JobsDB’s latest survey and job ads data both indicated that the local job market has seen an anticipated spike from Q4 2021, and is expected to be more active after Chinese New Year. According to the latest job advertisement data, the total number of job advertisements has increased by over 70% (73%), exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The top three job functions with the highest recruitment demand last year were “Information Technology”, “Corporate Sales & Business Development” and “Banking/Finance”, which respectively increase by 35%, 55% and 36% from 2020. Last year’s, Hiring, Compensation & Benefits Report revealed that nearly half of the businesses (46%) expected the market would be more active in the coming year.
Accelerated FinTech development in Banking and Finance influenced by the pandemic
Due to the ongoing pandemic, customer behavior and consumption patterns have changed, with phubbing and staying in becoming increasingly common. This has expedited the pace of digital transformation in the Banking and Financial Services industry. The development of virtual banking, electronic payment and other businesses in financial institutions greatly increased the demand for these job functions, and even led to a 58% growth in the number of virtual banking-related job advertisements compared with the same period last year.
"The pandemic has prompted financial institutions to invest more resources in technology, hence providing more convenient and flexible services to cope with the ever-changing market landscape. With the use of mobile payment and virtual banking becoming more prevalent, there has also been a shift in requirements for talent acquisition. Besides traditional banking and risk management-related functions, ‘Application Specialist - Software’, ‘Network & System’, and ‘Software Development’ are also expected to be among the most sought-after job functions. said Mr. Bill Lee, Managing Director of JobsDB Hong Kong.
In addition, with the further recovery of local enterprises, they are also more active in exploring new business, driving the demand for business development-related job functions. The previous Hiring, Compensation & Benefits Report also revealed that more than 30% (32%) of employers expressed interest in more full-time hiring, in which 70% aimed for business expansion.
“The fast-changing market under the post-pandemic era has initiated more companies to invest or reallocate different resources for expanding their business operations. The need of hiring more corporate sales and business development related professionals has surged so as to reshape their expansion skeletons and business models, and yet also to identify more market entry opportunities and enhance their own competitiveness. A considerable number of companies are also actively developing innovative solutions, such as utilizing AI and big data, to open up and tap into new customer bases. Corporate Sales & Business development related job functions are expected to be more popular in the market as well.” said Lee.
Riding the wave of digital transformation
Besides the banking and financial services industry, more companies have become committed to digital transformation as a means of navigating the challenges faced during the pandemic, driving the demand for IT talents. According to latest data, IT-related job functions ranked the highest in terms of the number of job ads for two consecutive years. Among various types of IT-related roles, "UI/UX Designer" (86%), "Data Scientist" (79%), and "Mobile Wireless Communications" (47%) contributed the most towards the growth of the figures. With consumer demand recovering, businesses catching the digital wave of change required more talent than ever to execute transformation skeletons. For example, businesses from the retail and logistics industries required talent to accelerate the development of Online Merge Offline (OMO) pipelines, including the set-up of e-commerce and online platforms, through customers’ experience optimization and data utilization for a more comprehensive consumption experience.
“With businesses poised for more robust growth through the transitional period and the peak hiring season after Chinese New Year, employees, especially those who are more experienced and qualified, could more proactively seek career breakthroughs and advancement opportunities and stay up speed with the recruitment market. In addition, whether or not employees wish to stay in their current industries, they are advised to elevate their skills and accomplishments to increase their competitiveness. Job seekers may also attend career sharing seminars, seek professional career consultations, or actively participate in career fairs for a thorough understanding of the market landscape and upcoming trends. Apart from regularly publishing employment and career advice-related articles, we are also organizing Asia's largest tech-related virtual career fair to help job seekers understand ever-changing market dynamics and equip enterprises with the means to stand out in the post-pandemic era,” Lee added.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
