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EMPLOYERS FIGHT FOR LOCAL TALENT
The latest Hays Quarterly Report reveals that high demand for local talent means that an increasing number of employers in Hong Kong are looking overseas for skilled candidates.
“Since the Chinese New Year, the number of vacancies has been steadily increasing. While this is great news for the jobs market, many employers are finding it difficult to source candidates with the right level skills and experience locally,” says Emma Charnock, Regional Director of Hays in Hong Kong.
“Back in March we advised employers who hadn’t already done so to quicken their recruiting process.
Now with the lack of available talent, particularly in the banking and finance sector, this strategy may not suffice. As a result many employers are more open to relocating people with the right skills.”
There is also a shortage of local lawyers with the appropriate technical knowledge so employers are broadening their search to Greater China and external jurisdictions for candidates. Already a number of roles have been filled by candidates from Australia and the UK.”
According to the July – September Hays Quarterly Report, employers will be looking to recruit the following skills:
Accountancy & Finance: Candidates with current experience in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are highly sought after due to recent changes in regulations.
Product Control, specifically equity derivatives, is a rapidly growing market in Hong Kong and there is strong demand for skilled candidates in this area.
Banking: With the rapid growth in China, there are a lot of Chinese companies wishing to go public. M&A activity is also on the rise. This is creating demand for corporate finance advisory candidates, from Analyst to MD level with China transaction experience.
The weak European market may have some impact on China exports, but this will not be felt in Hong Kong due to continuing inflow of capital from west to east. Due to this inflow, and increased corporate finance activity we are predicting increased trading activity in equities and also in money markets.
Human Resources: Employers are investing in activities to strengthen, up skill and retain their existing staff. The majority of companies are looking to establish the right platform in order to then grow their teams in the second half of 2010. As a result there has been an increase in learning and development roles. Training professionals with relevant industry experience are also in high demand.
Also of interest are those candidates with a specialist business area background that could take on a more leadership and training role to share their expertise across different teams.
Insurance: In high demand are Product Development Project Managers whose role will be to create a leaner approach by utilising in house resources and streamline product development from start to finish.
Business Developers with M&A and financial modelling experience are in demand as are candidates with MCEV knowledge and solvency II experience.
Legal: Within private practice, junior to mid level Lawyers with banking, commercial litigation and M&A experience are in demand (2 – 5 PQE). International law firms are either rebuilding their corporate and banking teams or making strategic senior hires across niche areas like corporate insurance, asset finance and IP.
Candidates with a good understanding of regulatory compliance, structured lending and project finance are sought. The finance sector is also in hiring mode, with vacancies across derivatives, private banking, regulatory/compliance, M&A and derivatives.
Sales & Marketing: Many businesses are starting to re-establish their sales teams. This is creating high demand for Senior Sales people across the board.
For further details on these skills in demand, as well as employer and candidate trends, see the Hays Quarterly Report at www.hays.com.hk/report.
Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
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