000 inhabitants, to be built on the sands near Cairo, Egypt. The city is due to be completed in 2010 and Schindler technicians will be based permanently on site to look after the elevators. The Schindler 3300 is likely to be used for the project, a collaborative effort between three top US architectural firms, which is said to be a city of international standards. Schindler has already worked on mobility systems for El Rehab, another city development near Cairo. To round off Schindlers adventures in Asia in early 2008, the company has also been enlisted to provide more than a hundred escalators and elevators for Beijings 2008 Olympics. According to Schindler, its installations were chosen for their reliability and ability to cope with huge volumes of traffic. Schindler has been a key presence in China during recent years, having provided mobility to some of its major landmarks. These include the ICC Tower, which is Hong Kongs tallest building; the China World Trade Centre in Beijing, which is the citys tallest building, the new American Embassy in Beijing and Nanjings Greenland Tower Phase II, Chinas sixth highest building.
GETTING HIRED
Give your career a lift
Schindlers opportunities for student and graduates are diverse. The company offers numerous opportunities to students including internships and summer jobs. As for graduates with degrees in engineering, whilst they can search the Schindler job boards for vacancies, they can also apply directly to the fast-track Schindler Career
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Development Program (SCDP). This is a six-year, on-the-job management training program that includes chances to work internationally for up to two years as well as professional guidance. The SCDP has three tracks, for engineers, for those who want to work in field operations (sales and marketing) and finally, business administration. The starting point for the engineering track is to have a relevant Masters degree and less than two years of experience. Engineers will start as technical assistants, but the standout point of the SCDP at Schindler is that you have the opportunity to experience a rotation in another function so you pick up skills in different business areas. More information, including details on how to apply, can be found on Schindlers website. Calling all architects Schindler is active in urban planning and architecture collaborations with universities. In 2008, the group received a record number of participants for its third Schindler Award for Architecture, Access for All. The competition has run every two years since it was launched in 2003, which was the European Year for People with Disabilities. The goal of the competition was to inspire Europes future architects to design buildings and cities that are accessible to all. In 2008, applications were received from 95 schools of architecture from 22 European countries.
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SCHLUMBERGER
Le Palatin 1 1 Cour du Triangle 92936 La Defense Cedex France Tel: +33 1 7112 2000 www.slb.com
European Locations
La Defense (HQ) Austria Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Morocco The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Serbia and Montenegro Spain Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Company Type: Public Ticker Symbol: SLB (Euronext, London, Amsterdam, SWX, NYSE) Chief Executive: Andrew Gould 2007 Revenue: $23.28bn 2006 Revenue: $19.23bn 2007 Employees: 80,000 2006 Employees: 70,000 No. of Offices: not available
Employment Contact
www.slb.com (Click on "Careers")
Divisions
Artificial lift Cementing Coiled tubing Completions Consulting and Data Services Drilling Formation Evaluation Integrated Project Management Production Optimisation Seismic Services Software Stimulation Well Testing
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THE SCOOP
chlumberger (pronounced schlumberjay), is one of the worlds largest oilfield services companies, supplying technology, project management and information systems to the oil and gas industry. The firm is comprised of two primary business segments: Schlumberger Oilfield Services and WesternGeco. Oilfield Services offers a wide range of products and services that support industry exploration and refining operations, while WesternGeco is the worlds largest seismic company, providing advanced seismic technologies.
Schlumberger
Hey, Hey, Schlumberger

Schlumbergers core business, oil field drilling, is vulnerable to the energy industrys boom and bust cycle and depends upon the accessibility of available reserves. It is therefore of key importance for the company that it stays at the forefront of technological developments, in order to improve reservoir performance and reduce technical risks. Schlumbergers principal offices are in Paris, France, The Hague in The Netherlands and Houston, US, where it has been headquarted since 1940. Employing 80,000 people of 140 nationalities, Schlumbergers core business, oil the companys wide field drilling, is vulnerable to the energy reach goes beyond its industrys boom and bust cycle recruitment policies. In 2007, approximately 76 percent of Schlumbergers revenue was derived from activities outside the US, with similar figures for the p r e v i o u s t w o y e a r s . Schlumbergers products and services range from geophysical services, such as seismic services, to well testing for oil reservoirs, integrated project management and consulting and data services.
Heres the drill

In 1912, Conrad Schlumberger came up with the revolutionary idea of using electrical measurements to map subsurface rock bodies, a breakthrough in the process of oil exploration. Conrad and his brother Marcel opened their first office in Paris in 1920. In 1923, the brothers began conducting geophysical surveys in Romania, Serbia, Canada, South Africa, the Belgian Congo and the US. Later that decade, they incorporated their business and formed Socit de Prospection Electrique, the pre-cursor of Schlumberger Limited. Since then, over the decades, Schlumberger has introduced one technological advance after another. Its breakthroughs have been numerous and include the first computerised
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reservoir analysis system, the use of geo-steering to plan the drilling path in horizontal oil wells and the oilfield services industrys first long-term reservoir monitoring system.
Looking ahead
Schlumberger declared a 21 percent increase in revenue from 2006 to 2007, fuelled by strong demand for oilfield services. Pre-tax operating income in 2007 for the group was 1.06 billion US dollars, 31 percent higher than in 2006. Year-on-year growth rates reached 31 percent in the Middle East and Asia, 30 percent in Europe, the CIS and Africa and 29 percent in Latin America. North American figures, however, remained unchanging from 2006 to 2007. The company expects several trends to characterise Schlumberger in 2008 onwards. Growth in land activity outside North America will remain strong and seismic exploration services will continue to be in demand worldwide on land and offshore, as, Schlumberger says, the industry gears up for an extended exploration phase.
New hotspots
Each year, Schlumberger identifies and awards internal projects which have demonstrated superior performance when measured against the criteria of teamwork, innovation and business impact. In 2007, 365 projects were submitted by the Schlumberger technologies and geomarket regions for the Performed by Schlumberger Award. In 2007, an operation support center initiative won the award. The operation support center sounds impressive it enables drilling operations to be directed remotely by experts. The level of drilling efficiency achieved remotely by the combination of engineering and expertise is, according to Schlumberger, a paradigm shift in how exploration and production is carried out. There were, as of the end of 2007, 45 Operation Support Centers up and running around the globe, connected to two training centres offering virtual training.
New digs
In 2005, Schlumberger announced the relocation of its corporate headquarters from New York to Houston, Texas, in the second half of 2006. The companys chief executive and rew Gould, said that the move sought to capitalise on closer proximity of its headquarters to crucial engineering and operational facilities. Schlumberger has long had a presence in Houston, where its North American operations have been coordinated since 1934. At the time of the announcement, Schlumberger ran multiple operational locations and technical engineering facilities in the Houston region, employing around 8,000 people.
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While Schlumbergers headquarters are in the US, the companys presence in its European home is becoming ever stronger, as many of its acquisitions are based in European oil hotspots such as Russia and Norway. In 2006, Schlumberger acquired degaard A/S, a Danish firm which makes advanced surface seismic data inversion software and Reslink, a Norway-based supplier of engineering applications and products for sand control and management.
Schlumberger
Siberia is where its at. Seriously.

European acquisitions continued at a steady pace in 2007 with the completed takeover of Siberian geophysical and wireline logging company Tyumenpromgeofizika, boosting its capabilities in the all-important Siberian market. The group consolidated its Siberian presence by opening up a training centre in Tyumen, West Siberia by way of an investment of approximately 100 million dollars, which provides training in the Russian language for Schlumberger field engineers and specialists.
Acting seedy
Schlumbergers green fingers look toward schools rather than gardens. The Schlumberger Excellence in Education Development (SEED) program, founded in 1998, connects its employees with ten-to 18-year-old students in developing communities. According to the companys web site, the program offers young people a tangible opportunity to participate in the economic and social advantages afforded by access to new knowledge and technologies. SEED works via four components. First, a school network program provides financial and technical assistance to link disadvantaged schools in economically developing countries to the internet. Second, an online science centre brings together Schlumberger scientists and engineers with ten-to 18-year-olds worldwide. Third, collaborative projects where SEED facilitates cooperation between school children around the world and fourth, jointly, educational programs are offered through the initiative.
GETTING HIRED
Waking you from your Schlumber-ger

As Schlumberger says, the next generation of energy scientists will focus on how to secure energy supplies while reducing carbon emissions. The challenge to find talented engineers who can help achieve this is something the company takes seriously. Schlumberger is a frequent visitor to university campuses, with the
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intention of recruiting the brightest and best young engineers to work for it. Just as an example to show the companys intent, in 2007 its human resources representatives made more than 1,100 trips to approximately 275 universities in 50 countries. The company has long had an international outlook and recruits from universities worldwide. The University Ambassador Program builds Schlumbergers relationships with professors and students in numerous universities through initiatives such as research funding and work experience programs. The group is proactive when it comes to diversity both in terms of culture and gender, with a specific program in place, for example, for high-potential female candidates for future senior management positions. This is definitely a company that watches out for its employees futures. Schlumberger is looking out for those with a pioneering attitude and is keen to recruit field engineers, research and development scientists and engineers, manufacturing, supply chain and logistics professionals, software engineers, petrotechnical graduates and business consultants, among other opportunities. All Schlumbergers recruitment opportunities, including its internships, can be viewed on its dedicated Careers website. For most jobs, eligibility criteria include a Bachelors or Masters degree in a relevant discipline. Recent graduates enter into a fixed step training program that lasts approximately 40 months. Afterwards, you will have the option to build a career in operations management, technology, human resources, marketing and sales and other disciplines. The company also offers its employees the flexibility to move between, as its website says, functions, technologies and geographies.
OUR SURVEY SAYS
Life at the high-end

