As hiring activity picks up in the first quarter of 2015, with job advertisement volumes upscaling by 22%, the demand for HR professionals in Asia continues to increase.
In Japan and Korea, the Asia Job Index Q1 report by Robert Walters quotes David Swan, Managing Director saying, “Business confidence has remained strong as a result of the Japanese government’s economic policies. Companies are motivated to increase their capital investment and seek further business expansion.
Swan added: “This has encouraged companies within the automotive and machinery sectors in particular to increase their headcounts, leading to a strong demand for engineers.”
On the other hand, recruitment market in Singapore is largely driven by competition due to candidate shortage; hence the key challenge lies in attracting the best talent for the right positions.
“To address this, the employment market has evolved to focus heavily on talent development and retention. Companies will continue to prioritise professionals from Singapore, when hiring and this emphasis will continue throughout the year. Only when all channels of recruiting domestic talent have been exhausted do hiring managers expand their search to foreign candidates.”
“Despite offshoring within the foreign investment banking industry in the last six months, financial services still remains a major part of the Singapore economy and we look forward to a more buoyant sector in the year ahead, ” Toby Fowlston, Managing Director, Southeast Asia said.
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Importance of HR as a key role within the organization has now grown to include business partnering and talent acquisition, considering the demand in the job market. Also advertising for HR roles has seen a significant increase by 10% annually.
In Hong Kong, Hays Quarterly report for April to June 2015 says the speed of hiring has returned to full swing post the Chinese New year.
Christine Wright, Managing Director of Hays in Asia said, ““After the Chinese New Year there has been an influx of new jobs, which gave candidates more choice and caused hiring timelines to be extended. While most employers prefer to recruit local candidates, there has been an increase in the number of employers looking overseas when they cannot fill jobs locally. These employers are mostly targeting Hong Kong expatriates in the Asia Pacific region, but some are also interested in those in Europe.”
When it comes to the human resource market in Hong Kong, there are not enough compensation and benefits provided. Also there is lack of technical HR skill and not enough candidates to meet the job opportunities.
Hence, 80 percent of Hong Kong HR professionals believe that increasing the retirement age will help address the issue of manpower shortage, according to a recent survey by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM). The HKSAR Government has decided to extend the retirement age of newly hired civil servants from 60 to 65. This new policy is expected to encourage other employers to consider implementing appropriate measures to extend the working life of their employees.
Also read: 2015 Salary Guide for HRs: Estimating Worth
