ASIAN HUBS’ RECRUITMENT RISES

ASIAN HUBS’ RECRUITMENT RISES

Beijing and Shanghai are emerging as recruiting hotspots on the world stage and already this year many companies are making a big push for hiring in Asia. Hays’ recent performance with 38% net fee growth in the Asia-Pacific region only serves to highlight the employment surge.

A survey by Hays polled more than 5,000 employers and found 33 per cent plan to increase salaries by 10 per cent, while another 51% intend to raise pay between 6 to 10%. One third of foreign businesses on the Chinese mainland are expected to raise wages by more than 10 per cent this year as companies compete in the fast-growing market where highly skilled employees are in short supply.

Skill shortages are beginning to emerge in sales, engineering and accounting companies in mainland China and Hong Kong. Even construction, which has been badly hit in the UK, has demand for engineers and architects to support major construction projects that are underway or in the pipeline, with everything from luxury stores to hotels. With bonus season finished, finance professionals are also looking for work and creating opportunities in China.

"China's job market is now very active with healthy levels of movement, a strong economy and new projects coming on line," said Emma Charnock, regional director of Hays in China. "But a shallow pool of talent in many specialist areas is the biggest threat to growth, which is why the ability to overcome skill shortages, particularly in the banking and finance industry, will become the defining characteristic of the employment market in 2011.

“There’s been a lot of movement in banking recently, with rising demand for financial planners and analysts. In 2010 we saw salary increases of 10-15% and we expect a similar trajectory for 2011” said Charnock. “All of this means that our business is growing to support the increased demand.”

Hays has seen record performances in China and Hong Kong in recent months, strengthening plans to triple headcount in China.