When it comes to hiring, an employee in the firms Paris office described the interview process as involving three to four interviews for partners, led by the most senior members of the team. For non-partners, there is a one day session which combines introductory interviews with working on case studies. This is led by both partners and managers. The consulting aspect of the firms work received glowing reviews from insiders. Schlumberger Business Consulting is a mix of excellent consultants coming from the
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Schlumberger
best consulting firms and others in the field said a former partner at the firm. This creates a unique culture there is excellence, with a focus on getting a sustainable impact on client performance, combined with a very hands-on approach. Its a get it done culture. The same source testified to Schlumbergers diversity, noting that profiles at Schlumberger are much more international than those I saw in other strategy firms there were nearly ten different nationalities on one of my latest projects. Projects and lifestyle are very international one Paris-based source told us. Theres a lot of travelling and commuting, which might be a problem for those who prefer to work in their home country. Overall, sources deemed the firms business model as particularly supportive of excellence, seniority and expertise. The praise continues, with one former employee at Schlumberger listing access to high quality information and expertise uncommon at other firms, as the qualities that make Schlumberger a true high-end firm, especially when it comes to its consultancy business. Among the perks of working at Schlumberger, staff listed stock options and a decent bonus, of approximately 20 percent of base salary, dependent on time spent abroad.
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SIEMENS AG
Wittelsbacherplatz 2 D-80333 Munich Germany Tel: +49 896 36 00 www.siemens.com
German Locations
Munich (HQ) Opportunities available throughout Germany
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: SIE (FSE, NYSE, XTRA) Chief Executive: Peter Lescher 2007 Revenue: 72.45bn 2006 Revenue: 66.49bn 2007 Employees: 398,000 2006 Employees: 371,000 No. of Offices: numerous locations throghout Germany
European Locations
Germany (HQ) Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia, Finland France Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia & Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
Divisions
Energy Healthcare Industry
Employment Contact
www.siemens.com (Click on Jobs & Careers)
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career library
THE SCOOP
robably best known as one of the worlds leading makers of mobile phones, Siemens is an electronics and electrical engineering giant headquartered in Munich, Germany. With operations spanning industry, energy, telecommunications and healthcare, Siemens maintains a presence in more than 190 countries, with its huge range of products and services spanning the construction of industrial plants to state-of-theart clinical imaging systems for healthcare professionals to visualise the molecular biology of diseases. Such a varied product range requires a large staff, and the company employs just under 400,000 staff, 126,000 of which are based in Germany, with another 106,000 scattered throughout the rest of Europe. The Americas are home to about 91,000 with another 66,000 in Asia, and the final 10,000 work in Africa and the Middle East. In its home country, Siemens has permeated the most Siemens technology generates half the electrical power in Germany, and every second traffic light in the country is made by the company.
Siemens AG
From humble beginnings

Siemens began in 1847, when German engineer Werner von Siemens co-founded a telegraph company that raked up some impressive claims to fame in the 19th century. It installed the first long-distance electrical telegraph line in Europe, and built the world's first electric railway in 1879 and the first electric streetcar in 1881. In the early 20th century, the company grew rapidly, forming a Japanese subsidiary in 1923, and launching its electrical appliances unit and introducing the first cardiac pacemaker to the world in the 1950s.
All synapses firing

The 1960s saw Munich's first electronically controlled telephone exchange come to life in 1962 and the founding of Siemens AG in 1966. By the 1980s, the company was still ahead of the curve in terms of technological innovation, building the first 64-kbit memory chip in 1981, and it kept the ball rolling in the 1990s by developing the Synapse 1, the worlds fastest neurocomputer, in 1992. In 2001, Siemens was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The company has fast expanded in the past decade, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, where, by 1997, it had 45,000 employees, approximately 70 joint ventures and 60 plants.
Siemens: the electrical chameleon

Part of Siemens growth strategy has long been the diversification of its various industries. In the early 1990s, for example, the largest European company in the
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computer industry, Siemens-Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG (SNI), was formed, which later, in 1999, became swallowed up into Fujitsu Siemens Computers AG. In the late 1990s, Siemens stretched its wings by buying former US electric and utilities company Westinghouses fossil power plant activities. This helped Siemens make its mark in the US, leading to its NYSE listing. Between 1999 and 2008, Siemens kept building through acquisitions and partnerships, but it kept itself streamlined through shedding companies whenever necessary, such as its semiconductor business. In 2001, the group merged its nuclear activities with those of the French company Framatome, which became Areva in 2006, but the nuclear lovein has been problematic recently, since France has wanted to consolidate its nuclear activities domestically, but Siemens still wants a stake of Areva. More recently, Siemens has undergone some restructuring. As Europes largest engineering firm, under new boss Peter Lescher, appointed in July 2007, Siemens has scaled down from 14 unwieldy divisions, turning its focus onto industry, energy and healthcare exclusively. The Financial Times has suggested Leschers strategy might take a leaf out of one of his previous employers, The autonomy of Siemens General Electrics, book, and make Siemens faster, less global subsidiaries may be reined in by complex and more focused new chief executive Lescher by concentrating on its most autonomy that many of Siemens businesses enjoy in 190 countries worldwide may be reined in as Lescher plans on creating a more regional, networked structure. Likely changes also include Siemens labour force being trimmed, and its power transmission operations being scaled back to be replaced by a greater focus on its more higher-margin products.
Siemens' bribery blues

Scandal hit the company, however, in November 2006, when German prosecutors uncovered bribery operations at the multinational corporation stretching back to the late 1990s. Despite the fact that Germany outlawed bribery payments in 1999 (up to that point, they could be considered business expenses), the charges contended that Siemens AG continued making payments for security and telecom contracts everywhere from Saudi Arabia to Argentina. The November arrests of six Siemens employees, including a former board member, were bolstered by evidence that the payments had been approved by higher-ups. Siemens itself began an investigation and, after calling in outside auditors, found that 1.3 billion euros worth of suspicious transactions had been conducted since 2000, hidden through multiple levels of encrypted accounting changes and personal payoffs.
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Ultimately, the company was fined 201 million euros in October 2007 for its indiscretions. In the wake of the scandal, new chief executive Peter Lescher, has emphasised that the groups focus lies in maintaining its good performance as global economic conditions get tougher. Lescher was the first outsider appointed to the top spot in the companys 160 year history.
Siemens AG
The geeks have the answers

Siemens funnels much of its annual turnover back into research and development. In 2007, the company invested a total of 3.4 billion euros into research and development, which has 32,500 dedicated employees, of which 17,500 are software engineers, working in 150 locations in 30 countries worldwide. The company boasts the top spot for ownership of active patents in Germany and made 7,900 inventions in 2007. Siemens is also engaging with some large-scale global issues, such as the population explosion and increasing urbanisation in all countries. Calling these issues megatrends, the company aims to use its expertise in infrastructure, healthcare and energy to deal with problems such as future water supply and the fact that global energy demands are likely to increase by more than 40 percent in the next 25 years. Its sectorial experience, in industry, energy and healthcare, make the company wellpositioned to come up with answers to these worldwide problems. In 2007, already making inroads in using technology to change energy trends, Siemens partnered with MAN AG to pilot a diesel electric hybrid bus in the German city of Nuremberg. The prototype used up to 25 percent less fuel than conventional buses. In 2010, this bus should become the first series-produced hybrid bus in Europe.
Bangalore and so much more

Siemens One was a partner in the construction of Bangalore International Airport, which opened 2008 and which will receive 15 million passengers passing through per year by 2015. Siemens Ones contributions to the project were the IT systems, boarding bridges, baggage handling systems, airfield lighting, building management and fire detection. Other such global projects include the design and construction of eight sets of 250km/hr high speed trains to go from Moscow to St. Petersburg in conjunction with Russian Railways, and Siemens Healthcare products for the detection and treatment of breast cancer, including imaging methods such as ultrasound, mammography, and magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) methods for early detection which are becoming more and more important.
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GETTING HIRED
Careers with Siemens
With 35 offices and 74 plants in Germany, and numerous sites worldwide, Siemens offers a wide spectrum of possibilities for students, graduates and experienced professionals. International jobs can be viewed on the jobs and careers link, on the international job openings page. You can search by job family, region, experience level, or business field the latter comprises automation and control, corporate functions, financing and real estate, information and communications, lighting, medical, power and transportation. For graduates, other than applying for jobs, the company offers the Siemens Graduate Program a two year international scheme designed for future managers. For those interested in applying to work in Germany, you need international experience, excellent German and English, and have a university-level degree in engineering, science or economics with top marks. To participate from abroad, you need to be working for a Siemens subsidiary and enter into the scheme from there. The group also has a Finance Excellence Program, for which information can be seen on the Graduate Recruitment website. Siemens offers a range of programmes for students across the globe looking to dip their toes in company waters. The scholarships and projects that are available are predominantly for engineering, science and technology, and business and management graduates. More details are available on the Siemens careers website.
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In 2007-08, Siemens underwent heavy restructuring. Under new boss Peter Lescher, Europes largest engineering firm scaled down from 14 unwieldy divisions, turning its focus to industry, energy and healthcare exclusively.
TELECOM ITALIA S.P.A.

European Locations
Piazza Degli Affari 2 Milan Italy Tel: +39 02 85951 www.telecomitalia.com Milan (HQ) Holland France Germany
Employment Contact The Stats

Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: TIT (Milan, NYSE) Chief Executive: Franco Bernab 2007 Revenue: 31.29bn 2006 Revenue: 31.28bn 2007 Employees: 83,429 2006 Employees: 82,209 No. of Offices: n/a www.telecomitalia.com htpp://telecomitalia.easycruit.com
Divisions
Domestic market operations International activities Technology and operations Wholesale activities
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THE SCOOP
ith more than a hundred years of history to its name, Telecom Italia stands proud in 2008 as an international group dedicated to telecommunications and multimedia. The company has a strong presence in 83 markets outside Italy and operates in eight countries, mainly in the Mediterranean region and South America. Unsurprisingly, this telecommunications giant has a commanding presence in the Italian market, supplying more than 30 million mobile lines in its home country. Another string to its bow is being the countrys leading broadband operator, operating close to eight million broadband access points as of June 2008. Abroad, Telecom Italia has a strong presence too, including 32.5 million mobile lines in Brazil and more than 2.5 million broadband users in Germany and Holland.
Telecom Italia S.p.A.
The groups core strengths are in providing fixed line phone services, fibre optic networks for wholesale customers, broadband internet services, national and international mobile telecommunications, and digital and analogue technology for television. Telecom Italia closed 2007 with 31.29 billion euros in revenue, an ever-so-slight rise on its 2006 revenue of 31.28 billion euros. Its EBITDA was 11.6 billion euros, a slight fall from the previous year, which came in at 12.84 billion euros.
Component parts
The Telecom Italia Group is divided into Telecom Italia, in charge of fixed-line telecommunications, Alice, which provides broadband internet services, TIM, in charge of mobile telecommunications, Telecom Italia Media, which distributes multimedia content through the brands La7, MTV Italia and APCOM, TI Lab, specialising in telecommunications research, and Olivetti, which provides information technology systems for offices.
You can call me Al-ice

