Booming e-commerce and digital media sectors are expected to have massive impact on China’s job market in 2016, as strong demand for skilled candidates amid the latest IT technologies will redraw the country’s commercial landscape.
Government’s efforts to transform the growth model of the world’s second-largest economy by making the most of internet technologies have not only given rise to the rapid expansion of established internet giants, but ushered in vigorous entrepreneurship, according to recruiting experts Hays.
“Chinese firms’ that are aggressive and determined go-digital strategy will be of great benefit to the country’s deepened market-based reform and create new growth engine for the economy,” says Simon Lance, Managing Director of Hays in China.
“We are going to see some substantial changes in China’s job market as the increasing penetration of internet and mobile technologies into people’s daily life will force financial and commercial companies to recruit professionals with good command of skills needed for the digital era.”
According to Hays, digital marketing and social media will grow by leaps and bounds in 2016, as employers hire and retain talent in line with the government’s Internet Plus strategy that encourages a wide use of technologies including online cloud, big data and mobile internet.
Increased RPO investment by employers will be another hot trend in China’s job market. Also domestic companies’ increasing attractiveness to candidates is another growing trend worth close attention.
“The buoyant growth of local companies has convinced employees that a leap from MNCs to domestic firms will be good career advancement,” Simon says. “Healthcare will also be among the bright spots because demands for health soar in tandem with people’s rising affluence.”
The top 10 talent trends for China in 2016, according to recruiting expert Hays are:
Skilled candidates in the IT sector will be badly needed in 2016 as more businesses embrace the Internet to enhance efficiency. The growing popularity of e-commerce and digital media is expected to create exceptionally strong demand for those who not only have the skills in traditional industries but understand how to use IT technologies to do business.
One of the major motivations for making the leap from an MNC to a Chinese company is career advancement. Working at the headquarters presents greater opportunities to insert influence on the company’s strategy and gives employees a sense of achievement.
It’s more than a regional/country role that focuses on execution. Many Chinese companies, after growing for years, have started looking for senior-level talent with a global perspective; this will unlock the doors for seasoned HR leaders to make significant impact in 2016.
See: Financial Institutions in Hong Kong and China to Increase Pay by 5% in 2016
More employers will outsource their recruitment function in 2016 to better tap recruitment expertise. This will help reduce in-house recruitment headcount while achieving better results.
This will become a new trend as China’s home grown companies are increasingly aware of the importance of having a strong HR division. They have experienced strong growth and are now able to offer competitive salary packages to local HR professionals.
These salaries often include a significant number of Restricted Stock Unit (RSU) or pre-IPO shares which help attract multinational-trained HR professionals.
China’s healthcare industry will continue to grow faster in 2016. The importance of managing health is increasingly understood by Chinese people in line with their rising income. The development of mobile Internet, wearable gadgets and O2O (online-to-offline) are injecting new vigour into the industry.
Online medical services will continue to grow, with an increasing number of prescriptions and diagnoses conducted via the internet. The serious air pollution problem in China has attracted the attention of the Government and research organizations. It will become a rising healthcare issue and the Chinese government will have to take necessary actions to tackle the pollution problem.
Many traditional industries will step up their efforts to add internet technologies and e-commerce operations to their businesses. They will also start hiring professionals to take advantage of booming online social media platforms to reinforce their marketing teams.
This will continue despite a slowing economy in 2016. Severe shortage of skilled candidates in certain industries will result in fierce competition among employers putting their best step forward to retain and hire qualified talent.
The period following the Chinese New Year holiday will be the busiest time for recruiters as most candidates quit, post receiving bonuses and start looking for new jobs.
Local companies, amid their go-outbound campaign, will not only need HR professionals with MNC experience, but will also introduce a western-style system to manage their headcount in 2016. They understand that it’s necessary to fine-tune their HR system to facilitate globalisation drive.
Chinese policy makers are re-visiting some vocational certifications and aiming to reduce the constraints on talent movement between industries. This potential policy change will help employers to utilise employees’ transferrable skills and drive China’s job market to become more active, fair and competitive.
Also read: Salary and Career Advancement Prospects is Key to Attracting and Retaining Talent in China
Image credit: hays.cn
