Mark A. Jurgens

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  www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=147163 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/12/2008    Last Visited: 11/12/2008  

  Paracon CEO Mark Jurgens said that while the nationwide skills shortage was a challenge for the company, it also offered opportunities. "Our established reputation and strong market positioning enable Paracon particularly to attract career-minded candidates, giving the group an advantage over competitors."
  
  The Resources division, which supplied permanent and contract staff, remained the most significant contributor to the results. Jurgens said the vendor-on-premise model had proven very successful by providing quality service on site, while entrenching Paracon's presence and enabling cross selling of services.
  
  Jurgens added that demand for skills continued to outstrip supply, with a large number of vacancies which still needed to be filled. "In addition, permanent placements are taking longer to close as clients are becoming more selective."
  
  The Business Solutions division also delivered robust performance during the year. Demand for project management solutions and testing services also boosted results. Jurgens noted that Paracon's black graduate programme had been so successful in providing new skills, that training had expanded from testing to other roles, including business analysts, project administrators, and software developers.
  
  Jurgens added that it was too early to comment on the effects the global financial crisis would have on the group. "From a skills perspective, we are insulated to a degree in South Africa. Skills released into the market, as a result of growth contracting in one sector, can quickly be redeployed into another sector in light of the scarcity of skills generally."
  
  Jurgens concluded that Paracon had a number of advantages that positioned the group to overcome adverse conditions in the year ahead.

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  www.crmz.com/Report/ReportPreview.asp?BusinessId=549306 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 6/15/2008    Last Visited: 6/15/2008  

  Mark A. Jurgens
  Chief Executive Officer, Director
  Paracon Holdings Limited

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  www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2007/0703051043.asp?A - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 3/5/2007    Last Visited: 3/7/2007  

  Paracon CEO Mark Jurgens says the skills shortage facing SA has less to do with low availability of skills in the marketplace and more with the availability of experienced skills.
  
  "The bigger problem is that companies are looking for candidates with experience, not graduates.While we are increasing the number of people entering IT-related training, we are still trying to overcome the years at the turn of the century where institutions slowed their intake of the newly-graduated," he says.

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  www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/listed-firm-paracon-t - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/11/2009    Last Visited: 5/12/2009  

  Speaking at the company's interim results presentation in Johannesburg, CEO Mark Jurgens said that the acquisition was an indication that Paracon was looking at the long-term viability of the market.
  
  Jurgens stated that although Paracon was paying more for the new business unit than the current market was trading at, he was confident that the acquisition would add "dramatic" value to the business, specifically in the public services sector.
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  Jurgens said that permanent placement had gone down to between 30% and 35% in the period under review, which also impacted negatively on the bottom line figures.
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  "Contracting solutions continue to generate sustainable annuity revenue and profit streams for the resourcing division, which is the key contributor to top and bottom line growth for the group," Jurgens said.
  
  He noted that clients were now taking longer to decide on placements. "A year ago, clients would have taken anyone to fill the positions, but now they are being a bit more selective and they are looking for more specific skills."
  
  However, he stated that clients could not hold off employing new staff or new product development for much longer.
  
  Jurgens said that the company was taking a conservative outlook for the remainder of the financial year to September 2009, as he anticipated continued challenging trading conditions. But, he was positive that the group would be able to maintain its performance in the downcycle and that it would be able to capitalise on an economic upturn in the future.

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  www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fArticleId=4706126&fSectionI - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 11/11/2008    Last Visited: 11/11/2008  

  Mark Jurgens, the chief executive, said that while the skills shortage was a challenge for Paracon, it also offered opportunities.

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  www.balancingact-africa.com/news/back/balancing-act_454 - [Cached Version]
  Last Visited: 9/12/2009  

  While admitting the next few months would be challenging, CEO Mark Jurgens said Paracon's business was solid, it was generating cash and was well-positioned to emerge from the downturn even stronger to face new opportunities.
  
  "As one of SA's leading specialist-generalist ICT (information and communication technology) resource providers for the private sector and government, Paracon remains well placed to take advantage of an upturn in demand," he said. "Overall the market is definitely tighter than previously," he said. "However, demand for ICT skills remains strong despite the economic downturn. In addition specific specialist ICT skills are still desperately needed but are not readily available in SA."
  
  In his review for the interim period, Jurgens said group turnover increased to R464,5m, up from R438,7m in the comparative period, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) fell 7% to R40,4m from R43,4m, mainly as a result of the lower contributions from its business solutions division.
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  In particular The Personnel Concept , which focuses on the placement of high-end financial services candidates, performed below expectations," Jurgens said. Overall this division's turnover increased 8% to R403,8m from R373,8m, and the decrease in permanent placement income affected Ebitda margins, with the division achieving Ebitda of R45,2m which was similar to the R45,1m recorded in the comparative period last year.
  
  He also said Paracon's clients had become conservative in recruiting staff and were reluctant to increase their staff complement in light of the tight economic conditions, he said. Jurgen admitted being disappointed with the performance of its two associate companies, Nihilent Technologies and Mondial IT Solutions.
  
  In particular, he said Nihilent suffered from weak trading conditions and although it managed to make an operating profit, it suffered from foreign exchange losses mainly as a result of volatile foreign exchange movements.

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  www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=117976 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 10/1/2007    Last Visited: 10/4/2007  

  CEO Mark Jurgens said that the acquisition was complementing the company's current service offering and that it would provide Paracon with access to a wider range of specialised skills.
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  "The market is buoyant and we are very pleased with the performance of all our divisions this past year," Jurgens said.

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  www.itweb.co.za/sections/financial/2007/0705071040.asp? - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/7/2007    Last Visited: 5/8/2007  

  CEO, Mark Jurgens, says organic growth accounted for a large portion of Paracon's success during the period.
  
  "Demand for IT specialists continues unabated across all industry sectors as a result of a thriving economy that is driving business development and expansion."
  
  Jurgens says Paracon's recent acquisition of The Personnel Concept and the group's 34.6% share in India-based Nihilent Technologies, contributed to results ahead of expectations.
  
  The company's two divisions, Paracon Resourcing and Paracon Business Solutions, reported turnover growth ahead of budget, with the resourcing business accounting for 88% of the group's turnover.

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  www.busrep.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=563&fArticleId=38 - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/7/2007    Last Visited: 5/7/2007  

  "Demand for IT specialists continues unabated across all industry sectors as a result of a thriving economy that is driving business development and expansion," said chief executive officer Mark Jurgens.
  
  He said Paracon's recent acquisitions contributed to results ahead of expectations, referring to specialist recruiter The Personnel Concept acquired in October 2006 and the group's 34.6 percent stake in India-based associate Nihilent Technologies.
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  Jurgens said he remained optimistic about future performance despite the scarcity of specialist ICT skills, which he acknowledged remained a challenge for the group.
  
  He said recent acquisitions had provided Paracon with exciting channels to meet the ongoing demand and address the skills shortage.

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  www.itweb.co.za/sections/financial/2007/0705231038.asp? - [Cached Version]
  Published on: 5/23/2007    Last Visited: 5/25/2007  

  Yesterday, the company announced CEO Mark Jurgens, IT Resourcing MD Graham Bentley and group marketing director Ronald Wasley had together sold a million shares, at a price of R2 per share, to Levenstein.

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