When it comes to fixed-line services, Telecom Italia has some strong statistics to boast about. It maintains a domestic network of 3.7 million kilometres of fibre optic cable and trunk, alongside 51,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable in Europe, which the group calls its backbone. The company can even boast that its Med Nautilus submarine cable ring in the Mediterranean basin handles more than 50 percent of international call traffic between countries in the region. As for jumping on the exponentially growing internet bandwagon, Alice, Telecom Italias broadband company, has chosen integration as its way forward, offering its customers a mind-boggling variety of internet connection packages.
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Take a little bit of Italy with you

Every ex-state owned telecommunications company has the benefit of a legacy of customer loyalty, through there having been no other options. But in a competitive market, all companies have to work harder to secure their slice of the pie. Telecom Italia is doing well in retaining customer interest. Its mobile services division has been particularly successful as of Spring 2008, taking nearly 40 percent of the domestic market share. In terms of its media services, the group also has an extensive reach, putting a host of multimedia content offerings at customers fingertips. Networks controlled by Telecom Italia include MTV Italia, the La7 network, which shows entertainment, sports, news and current affairs, and multimedia wire agency APCOM, which partners with the Associated Press in providing news content worldwide.
From typewriters to telecom

The current incarnation of Telecom Italia emerged in 1994 after the Italian Post and Telecommunications Ministry approved a plan for the five companies who operated in the domestic telephone industry to merge. These companies, SIP, Iritel, Italcable, Telespazio and SIRM, rolled into one, Telecom Italia, in September 1994. Shortly after, subsidiary TIM was founded in 1995, and by 1998, the Italian telecommunications industry was completely liberalised.
Merging and emerging

Just before the turn of the millennium, Olivetti, famed for its sleek-looking typewriters, launched a successful takeover bid for Telecom Italia share capital. The company went through major restructuring over the next few years, involving numerous mergers and much share-buying activity. Concurrently, innovative products were being rolled out to keep on capturing market share and get customers used to latest technologies. In October 2005, TIM, the mobile telecommunications subsidiary, was fully integrated into its parent company, and shortly after, the companys internet activities were merged into Telecom Italia too. The company has barely stopped for breath in the past few years, continually beefing up its European and international operations. In early 2007, for example, it acquired AOL Germanys internet business. In October 2007, the Italian giant modified its share structure so that Telco S.p.A, an investment consortium of five companies Spains Telefnica and Italys Generali, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mediobanca and Sintonia (the Benetton Group) took ownership of 24.5 percent of Telecom Italias share capital, which they bought for approximately 4.1 billion euros in cash.
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TI, phone home

Telecom Italia S.p.A.
As Telefnica owns 42.3 percent of Telco, it has its hands on approximately ten percent of Telecom Italia. Speculations have been coming thick and fast in the media as to whether Telefnicas indirect stake in Telecom Italia has paved the way for a merger between the two firms, both ex-monopolies in their respective domestic territories. As of mid-2008, these speculations still abounded. Either way, both companies have benefited from cost savings from the investment, especially in terms of joint development and purchasing strategies. Such savings have come in handy given that Telecom Italia has been hit by burdensome regulatory measures from the Italian government. One possibility for further consolidation between the two is in Brazil, where both companies have hefty market shares. Telefnica, as of early 2008, had 27 percent of the wireless market in Brazil, and Telecom Italias TIM Participacoes SA was in second place with 25 percent. However, Brazilian market regulators may well prevent any mergers between the two companies in this booming market.
Wherever you roam, you cant escape your iPhone

In May 2008, Telecom Italia announced it had closed a non-exclusive deal with US technology giant Apple, allowing the telecommunications firm to take the iPhone to Italy together with Vodafone. With this partnership, This telecommunications giant Telecom Italia looks to has a commanding presence, profit from Apples supplying more than 30 million technological wizardry, mobile lines in its home country which has excellent appeal among consumers, and will guarantee new avenues of revenue. Whether anticipated by Telecom Italia or not, Apple has announced it is planning to expand its music download business, allowing iPhone users to download tracks over carriers data networks, a move which would certainly benefit the telecommunications and multimedia giant.
GETTING HIRED
Landing that Italian job
Graduates and professionals interested in working for the Italian telecom titan must be fluent in Italian to apply for any of its positions in Italy. While Telecom Italias
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website offers basic information in English, you wont be able to work for the company in its home country without fluency in Italian. TI recruits those with technical degrees in fields spanning engineering, electronics, information systems, statistics and economics, though it also has a predilection for law graduates too. Those who have a degree in these fields can apply for six or 12 month internships (called stages) too. For more information, visit the companys careers link on www.telecomitalia.com. Applicants need to be in their final year of an undergraduate degree and, of course, need excellent Italian language skills. New graduates can peruse vacancies by logging onto http://telecomitalia.easycruit.com, where you can upload and submit CVs for vacancies that match your experience and education level. You can also send an open application which will be kept on a database, and you will then be informed if your application matches any job openings.
Call them up for thesis help

Telecom Italia regularly accepts undergraduate and graduate students preparing for their masters degrees to work there in tandem with their academic thesis. To apply for this opportunity, you need to select the TI division or subsidy you are interested in working in and contact human resources with your study project, curriculum vitae and a letter of recommendation from your supervisor.
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TELEFNICA S.A.
Gran Va, 28 28013 Madrid Spain Tel: +34 91 584 09 20 www.telefonica.es
Locations in Europe
Madrid (HQ) Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark France Germany Holland Ireland Italy Poland Portugal Slovakia Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: TLF (Madrid) Chief Executive: Csar Alierta 2007 Revenue: 8.9bn 2006 Revenue: 6.2bn 2007 Employees: 248,487 2006 Employees: 235,000 No. of Offices: in 22 countries worldwide
Employment Contact
www.telefonica.es (Click on About Us and then on Employees)
Divisions
Business Management Corporate Development Finance and Corporate General Finances Human Resources Infrastructure and Information Legal Logistics Marketing Purchasing Real Estate Strategy, Budgeting and Control Systems T-Gestiona
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THE SCOOP
Telefnica S.A.
f there were one word to describe Telefnicas operations in Spain, it would be ubiquitous. As a huge and highly competitive international company, Telefnica has a firm grip on the European and Latin American mobile phone markets and a burgeoning presence in other regions. In fact, so large is Telefnicas empire and market share that its fair to say the company has an uncontested monopoly over the Spanish telecommunications sector.
Untangling Spains telephone lines

Created at the end of the 19th century, Spains telecoms adventure began with a royal decree in 1884, which established a state-run telephone services monopoly. Two years later, in 1886, the industry was liberalised, as it was realised growth would be faster that way. Soon, with a lack of uniformity causing crossed wires all over the sector, the Compaa Telefnica Nacional de Espaa (Spanish National Telephone Company or CTNE) was established to provide common criteria for the Globally, Telefnica is among the provision of telephone biggest telecommunications groups in Brazil, services. Another royal Argentina, Chile and Peru. decree signed by King Alfonso XIII in 1924 authorised the CTNE to reform and extend national telephone services. At the time, there were fewer than 80,000 telephones in the whole of Spain, of which only 28 percent were state-operated. Among CTNEs first challenges was the Herculean task of standardising and organising the nations telephone service. Huge technological advancements allowed it to do so, and then to begin to expand its reach. By 1965, CTNE had become the leading company in Spain with 100,000 shareholders, 20 billion pesetas of share capital and a workforce of 32,000. The five millionth telephone was installed in Spain in 1971, just four years before Telefnicas CTNEs 50th anniversary.
Just a quick call

Activity sped up from then on, with the ten millionth telephone being installed in Spain in 1978. Once a new company name had been established in 1985 Telefnica de Espaa, S.A. it didnt take long for the New York Stock Exchange to call. The company began trading on the NYSE in 1987. By the beginning of the 1990s,
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international expansion was going on at a brisk pace, with Telefnicas businesses and services finding, in particular, a profitable platform in Latin America.
Telefnica phones home

With a dominant position in the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking world, Telefnicas key strategy has been to consolidate and build upon its position as a leader among providers in these core markets, rather than expand to new markets. The figures speak for themselves. As of 2007, in Spain, the firm has more than 16 million landline connections, 4.9 million data and internet connections and approximately 22 million mobile telephone customers. Globally, Telefnica has more than 190 million customers and the group is among the biggest telecommunications groups in Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru.
European conquest
Although the Spanish telecommunications group is huge in Latin America and wants to continue to boost its presence in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking markets, it is also eyeing up other European markets. In this regard, 2006 was a good year for Telefnica, as it made a nifty 17.7 billion pound acquisition of a rival British firm, O2. According to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, to date, this is the highest price a Spanish company has ever paid for an acquisition. Thanks to this purchase, Telefnica has been able to kickstart its northern European conquest in the regions two biggest telecommunications markets: Germany and the UK. Though it is now operated by Telefnica, O2 has kept its name and its own management.
Getting its wires crossed

