GLOBAL CONSULTING GROUP LAUNCHES professional associates . com

London, 19th July 2005: GCG plc (GCG) is set to change the way people find jobs, marking the beginning of the end for recruitment agencies.

Through professional associates . com, organisations will bid for the services of Candidates for periods of three months, at a true market rate, with each candidate setting their own reserve and buy-now price. After three months, the candidate is then automatically re-listed on the site, allowing other firms to counter bid for their time.

More and more people are swapping a full time career for an independent lifestyle, working for short periods when they wish to. However, until now, there has been no easy way for them to market and sell their services.

“The market has become increasingly difficult for expert resources in the last few years. There are so many agencies that it is impossible to develop a personal relationship with them, making the art of matching the positions available with my skills very hit and miss. professional associates . com allows firms to view my specific skills online and bid the market rate for my time. It’s a win win solution for both of us” said Fiona McNicol, an independent consultant.

professional associates . com’s initial focus will be on highly skilled expert resources, 200 of which have already been through the rigorous selection process and their details are on the website this morning, the first day of dealing. An additional 300 individuals will be added over the coming days and ultimately there will be in excess of 1000 Candidates listed as available at any given point in time.

All Candidates must have either:

Valentine Feerick, a Director of GCG commented: “We have witnessed an explosion in the number of independent professionals in recent years, all trying to match their unique skill set with the demands of employers. professional associates . com provides an efficient market place where this supply and demand can be perfectly matched.

“professional associates . com brings ease and efficiency to the professional services industry.”

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Note to Editors

professional associates . com is part of GCG, a leading corporate advisory practice focused on strategic implementation and the provision of board level support services. GCG works with companies around the world to provide an integrated service designed to meet the needs of the Boardroom and the Business. Amongst the group’s core assets and service offerings is the market leading Non Executive Register, the executive search and selection business Candidate One and the renowned Boardroom Excellence Programme.