In Japan, 73 per cent of employers plan to consider recruiting overseas hires – the highest percentage among other regions. Only 36 per cent of employers in Japan have the talent needed to achieve current business objectives, according to the 2016 Hays Asia Salary Guide.

This is a significant contrast against the other Asian countries where more than 70 per cent of employers said their organisation has the sufficient talent to meet business goals.

This guide findings further show that 65 per cent of organisations on average across Asia would consider employing or sponsoring qualified overseas candidates in skill-short areas.

The reality contradicts to understand, that foreigners make up only 9 per cent of the current workforce in the same organisations surveyed in Japan, showing a huge discrepancy against the employers’ intentions.

See: Japan’s Salary Increase Lags behind in Asia

“We know from a separate research that Japan’s skills shortage remains one of the biggest challenges this year,” says Marc Burrage, Managing Director of Hays in Japan.

“The 2015 Hays Global Skills Index reported that Japan’s talent mismatch recorded the highest possible score, showing a significant gap between the skills employers need and those available.”

Though skills shortage remains a huge obstacle for Japan’s employers, the survey reveals that employers may not be fully utilising the opportunities available by employing qualified foreign hires.

“Having the right people in place is critical for Japan’s businesses in 2016 especially for the 64 per cent of employers who told us they do not have the talent needed to achieve current business objectives.”

“Employers said they would consider hiring qualified professionals from abroad. We highly recommend the move and look forward to seeing more employers in Japan in diversifying their workforce to alleviate the severe talent shortage this year.” Marc added.

Also read: Japan’s Top 10 Talent Trends for 2016

Image credit: asia.nikkei.com