The groups operations span 19 countries and are organised into three geographic areas: Spain, Latin America and the rest of Europe. There are other divisions across the company that offer alternative telecommunications services as well. Telefnica Espaas main activity is to provide landline, cellular and internet access through four different companies: Telefnica Mviles Espaa known as Movistar Telefnica Empresas, Telefnica Soluciones and Terra. In Europe, outside Spain and Portugal, Telefnica operates through O2 in the UK, Cesky Telecom in the Czech Republic and Telefnica Deutschland in Germany. The Latin American market is also crucial for the maintenance of Telefnicas major player position in South America through its subsidiaries Telefnica Mviles (Movistar) and Telefnica International. In total, as of 2007, there are 260,405 Telefnica employees in Spain, 14,326 throughout the rest of Europe, and 131,968 employees throughout Latin America.
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Introducing technology
As with the majority of big Spanish companies, Telefnica takes social responsibility seriously, investing in numerous social and cultural activities. For instance, it has created Fundacin Telefnica, which promotes the use of technology in schools. The foundation works on projects in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and Morocco. Telefnicas Arte y Tecnologa (art and technology) organisation manages artistic, historical and technological heritage projects for education and cultural purposes.
Telefnica S.A.
Got sunstroke?
In the summer of 2007, the European Commission fined Telefnica 151.8 million euros for abusing its dominant position in the ADSL market between 2001 and 2006, according to the Spanish newspaper Cinco Das. The commission claimed the company charged its rivals excessive prices for use of its infrastructure and that it allowed too little opportunity for competition. The fine was the highest sanction the European executive has ever issued to a telecommunications operator. However, at the end of October 2007, the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade lodged an appeal to the European Court of Justice to cancel the fine.
GETTING HIRED
Global feeling
In 2006, Telefnica spent a hefty 54 million euros on training its employees. The telephone team received a combined total of 11 million hours of training that year, an increase of 16.4 percent compared to 2005.
The telecommunications giant also has a corporate university in Barcelona, which acts as a meeting point for its Spanish, European and Latin American professionals to learn about and discuss the latest industry trends. In 2006, the company created a new professional development module based on the corporate skillset framework shared by all the groups businesses. Telefnica is one of the 50 industrial titans listed in the Dow Jones Global list, which reflects the globalisation of international companies in the wake of mergers and the creation of mega-corporations. In 2007, Telefnica employed more than 248,000
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people worldwide. Unlike many Spanish firms where employees are mostly from the native country, the group has hired more than employees in South America and almost 15,000 from the rest of Europe.
A promising programme
The telecommunications company offers a corporate programme for young professionals, known as JAP (Jvenes de alto potencial). The programmes curriculum allows ambitious young employees to try their hands at various challenges by department rotation and specific training with a mentor. For students who havent finished their degree but want to get involved in the company, work experience, scholarships and hands-on training for younger students are offered see Telefnicas website for further details. The group has cooperation agreements with education centres, universities and business schools, so those interested should contact the careers centres at their academic institution. Telefnica also offers a limited number of international internships depending on specific particular business demands in its various global locations. To find out more, submit your CV and a cover email with any questions to MBAinternships@telefonica.es.
MBA magnetism
Telefnica offers great opportunities to graduates with MBA degrees, in departments spanning sales, marketing, technology, research and innovation, business development, strategy, finance and human resources. Interested applicants will be pleased to know that the firm provides a range of resources and opportunities to help them develop their careers around the world. The companys MBA management development programme provides students with career opportunities that move them through a range of countries and businesses, providing professional proximity to senior executives and the chance to learn from the leadership of top-notch colleagues. To be eligible for these opportunities, you should have at least three years experience in a professional setting, be able and willing to be mobile and/or relocate, and possess a passion for other languages and cultures. Youll also need to speak both English and Spanish to a high level. Interested candidates should email an initial enquiry to MBAcareers@telefonica.es. More information about these programmes and about Telefnicas subsidiaries that take part in them can be found on www.telefonica.es, clicking about Telefnica and then on the employees link.
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THALES GROUP
45 rue de Villiers Neuilly-sur-Seine Cedex 92526 France Tel: +33 (0)1 57 77 89 41 www.thalesgroup.com
French Locations
Neuilly-sur-Seine (HQ) Aix Aubagne Brest Blagnac Bordeaux Le Haillan Brive la gaillarde Brtigny sur Orge Buc Cergy Pontoise Cannes Carquefou Chtellerault la Brelandire Chateaubourg Chatou Cholet Chtellerault la Brelandire Colombes Elancourt La Fert Saint Aubin Fleury-Orleans Guyancourt Lambersart Laval Limours Malakoff Massy Meudon-la-fort Moirans Pessac Orsay Rouen Rungis Saint Hand Sophia Antipolis Toulon Toulouse Valence Vlizy
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: HO.PA (Euronext) Managing Director: Denis Ranque 2007 Revenue: 12.29bn 2006 Revenue: 10.26 bn 2007 Employees: 68,000 2006 Employees: 52,160 No. of Offices: present in 50 countries
European Locations
Belgium Germany Italy The Netherlands Spain United Kingdom
Divisions
Aerospace Air Systems Land and Joint Systems Naval Security Solutions and Services Space
Employment Contact
www.thalesgroup.com/Careers/ jobs-offers.html
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THE SCOOP
amed after Thales (ca. 624 BC 546 BC), the Greek philosopher generally acknowledged to be the founder of science, Thales Group develops complex information systems for three markets: aerospace, defence and security. Commonly known as mission critical information systems, Thales products are sold to both military and civil clients in six linked departments: air and aerospace, government and enterprise, joint forces (integrated land, air and naval defence infrastructure), land, naval and maritime, and space. As of 2007, the company employed more than 68,000 staff, including 22,000 researchers, in more than 50 countries across the globe.
Thales Group
Theyre such airheads

Aerospace is one of Thales key strategic businesses, and the company produces aeronautical equipment, mission electronics, airborne surveillance and security systems for air forces, aircraft manufacturers The company is increasingly and airlines. Specifically, breaking through that it produces command final frontier, space. and control radar, weapon and detection systems and air traffic management systems for the armed services, NATO, civil aviation authorities and airports. The company is also increasingly breaking through that final frontier, space. The products it makes for space agencies and commercial satellite operators, among others, include navigation and communications equipment, radar systems and optical observation technologies.
Planet earth is blue

Thales Space HQ, along with its subsidiaries in Belgium, Spain, France and Italy, is at any one time working on numerous projects. For anyone with an interest in geophysics, the Jason-2 spatial oceanographic satellite is a good example of how Thales products might appeal to the imagination. The Jason-2 satellite processes detailed meteorological data to give scientists a more accurate look at oceans and a better understanding of climate change. The Jason-1 satellite, which was designed in cooperation with NASA, has passed over the same points on Earth every ten days for the past five years, tracking the slightest changes in wind speed, wave height and average sea level. This has helped climatologists and meteorologists analyze the impact of global warming and understand the origins of events
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such as El Nio. The Jason-2 satellite will be placed in the same orbit as Jason-1. It features experimental technology which Thales is hoping will enable more accurate measurements near coastal zones, lakes and rivers. It launched in August 2008 in California.
Spreading its wings

The Jason-2 satellite is one of many of Thales scientifically advanced projects, but it is not only the companys aerospace technology that should be spotlighted. Aside from its advanced aerospace and space systems, Thales distinguishes itself in making technologies of similarly baffling complexity for land and naval use. Its main area of expertise for these is information provision for land and sea-based military warfare.
Robot wars
Some of Thales 21st century offerings include the design of programmes for the DGA (the Dlgation Gnrale pour lArmament, the French defence procurement agency). These include such impressive-sounding Thales has built up a reputation concepts as the FIST of wide-ranging technical (Future Integrated Soldier expertise in its sectors Technology) programme, which is an integrated fighting system for dismounted individual soldiers, and the Watchkeeper tactical ISTAR (Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance) system for unmanned air vehicles. The latter was designed as part of an 800 million pound contract with the UKs Ministry of Defence.
Somebodys watching you

Take note Thales security division is increasing in both scope and significance. The company crows that there is no downtime when it comes to security, ominously declaring security and safety systems are no longer options: they make up the backbone of our infrastructures. Thales has its fingers in many pies on the security front. Its projects range from devising a system to secure the Eastern Latvian border using command and control software and intrusion sensors to supplying the Algerian state-owned energy company Sonatrach with security for 500km of its gas pipelines, which includes detection systems and video surveillance.
How did they get there?

Thales is a fairly new corporation, rising to its position of prominence in the aerospace, defence and security sectors through building up a reputation of wide-
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Thales Group
ranging technical expertise. The company initially resulted from a merger between Compagnie Gnrale de Tlgraphie Sans Fil (a broadcasting pioneer in France, as a key player in the development of short wave, electro-acoustic and early radar and television systems) and Thomson-Brandt (an electronics business). Its earliest incarnation, Thomson-CSF, was as a power generator and transmitter. In the 1970s, the company focused on silicon semiconductors and medical imaging systems. By the 1980s, it shifted its industry focus onto electronics. In the 1990s, it adopted a policy of pushing external growth, making many, mostly Europe-based, acquisitions. Just before the turn of the century, things got complicated. The French government oversaw mergers of the electronics businesses of Alcatel, Dassault lectronique and Thomson-CSF, and of the satellite businesses of Alcatel, Aerospatiale and ThomsonCSF. This put the majority of Thomson-CSF into private ownership, and gave it the capital injection it needed to expand worldwide, gaining footholds in South Africa, Australia, South Korea and Singapore. The name Thales was adopted in late 2000.
New adventures
Following September 11, 2001, Thales beefed up its focus on technologically advanced defence products. It pursued what it calls its multi-domestic development policy, acquiring control of various global defence and aerospace subsidiaries. In 2007, Thales bought 25 percent of French naval company Direction des Constructions Navales Services, a move which will boost its investment resources for naval intelligence systems. And as of 2007, Thales UK is Britains second-largest defence contractor.
The Alcatel connection

Thales is part-owned by telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent, who has a 20.9 percent stake, and the French state, who lays claim to 27.2 percent. The rest of the company is publicly owned. Alcatel-Lucents involvement in the company stretches to more than just shareholding it also shares its telecoms technology research with Thales. To this end, the two companies opened a joint research laboratory, the AlcatelThales III-V Lab, on the cole Polytechnique campus near Paris. Designed for up to 550 researchers to work in, and costing 60 million euros, the centre focuses on software engineering and the somewhat esoteric fields (unless you work in them, of course) of optoelectronic and microelectronic components for use in telecommunications, defence, security and space. Thales research and development pursuits receive an annual investment of 2.2 billion euros and develop approximately 300 inventions per year. Thales research and development has 15,000 patents to its name and more than 30 co-operation agreements with universities and public research laboratories in Europe, the US and Asia.
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GETTING HIRED
Come on in
Unsurprisingly, Thales workforce is highly skilled 60 percent are engineers. So while it hires across the usual range of corporate careers, such as management, customer support, finance, HR, legal and communications, it comes into its own for those who are looking for careers in systems engineering. To find out more about all careers offered by the company, visit: www.thalesgroup.com/careers. Job opportunities with Thales can be perused by clicking the job opportunities link on the main careers page. The job search box allows for opportunities to be narrowed down in a number of ways: country of operation, region, specific site, divisions, activities, professions, contracts (this is where you can search for internships), or by years of professional experience. Thales emphasises its commitment to helping its employees move between career paths. Actively encouraging such movement, it produces the itinerary guide which shows its employees how to move between different professions for example, between sales and management. The company has a huge variety of jobs available, especially in research and development and systems engineering. It supports employees in moving between jobs where skillsets overlap. Further details are available on the itinerary download from Thales careers website, where all company jobs, and how to move between them, are described. Thales also offers many different training courses at its Thales Universit, which has sites in France, the UK and the Netherlands, to assist its employees with career development. Thales offers the possibility of doing a PhD in conjunction with its research teams in France, the UK, The Netherlands and Spain. The company asks interested students to apply online with a CV. Thales works with researchers in the following areas: complex systems engineering, information processing and fusion, computer architecture and software development environments, internet security, application of computer modelling, simulation and signal processing systems, and microwave and photonics components and systems development. To find out more, visit www.research.thalesgroup.com.
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Following September 11, 2001, Thales beefed up its focus on technologically advanced defence products. The company crows that there is no downtime when it comes to security, ominously declaring security and safety systems are no longer options: they make up the backbone of our infrastructures.
TOTAL S.A.
Head Office 2 place de la Coupole La Dfense 6 92400 Courbevoie France Tel: +33 1 47 44 45 46 www.total.com
French Locations
Paris La Dfense (HQ) Amilly Beauvais Chateaudun Chateau-Gontier Dijon Donges Dunkerque Etrepagny Gif-surYvette Gonfreville-lOrcher GrandQuevilly Grandpuits Harfleur Le Havre Lacq La Tour de Salvagny Liancourt Lyon Mardyck Montargis Mourenx Nanterre Neuilly sur Seine Pau Le Peq Rouen St Etienne St-Ouen LAumone St Priest Strasbourg Verneil en Halatte
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: FP (Euronext), TOT (NYSE) Chairman: Thierry Desmarest 2007 Revenue: 158.8bn 2006 Revenue: 153.8bn 2007 Employees: 96,400 2006 Employees: 95,000 No. of Offices: Present in 130 countries
European Locations
Austria Belgium Czech Republic Denmark Germany Greece Hungary Italy Luxembourg The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom
Divisions
Scientific Division Upstream Exploration and Production Gas and Power Downstream Refining and Marketing Trading and Shipping Chemicals
Employment Contact:
www.careers.total.com
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career library
THE SCOOP
ulti-billion dollar energy conglomerates like Total, the world's fourth-largest oil and gas company, hold the key to whether or not well be living by candlelight and travelling on horseback in the coming decades. So with almost a century of experience under its belt, its worth giving a few thoughts to its future strategies. Such companies face two main challenges: having to diversify into sustainable energy technologies, and stakeholder pressure to continually improve profit margins. Total has declared its commitment to both. In fact, you could say its totally committed.
Total S.A.
This French company was founded in 1924 as CFP Compagnie Francaise des Ptroles. A producing field was discovered near Kirkuk in Iraq by the Iraq Petroleum Company in 1927, and T o t a l w a s o n e o f i t s original shareholders. In 1929, the company was listed on the Paris Bourse and in Total was founded in 1924 and 1933 it opened a refinery in 1929, the company was at Gonfreville, not far listed on the Paris Bourse. from the coastal town of Le Havre in northwest France. The 1930s also saw Total branch out its Middle East explorations to Dubai. The name Total was given to all company activities in 1954, and this change in branding accompanied expansion into new distribution markets, furthering its global reach.
Hungry for oil

The 20th century has seen the Total empire steadily expand and increase its access to oil and gas fields worldwide. The Sahara proved to be a major resource for the group when it discovered oil and gas fields in Algeria in 1956. In 1991, it listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and in late 1998/early 1999, it bought 94.3 percent of Belgian oil company Petrofina in a share swap deal. This turned TotalFina into the sixth largest oil company in the world and the third largest in Europe. It also allowed it to expand into further deep offshore exploration in locations such as Angola and the US. Another merger followed hot on its heels in 2000, Total merged with French oil company Elf Aquitaine to create TotalFinaElf, one of the few genuine behemoths in the global energy industry. Total now flaunts an impressive set of statistics, including the second largest market capitalisation on the Paris Bourse and in the Eurozone (136.1 billion euros at December 2007), approximately 570,000 French individual shareholders, and 2007 sales of 158.5 billion euros. Totals main activities divide into three segments Upstream, Downstream and Chemicals. Upstream covers the exploration and production of oil and gas. In 2007,
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its average daily production of hydrocarbons was 2.39 million barrels of oil. The company has set itself the target of increasing production of hydrocarbons by more than five percent per year from 2006-2010. Downstream covers refining, marketing, trading and shipping, while Chemicals includes the production of base chemicals (petrochemicals and fertilisers) for industry and the consumer market. The departments providing support for these energy teams are ethics, legal, strategy and risk assessment, insurance, finance, human resources and corporate communications.
Digging deep
In recent years, like all major oil and gas companies, Total has been pawing every untouched corner of the earth hoping to alight upon more of natures bounty. It has also been consolidating in the resource-rich countries where it has had a presence for years, particularly Nigeria, Angola, Libya, Algeria and Norway. The Congo is a perfect example that shows how Total has expanded its business operations over the decades, balancing growth with social responsibility. The company has been operating there since 1928, when the French discovered that underneath the countrys tropical rainforests and wooded savannas lay substantial mineral resources just waiting to be mined. Recently, Totals funds and knowledge have been funnelled into groundbreaking "frontier technology" to make the most of the Congos deepwater and ultradeepwater resources. In 2008, the company is mining at unprecedented water depths of 2,000 metres below sea level at the offshore Mer Trs Profonde Sud location. Similar operations are taking place in other areas that are just as well-endowed, including Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon and onshore in Mauritania.
The profitable is political

Respecting people and the environment is an absolute priority for Total. As Totals Community Initiatives and Local Development report says, as a major economic player, Total has special responsibilities. The group anchors local development issues in three key commitments: developing the local production base, tailoring and formalising its community involvement and contributing to the development of local communities. In the Congo, for example, the recruitment of locals is aimed for wherever possible, with safety training for employees high on Totals list of priorities. Also in the Congo, the group contributes to education funding, aiming to expand its offers of scientific and technical training options available for native Congolese in order to train up future engineers. Totals involvement extends to investing in sustainable microprojects in Djeno, a village near one of its oil terminals. Community dialogue and villager participation underscore these projects.
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On the scientific front, one of Totals explicit priorities is to step up the development of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), an energy source that is less polluting and more easily transported than uncondensed natural gas. The French giant is also investing heavily in renewable resources including biomass (plant matter and biodegradable waste used as fuel), photovoltaic solar energy (using solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity) and wind and water energy.
Total S.A.
GETTING HIRED
Bringing in talent
Total has an exciting range of careers on offer to all nationalities. All the jobs it hires for are listed on its websites careers page, www.careers.total.com. Approximately 4,000 subsidised internships and sandwich placements are offered each year to anyone with two or more years of higher education. Internship details are listed in French on the careers website. The company has no traditional graduate trainee scheme, but it is always actively recruiting. Totals careers pages list all opportunities at the time of writing, there were 645 openings available. While engineering and IT boffins will find numerous positions available, Total also has many opportunities for non-graduates and nonscientists, particularly in finance and sales. The group also offers approximately 100 Volunteer for International Experience and 20 Volunteer for International Scientific Experience schemes, open to EU citizens aged 1828. These positions can place you in any of Totals worldwide offices. Despite their title, these are not voluntary but paid schemes, lasting from six months to two years. Through them you can gain experience in a range of areas, including geosciences, drilling, processes, operations, research and development, finance or human resources. You also get a chance to obtain a permanent position at the firm.
Whats the drill?

The V.I.S. scheme differs from the V.I.E. scheme in that you work on one of Totals research projects. These are jointly conducted by its research and development centres in Europe, North America and Japan, along with university research teams worldwide. The duration of this scheme is 16 months. Total also welcomes unsolicited applications you need to create an account on the Total careers website in order to make unsolicited applications online. Your account can also be used for applying to other suitable jobs the energy powerhouse may offer in the future.
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THYSSENKRUPP
August-Thyssen-Strae 1 D-40211 Dsseldorf Germany Tel: +49 211 824 0 www.thyssenkrupp.com
German Locations
Dsseldorf (HQ) Bochum Dortmund Duisberg Hamburg
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: TKA (Frankfurt) Chief Executive: Ekkehard Schulz 2007 Revenue: 51.7bn (FYE: 09/07) 2006 Revenue: 47.1bn 2007 Employees: 191,350 2006 Employees: 187,586 No. of Offices: numerous locations throghout Germany
European Locations
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Finland France Denmark Greece Hungary Italy Ireland Liechtenstein Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands United Kingdom

Elevator Stainless Steel Technologies www.thyssenkrupp.com (Click on "Career")
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THE SCOOP
Thyssenkrupp
ne of the giants of global industry, ThyssenKrupp is both a family company and a sprawling conglomerate. Its longtime chief executive, Ekkehard Schulz, once described it as halfway between a family company and a listed one. While its main business has been, since the 19th century, steelmaking, a closer look at the German group will reveal that approximately only a third of its revenues come from steel production. The rest comes from its other businesses, which include making car parts, ships and elevators. With 2007 sales of 51.7 billion euros, up ten percent from 2006, and more than 190,000 employees in steelmaking, stainless steel production, capital goods production such as car and manufacturing plant parts elevator making and industrial services provision, ThyssenKrupp can rightly be considered a towering presence in the industrial world.
Men of steel
ThyssenKrupp has a strong presence in every major continent, but a large proportion of its employees remain in Germany in 2006/7, almost 85,000 of its 190,000 employees were based in the steel titans home country, the majority of them in Duisburg, Bochum, Dortmund, Dsseldorf and Hamburg. The companys origins date back to 1811, when Friedrich Krupp established a cast steel making factory in the German town of Essen. By 1847, this company, Krupp, provided transport companies with the equipment to build railways. Friedrich Krupp bought up iron ore mines and coal deposits all over the German countryside and established a shipping company in Rotterdam in 1873 to prompt overseas trade. As Krupp expanded, some 20 years later, August Thyssen, a smelter based near Duisburg, set up an iron and steel mill. Thyssen was to become a leader in iron and steel production, and by 1913, Thyssens company was outranked in domestic production only by Krupp. It would take until 1999 before these two rivals would unite.
What is war good for?

Already established as the 20th century kicked in, the World Wars saw Krupp and Thyssen turn to defence. In 1913, Thyssen started producing armaments such as artillery shells, and Krupp made guns for World War I, increasing its production to more than five-fold its pre-war level. Eventually, politics got the better of both companies. Fritz Thyssen, who was the chairman of what was, at that point, named Vereinigte Stahlwerke AG, tried to escape to Argentina rather than support the Third
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Reich. His assets were confiscated by the state, and it was only in 1952 that August Thyssen-Htte AG, a new company, was able to be formed and the company again found its feet in the modern world. Krupps wartime fortunes were similar, with its production strategies orchestrated to suit National Socialist economic and military needs. In 1945, after most of Krupps plants had been severely damaged in the war, Alfried Krupp was taken into custody by the US and in 1948 was sentenced to a military tribunal, but released soon after. It was in 1953 that Krupp was able to successfully resume normal service.
Strong as iron ore

Post-war, both steelmakers went from strength to strength. The united global giant of today has its foundations in each individual firms astute expansion strategies throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Both A large proportion of companies did their best ThyssenKrupps employees to broaden their product remain in Germany range. In 1957, for example, Thyssen took a majority stake in Deutsche Edelstahlwerke AG, the largest stainless steel maker in Germany at the time. Krupp focused on expanding its plant engineering and mechanical engineering resources, and the 1970s was a heyday in this respect, as the company acquired numerous plants and factories throughout Germany. In 1974, 25.01 percent of the capital stock of Krupp was bought by the state of Iran, increasing its value significantly.
Going up
The final decades of the 20th century saw both Thyssen and Krupp diversify into more specialist areas of production. In the 1990s, for example, Thyssen took a step up into the elevators market, buying Dover Elevators (USA), a market leader in hydraulic elevators in the US, in 1998. Then, after dancing side by side for more than hundred years, the union of these two German goliaths finally came in March 1999, after a co-operation agreement between the two, over the production of flat steel, was resoundingly successful. The merger instigated an ambitious restructuring programme, focusing the new group around five core activities: steel, automotive, industries, engineering and materials & services. Streamlined and consolidated, expansion became key. The ber-group bought the Raymond steel plant in India for 4.12 billion rupees, marking its entry into Indias growing cold-rolled and electrical steel market. It also took on a Chinese joint venture, in 2001, with a new stainless steel plant in Shanghai. This venture had actually started in 1999 and had become fully fledged in 2001 as Shanghai Krupp Stainless Co, and
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included a 40 percent stake owned by the Shanghai Baosteel group, one of Chinas largest specialist steel manufacturers. At that point, China was having to import 70 percent of its flat-rolled stainless steel, so the new plant, with an annual capacity by 2005 of 268,000 tons, was well poised for success. While 36 percent of the groups sales come from its home country, the 21st century has seen ThyssenKrupp continue to expand, opening up more projects in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. While in 2006, the group missed out on the acquisition of Canadas Dofasco, a steel company, which Luxembourgian steel group ArcelorMittal won instead, ThyssenKrupp had things going on elsewhere. Just one example happened in May 2007, when Uhde, a technology company within ThyssenKrupp Groups Technologies segment, struck a deal with the Egyptian Agrium Nitrogen Products Co. to build a fertiliser complex consisting of two ammonia plants and two urea plants, costing approximately 1.2 billion dollars. The plant is scheduled for completion in 2010. In October 2007, the group repeated the trick by securing a deal to supply engineering and supply services for a similar plant in Saudi Arabia. Other work includes a biodiesel plant complex in Krabi, Thailand, which will produce biodisel and fatty alcohol from palm oil, and the installation of 318 elevators, escalators and moving walkways in Beijing and Quingdao for the 2008 Olympic Games in China.
Thyssenkrupp
GETTING HIRED
Test your metal
The group is well placed to offer opportunities in a variety of technical and technological fields to students of different ages. It is a great place to learn a trade in 2007, it counted approximately 4,290 trainees in Germany, working as, for example, draftsmen, IT systems engineers, laboratory assistants and foundry technicans. Large numbers of trainees are also taken on, with 1,171 places given in 2006/2007 at ThyssenKrupps 38 apprentice training shops and 95 specialised training centres throughout Germany. Vocational training is best applied for by contacting the relevant subsidiary directly.
Steel your nerves

ThyssenKrupps individual subsidiaries offer technically-oriented and commerciallyoriented internships for higher education students. There is no central placement
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scheme, and conditions such as pay vary from subsidiary to subsidiary, so applications should be made directly to the one you wish to work for. All contact details are on the ThyssenKrupp careers site under Jobs. Foreign internships should also be applied to directly at the relevant subsidiary, and a good command of the language of your host country is necessary. As far as dissertations go, ThyssenKrupp does provide support with dissertations in subjects that complement the groups many activities. No central database exists, so applying to the subsidiary of your choice is the most direct way to find out whether you can be accepted to work there as a dissertation candidate. Finally, both the group and its subsidiaries offer 12-month graduate trainee programmes. The main groups programme focuses on gaining experience in one main department or operation, though there are opportunities to branch out elsewhere. The group believes in giving trainees as deep an insight as possible and training programmes are tailored to individuals, so the time spent in them varies. The group aims to provide trainees with permanent employment after the programme, and approximately 300 graduates are recruited yearly usually, 25 percent economics grads and 75 percent engineering grads. Bear in mind that applying to work with ThyssenKrupp in Germany requires fluent German.
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VINCI
1 Cours Ferdinand-de-Lesseps 92500 Rueil-Malmaison France Tel: +33 1 47 16 35 00 www.vinci.com
French Locations
Rueil-Malmaison (HQ) Alsace Aquitaine Brittany Burgundy High-Normandy Island-ofFrance Languedoc-Roussillon Lorraine Low-Normandy Mayotte The Midi-Pyrnes North-Pas-deCalais Pays de la Loire PoitouCharentes Provence-Alpes-Cte dAzur Rhne-Alpes
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: DG (Euronext) Managing Director: Yves-Thibault de Silguy 2007 Revenue: 30.4bn (FYE:12/07) 2006 Revenue: 26bn 2007 Employees: 142,500 2006 Employees: 128,433 No. of Offices: more than 100
European Locations
Albania Austria Belgium Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Finland Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Monaco Norway Poland Portuga Romania Russian Federation Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland The Netherlands Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
Divisions
Eurovia Vinci Concessions Vinci Construction Vinci Energies
Employment Contact
Careers website: www.vinci.com/vinci.nsf/en/ careers.htm
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THE SCOOP
inci is a French company with its roots in the 19th century, albeit only just. Founded in 1899 by engineers Alexandre Giros and Louis Loucheur, a century later the company occupies the impressive position of being the largest construction group worldwide. With 142,500 employees as of December 2007, Vinci finances, designs, builds and manages infrastructure for everyday use, from motorways, airports and car parks to schools, hospitals, housing and offices.
VINCI
Grand designs
The huge Vinci Group is divided into four companies. Vinci Concessions focuses on the design, engineering and construction of transport infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels and airports, usually through contracts and public-private partnerships. Vinci Energies implements the design, engineering, operation Vinci emerged through a and maintenance of IT complex history of mergers interfaces and energy and acquisitions infrastructure Europewide. Eurovia is the Groups road and motorway building and maintenance wing. It carries out urban, industrial and retail development projects and is one of Europes major roadworkmaterials producers, with 210 quarries, 445 production plants and 134 recycling units to its name. Finally, Vinci Construction is probably at the heart of the companys work, bringing the companys building, civic and hydraulic engineering knowledge together with its technical know-how. Responsible for most of the groups large-scale projects, Vinci Construction has a strong global presence, particularly in Europe and Africa. Vincis current structure emerged through a complex history of mergers and acquisitions. Some of the companies it has now integrated have origins that stretch back further into French history than Vinci itself. For example, Mors, an electricity installations company which since 1984 has formed part of Vincis energy and information division, Vinci Energies, was founded in 1851. Sainrapt et Brice, a construction firm that since 1981 has been under the wing of Vinci Construction, was created in 1852. Overall, Vinci Group consists of 40 companies in 100 countries worldwide.
Deconstruct this!
Vincis most prominent division, Vinci Construction, is the biggest contributor to Vincis revenue, with 2007 net sales figures of 13.65 billion euros, and it is the French market leader in construction. This construction colossus came into existence through
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the 2007 merger of Vincis two main construction businesses, Sogea Construction and GTM Construction. With a presence in mainland France consisting of 370 centres dotted throughout the country, and a network of international subsidiaries, Vinci Construction is the strong foundation of the group pun intended. Vinci Construction Grands Projects is the companys well-respected international construction arm which works on major projects worldwide. These include the Naga Hammadi Dam in Egypts Nile Delta, a towering white dam which has occupied Vincis engineers since 2002. It is one of nine dams that the company has constructed worldwide since its inception, and just one instance of the range of projects undertaken. Other examples include hotels in Bratislava, Prague and Hanoi, the "Granja Julieta" and "Morumbi" stations on the So Paulo Metro and airport terminals in Karachi and Casablanca.
Making major concessions

Vincis involvement in the built landscape extends to the roads we take to get to the buildings the company has constructed. As of 2007, the Vinci Concessions division, which manages outsourced infrastructure, had concessions on 4,300 kilometres of roads and motorways in France, 550 domestic car parks, and joint management of two domestic airports, Grenoble-Isre and Chambry-Savoie. Globally, the division also oversees some important infrastructure projects, including the busy SR91 express lanes in Los Angeles, the bridge across the Severn River between England and Wales and the Siem Reap and Phnom Penh airports in Cambodia. It is also under contract to run the Stade de France, the 80,000 seat stadium created in 1998 for Frances Football World Cup, until 2025.
Energise me!
The companys energy division has its fingers in several pies from power supply networks to transport information systems, from mechanical engineering for industry to climate engineering provision for the service sector. The way Vinci manages to provide expertise in such a wide range of energy-related fields is through decentralisation. Its six energy brands, Actemium, Axians, Citos, Graniou, Omexom and Opteor, work autonomously to a large extent. Each has its own website (including recruitment portal), and together they comprise a total workforce of 27,000 people, employed at offices across 20 countries.
King of the (concrete) jungle

The man overseeing this huge conglomerate is Yves-Thibault de Silguy, a lawyer by training and a former economics advisor to the French government. Having served
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VINCI
on the European Commission with a responsibility for economic, monetary and financial affairs, de Silguy was chief executive of French energy giant Suez before moving to Vinci in 2006. He headed the companys bid to increase its revenues to 30 billion euros by 2009. Figures shot ahead of target in 2007, when the groups net sales figures hit 30.42 billion euros.
Building relationships
The companys emphasis is not only on financial targets. It claims to be primarily motivated by making sure its employees are satisfied and feeling challenged by their jobs. To this end, its human resources division ran an advertising campaign in the French press and television with the slogan: Real success is the success you share. Two of its key initiatives in achieving this vision are first, to hire and train people up, particularly those without qualifications, and offer them long-term contracts; and secondly, to encourage employees to become company shareholders. By the end of 2006, 62,000 Vinci employees owned 8.4 percent of the groups capital. Share options are not a bad idea given Vincis impressive progress, with returns approximating 28 percent annually since the turn of the millennium.
GETTING HIRED
Joining the Vinci crew
Vinci operate so many companies that a potential employee could be forgiven for initially not knowing where to begin. Fortunately, its easy, as all recruitment questions start at the same place Vincis careers portal: www.vinci.com/vinci.nsf/en/careers.htm. This site is primarily dedicated to careers with Vinci in France and it is in French, so advanced or fluent French language skills are needed to navigate it. Beyond this, the recruitment process is decentralised, so your first decision would be which Vinci subsidiary company you wish to work for. The next step is to go to that companys recruitment website to review its job opportunities.
Enter the labyrinth

Vinci offers numerous internships and job contracts available for those whose education and work experience profiles match the job criteria. The company emphasises its willingness to take on applicants with varying levels of experience and education, and the importance of giving relevant training to all. Masonry and construction diplomas can be obtained whilst working at Vinci, for example. Some of the jobs youll see offered throughout all the groups subsidiary companies are
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construction manager, materials engineers, project manager, financial and legal work and technical officer, along with plenty more. There is no graduate scheme at Vinci as such, but all employees, graduates and nongraduates alike, are given appropriate training when they arrive and throughout their career with the company. All new employees take part in Welcome to Vinci days which are dedicated to discovering the group in-depth. Training for specific professions includes company schemes such as the provision of management skills seminars at lAcadmie Vinci for management trainees. For more details on what training is available, visit the subsidiary website for which you are interested in working.
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VOLKSWAGEN GROUP
Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft VHH 11. floor P.O. Box 1849 D-38436 Wolfsburg Germany Tel: +49 5361 986 622 www.volkswagen.com
German Locations
Wolfsberg (HQ) Berlin Dingolfing Eisenach Landshut Leipzig Munich Regensburg Steyr Wackersdorf
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: VW (Frankfurt, Berlin, Bremen, Dsseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Xetra, SWX Swiss Exchange, LSE, Luxembourg, TSE). Chairman: Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn 2007 Revenue: 108.9bn 2006 Revenue: 104.8bn 2007 Employees: 329,305 2006 Employees: 324,875 No. of Offices: Locations in 150 countries
European Locations
Germany Italy Spain United Kingdom
Employment Contact
www.vw-personal.de
Divisions
Automotive Financial Services
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THE SCOOP
he worlds fourth-largest car manufacturer, after Japans Toyota and the American manufacturing giants General Motors and Ford, Volkswagen AG is based in Wolfsburg, Germany and has an undeniably impressive global footprint. In 2007, the group had a 9.8 percent international market share, rolling out 6.2 million vehicles, a considerable increase on its 2006 total of 5.7 million vehicles. The German carmakers success may have something to do with both design and reputation. You know what youre getting with a Volkswagen if you want a safe, sturdy car that will get you where you need to go, this is the company that makes them.
Volkswagen Group
Getting in with the Volk

As of 2008, the Volkswagen group consists of 175 group companies, operating 48 production plants in thirteen European countries and a further six countries in the Americas, Asia and Africa. In total, worldwide, more In Brazil, Russia, India and than 329,305 employees China, the thirst for produce close to 25,400 mobility is enormous vehicles which are sold in more than 150 countries. The groups impressive 2007 revenue was 108.9 million euros, which was a slight increase on 2006s turnover of 104.9 million euros. What makes a Volkswagen car? More than just the sturdy design youd instantly associate with the company. The Volkswagen group actually comprises six main brands: Volkswagen Passenger Cars, Audi, Skoda, SEAT, Bentley and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Volkswagen group is more than just car manufacturing, though. Alongside the car brands, the groups financial services division consists of a variety of services, from dealer and customer financing to leasing, banking and insurance activities and fleet management.
Utilitarianism or flower power?

Volkswagen literally means the peoples car when translated from German, and the carmaker is still considered cool by its young fans. Few people would dispute that the popularity of Volkswagens iconic Beetle model car in the 1960s and 1970s firmly cemented the German carmakers place in popular culture and in design history. What the Mini was to Britain in the 1960s, it can be said the Volkswagen Beetle was to the rest of the world a compact and economic car with mass appeal.
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The success of the Volkswagen brand and its designs over the decades has enabled VW to transcend the car-buying masses (hence, being the peoples car) to being a more quality mid-range carmaker. Notably, the Volkswagen Group purchased the fellow German luxury car brand Audi from competing German car manufacturer Daimler-Benz, makers of the Mercedes-Benz, in 1964, perhaps influencing VW towards a more high-end direction many of the Audi engines, and much of its engineering, is used across VW vehicles.
Boom in the USA

The popularity of VW vehicles in the US and Canada throughout the decades has steadily grown. Despite enormous competition from US and Japanese carmakers in the worlds largest car market, VW has always done well in the US. In 1988, thanks to the introduction of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) between the US, Canada and Mexico, VW was able to transfer much of its North American car manufacturing operations to Mexico, where it has since benefited from lower labour costs and the economic benefits of free trade across the borders of its biggest market.
Gearing up for more

Not content with having a high proportion of the global market, Volkswagen has its eye on the top spot. Calling itself the worlds most fascinating car manufacturer, Volkswagens chief executive Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, previously chairman of Audi, also has as a 2008 goal the domination of the car market. In the groups 2007 Annual Report he stated Volkswagen would be rolling out 20 new models within 36 months. Of particular interest to the company are SUVs, pick-up trucks and vans, with Volkswagen intensifying its manufacturing of these vehicles over the coming years. The group expects that demand will predominantly come from countries that are on the up such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, where Winterkorn says the thirst for mobility is enormous.
Breaking the (Volkswagen) Law

Volkswagen has had to deal with a few bumps in the road lately. A 50-year old law called the Volkswagen Law, created soon after the end of World War II, forbids any takeovers of the VW Group. Porsche, a shareholder of VW with a 31 percent stake in it, fought this law through much of 2007 and in October 2007, it was overturned by the European Court of Justice. It was decided by the ECJ that the law restricted the free flow of capital in Europe. The German government, however, has refused to revoke it, and the German state of Lower Saxony wanted to salvage a provision in it that gives it a blocking vote to protect workers from layoffs. With Germany having offered a new draft of the law in January 2008, the battle continues into late 2008,
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especially as Germanys new law still allows Lower Saxony to block a takeover. Volkswagen has more than 80,000 employees in the region, so however frustrating it might be for Porsche, the Volkswagen Law is hardly illogical.
Volkswagen Group
Journey to the East

VW is, like the rest of the industrial world, turning to Asia both for sales and manufacturing. The plan is to match the returns achieved here already by main competitors, the Japanese carmakers Toyota and Honda. In 2008 in India, where Volkswagens passenger car sales increased by 16 percent from 2006 to 2007, Volkswagen is focusing on launching more cars on the burgeoning market. The group is also opening new plants, such as one in Pune in western India, which will open in late 2008. According to reports, Volkswagen is hoping to garner at least a ten percent market share in India by 2015. The company is known for its ability to make cars that suit the preferences, tastes and price ranges of buyers in a wide variety of markets and it has no qualms about testing products in India in order to find the perfect fit for the countrys huge market.
VW goes eco-friendly
Volkswagen is considering how to combine and direct its technological developments to meet environmental concerns. As of 2008, it has the lightweight Volkswagen Polo that uses diesel technology and better tires to provide better fuel economy. Numerous other initiatives are underway too the company is investing in second generation biofuels and in alternative drivetrain technologies, such as hybrid engines, fuel cells or plug-in electric systems. The company has also introduced the up! concept car, which it touts as reviving the Beetle legend the car is a compact, zero-emission van which harnesses sun energy through solar panels in its roof and is powered by electricity or a hightemperature fuel cell. Expect more such clever inventions to come hot on the heels of this in the near future.
GETTING HIRED
Whether youre a student, just about to graduate from university or have some professional work experience, Volkswagen offers a vast range of career opportunities throughout Germany and the rest of the world. Jobs at the company are divided by brands, regions and divisions, so you need to decide exactly where you want to work. At Volkswagen AG, the companys central unit, you can explore a dedicated human resources website and look at specific opportunities for trainees, students, graduates and expert professionals.
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Workin for the wagen

For students, Volkswagen offers internships lasting between six and eight weeks but occasionally the company offers longer ones, to last between 12 weeks and six months. You need to check the Volkswagen AG human resources website for further details. German fluency is expected and applications can be made online three to six months before you want to start working. Your application should express your motivation and expectations of the internship and why you want to work in whichever department you pick. You can do an internship abroad too and there are downloads available on Volkswagens website explaining how to intern outside Germany for the company. Special arrangements can be made for PhD students, who need to make an online application detailing their PhD research interests. For graduates of universities, business schools and professional schools, Volkswagen offers a top-notch training programme. The departments it recruits for are: research and development, production and logistics, sales and marketing, organisation and systems, press and communications, procurement, quality assurance, human resources, controlling, or finance and investor relations and law. In terms of your academic background, the mammoth corporation is fairly open. While engineers, especially those trained in mechanical, automotive and electrical engineering, will find a wealth of opportunities, those with more diverse backgrounds will find just as many interesting career paths at Volkswagen. The company also does enormous amounts of training and offers huge support with professional development.
STiP up to it
Another possibility for wannabe Volkswagen recruits is the StiP scheme, which integrates practical studies with work experience at the company. If you are studying any of the following: business administration, economic sciences, electrical engineering, vehicle structure development, computer science, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, material sciences, logistics or economic engineering, this scheme might suit you perfectly. The scheme offers the chance to work towards your degree whilst gaining a certificate of proficiency in a practical skill. To apply for it, you need to be interested in technology and cars, have good grades and speak excellent German. Applications can be made online see Volkswagens human resources website for further details.
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Volkswagen has introduced the up! concept car, which revives the Beetle legend. This car is a compact, zeroemission van which harnesses sun energy through solar panels in its roof and is powered by electricity.
VOLVO GROUP
SE-405 08 Gothenburg Sweden Tel: +46 31 66 00 00 www.volvo.com
Locations in Europe
Gothenburg (HQ) Austria Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Malta The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Serbia-Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Spain Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
The Stats
Employer Type: Public Ticker Symbol: VOLV B (OMX Nordic Exchange) Chief Executive: Leif Johansson 2007 Revenue: 28.54bn SEK 2006 Revenue: 25.88bn SEK 2007 Employees: 100,698 2006 Employees: 83,187 No. of Offices: n/a
Employment Contact
www.volvo.com/group (Click on "Careers")
Divisions
Mack Trucks Nissan Diesel Renault Trucks Volvo: 3P Volvo Aero Buses Business services Construction equipment Financial services Group real estate Information technology Logistics Parts Penta Powertrain Technology Technology transfer Treasury Trucks
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career library
THE SCOOP
emember that scene in the 1990 Dudley Moore film Crazy People, where the psychiatric-patients-turned-advertising-executives come up with the slogan Volvo: boxy but good? Puns aside, it generally isnt for their design that Volvo cars are most appreciated. If anything, Volvo is synonymous with reliability. In this respect, the Swedish group reflects its product, with a solid position in the global automotive market and steady sales in recent years. In 2007, Volvos sales rose by ten percent from 2006.
Volvo Group
High roller
As of mid-2008, Volvo (which means I roll in Latin), operates in 185 countries, has production facilities in 19 countries, and employs over 100,000 people. The company is a leading manufacturer of trucks, buses and construction equipment as well as marine equipment (Volvo Penta), aircraft (Volvo Aero), and engines for use in industry. The group spent the 20th century developing from a small local industry into one of the worlds largest manufacturers. Since the companys best known business, automobile making, was sold to USbased automobile maker Ford Motor Company in 1999 for 6.45 billion US dollars, Volvo has turned its full focus onto its remaining units, particularly its trucks division. Volvo Trucks is the second-placed truck manufacturer both in Europe and globally.
On a roll for 80 years

The Volvo Groups origins go back to 1927, when its first car rolled off the production line at the first Volvo factory on the island of Hisingen, in Gothenburg. The global car market boomed as the 20th century got underway and Volvo confirmed its status in the prestige market with its 700 series of cars. Introduced in 1982, the 740 and 760, with aesthetics that updated Volvos traditionally severe, if solid, box-shaped cars, captured the public imagination. In 2000, the company proceeded with several large structural shifts. It set up a financial services division with the intention of providing its clients with customer financing and insurance services. In 2001, Volvo then invested some of the proceeds from its pre-millennial divestment of its car division to Ford Motor Company, into its truck manufacturing business. The Swedish group also acquired the US-based Mack Trucks and French firm Renault Trucks in a deal worth 1.6 billion dollars. This move made Volvo the biggest global producer by sales of heavy-duty diesel engines.
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Constructing an industry
Aside from its sturdy interest in trucks, Volvo is the second biggest manufacturer of buses worldwide, and a big parts supplier for the construction industry, by way of its production of excavators, on-site trucks and crane trucks. The company also considers itself to have set a benchmark in the naval and industrial fields due to the quality of its engines, ranging from generators to train propulsion systems. When it comes to expansion, in 2007, Volvo set its sights on Japan, acquiring Nissan Motors truck division Nissan Diesel. This gives it an excellent platform for growth in the Asian region.
Volvo gets its wings

As if its domination of the heavy vehicles world wasnt complete, the group is also a big player in the aeronautics domain. An estimated 80 percent of the aircraft in circulation as of 2008 have Volvo components (combustion chambers, for example) within them. Volvo also designs and builds aircraft for the Swedish Air Force.
Roll over credits

As of mid-2008, Volvo kept rolling forward successfully, mostly and possibly predictably towards the east. As part of the companys strategy for its Asian markets, in May 2008, the trucking giant signed an agreement with New Delhi based Eicher Motors Ltd. The deal saw Volvo buy 8.1 percent of Eicher Motors An estimated 80 percent of the for approximately 1.84 aircraft in circulation as of 2008 have billion kronor (198 million Volvo components within them. euros) in order to hold a 50 percent stake in a new joint venture, VE Commercial Vehicles. The venture operates all of Eicher Motors truck and bus operations, Volvos Indian truck sales business and its service network for trucks and buses. At the time of the deal, Volvo Trucks Asia chairman, Par Ostberg, told Indian business newspaper The Hindu that India was the fourth most important truck market worldwide. One of the companys primary strategies is to chase growth in its main markets, and it counts Asia among these, the other two being Europe and North America. The ambitious manufacturers focus on beefing up its Asian operations has proved astute, considering it has had to face lowered demands in the North American truck market in 2007 and 2008. The group also had to weather an internal crisis in February 2007, in which trade union United Auto Workers (UAW) called a strike in Volvos plant in the US state of Virginia that
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lasted almost two months. According to Volvo, the strike paralyzed production and caused 2007 earnings potential in that quarter to drop by as much as 250 million kronor. A new three year agreement with the workers was, however, reached by mid-March.
Volvo Group
Rolling in the green

As part of the companys green concerns, in April 2008 Volvo presented two trucks which operate on fuel-saving hybrid technology. These trucks combine traditional fuel sources with clean electric power. Estimated to use up to 20 percent less fuel, these green gods of the truck world are said to cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately the same amount. Reducing carbon emissions in its vehicles by 50 percent is one of the companys chief green goals, according to its 2007 Sustainability Report.
GETTING HIRED
Keeping you happy
During 2007, Volvos workforce shot up to more than 100,000 employees. The majority of these are based in Sweden, France and the US. According to the companys 2007 Sustainability Report, an impressive 86 percent of Volvos employees were satisfied with their careers in the company. Those interested in signing up to Volvo group or one of its subsidiaries should check out the groups careers link: www.volvo.com/group/global/en-gb/career.
Roll on board
Volvo is determined to have good collaboration and exchange relations with schools and universities. It offers a wide range of internship positions, thesis integration work and graduate programmes with an international reach. The websites careers section details the criteria needed to make an application as an intern or to do your thesis at Volvo, and the experience you will get. As far as graduate programmes go, there are several to pick from. The newest is the international graduate programme, which runs for 12 months including a three month stint abroad. Graduates are picked for a specific position in one of the groups companiesand the programme includes training sessions in Sweden, China and France. In order to apply, youll need fluent English and a bachelors or Masters degree in engineering science, computer science, business administration or logistics, along with a valid work permit to work where the programme will base you. Check the companys website for more details.
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Its other graduate training schemes are Volvo Aero, the Volvo construction equipment international graduate programme and the Volvo Trucks development programme. Volvo Aero recruits those with a Masters degree in engineering and a willingness to focus on aeronautical engineering. The Volvo construction equipment programme is a 14 month programme for graduates in commercial and technical fields such as finance, engineering, product development and who want a career in construction equipment engineering. Finally, more information on the Volvo Trucks development programme can be found on the companys website.
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ABOUT THE EDITOR

About the Editor
Eleanor Lee is an Associate Editor at Vault Europe. She has a first class BA in English Literature from Oxford and an MA in Political Theory from University College London.
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As a responsible publishing company, Vault works with printers who source materials from well managed sustainable forests. This helps protect our environment. We aim to grow our business while minimising our impact on the environment. We encourage our readers to download and read electronic versions of our guides available via our website www.vault.com. We are also proud to have installed the Vault Online Library at over 1,000 universities worldwide. With the Online Career Library, students are able to download electronic versions of our guides as part of their job search. This helps reduce the printing and shipping of our guides. By leveraging the latest technology, we aim to contribute responsibly to the world around us.
The Vault Europe Team

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THE VAULT GUIDE TO THE TOP ENGINEERING FIRMS

2009 European Edition

is made possible through the generous support of the following sponsors:

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The Vault Guide to the

Top Engineering Firms

2009 European Edition

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Top European Engineering Firms

ThyssenKrupp AG VINCI plc Volkswagen Volvo Group

About the Editor

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Top European Engineering Firms

A GUIDE TO THIS GUIDE

A Guide to this Guide

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Top European Engineering Firms

Eli Lee, Editor

THE STATE OF EUROPEAN ENGINEERING

On the bright side

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Combating the crunch

Top European Engineering Firms

The State of European Engineering

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Oil and gas: cyclical industries

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The State of European Engineering

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Top European Engineering Firms

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The Vault Guide to the

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Top European Engineering Firms

Back to the old school

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Back to the older school

Back to the future

The road to hell

Top European Engineering Firms Alcatel-Lucent

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More power to them

Faster than the speed of freight

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Do the locomotion with me?

Off the rails

Are you gonna go my way?

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Top European Engineering Firms

You cant always get what you want

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th! tru the dle th! tru