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Mainland China’s ambitious goals to assume global leadership in a number of areas including technology will intensify an already competitive market for talent over the year ahead. This is just one of the top 10 talent trends for 2018, according to recruiting experts Hays.

 

“We certainly expect a dynamic mix of government, academic and private sector activity to drive increased hiring over 2018, but also salary growth in a number of industries,” says Simon Lance, Managing Director for Hays in Greater China. 

 

“Talent with skills across a wide range of areas from artificial intelligence and cyber security to many areas of business will not only see employers competing even more fiercely for talent, but also strive to develop the most effective retention strategies. Certainly HR talent will be in the spotlight to help employers secure and engage the best candidates,” he says.

 

At the same time, China is continuously attracting returnees from all over the world through its good economic development momentum and the strong demand from local companies for internationally-trained talent. According to official data , in 2016, the total number of Chinese students studying overseas reached 544,500, while the total number of Chinese returnees reached 432,500, representing an increase of 5.72% over 2015.

 

“On the domestic front, we will expect to see in the future an increasing number of Chinese companies that had already overtaken foreign companies and multinationals to dominate locally, focus more attention on becoming global brands in 2018.”

 

“We expect increased demand for overseas Chinese talent to return home and fill roles to help these companies fulfil their global plans. However, returning talent is also needed to fill roles in technology, STEM, healthcare and e-commerce areas.” 

 

“Candidates with well-developed soft-skills and technical or product knowledge in their area of expertise are also in high demand for these roles and are well positioned to command the most attractive remuneration packages in the coming months,” says Simon. 

 

In October 2017, the 19th Communist Party congress outlined an ambitious agenda for Mainland China that stretches all the way to 2050. The congress, held every five years, set goals for promoting technological innovation and product development, clean energy and infrastructure as well as continue efforts to fully modernise the economy.

 

“It’s an exciting time to be here” Simon adds. “Mainland China is leading the charge in so many areas, not least of which is world-class technological innovation and also infrastructure particularly the Belt Road Initiative and Maritime Silk Route project.”

 

“We expect the government and private sector to continue to work closely in 2018 to keep the nation on a path to achieving global leadership in several sectors including artificial intelligence, e-commerce and digital technologies,” says Simon.

 

Hays Top 10 Talent Trends for 2018 in Mainland China are:

 

1. Global demand for “STEM” candidates

The ongoing global shortage of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics talent is creating exceptional opportunities for high-potential individuals at all levels of seniority. To compete for talent, employers need to have robust, international sourcing strategies and be prepared to offer a compelling Employee Value Proposition (EVP) along with top-level remuneration packages.

 

2. Internet, E-Commerce & Digital Technology

Mainland China is now firmly established as the world’s 3rd-largest IT market behind the United States and Japan, and is accelerating its rapid digital transformation. The impact can be felt in almost all industries as Mainland China strives to lead the world in the uptake of digital technology and e-commerce, enabling new disruptive business models that drives innovation and creates a need for talent in many areas.

 

As indicated in the Hays Global Skills Index 2017, employers in Mainland China have of late, been able to source the technical skills needed for their organisations within the local labour market. The next step for many companies to take now is to find candidates with the right leadership, people management and communication skills. These skills remain in short supply in many areas so companies that invest heavily in their leadership and management development programs will be best placed to develop soft skills or recruit candidates with these skills. 

 

Mainland China’s success in driving reform within the healthcare industry to deliver a higher quality of life to its citizens has led to an explosion in associated industries. Strong financial incentives from the Public, Private and PE/VC sectors are driving high levels of growth. Industry segments such as Medical Devices and Pharmaceutical will be on the lookout for talent with expertise in Business Development, R&D and Supply Chain throughout the year.  

 

Functions including finance, IT, HR, administration and even recruitment will all see significant investment in the use of Shared Service Centres throughout 2018. The centralisation strategies of much of these functions will focus on increasing productivity and decreasing costs that in turn, will create an ideal market for disruption by leveraging artificial intelligence in future years.

 

Chinese-owned companies are emerging as significant players on the global stage in many industries. The fierce competition to succeed in Mainland China’s domestic market will see many companies rapidly adopt digital technology and other innovations throughout 2018 and beyond. In addition, their considerable financial stability due to large-scale revenue streams in Mainland China has positioned them strongly to expand internationally. We watch with interest as this wave of extremely competitive, capable and globally minded organisations take on competitors in markets across the globe.

 

Although overall wage pressure has eased progressively over the past five years, salaries could still rise in 2018 for top talent in key industries. According to Hays survey data, the share of candidates experiencing a 10-30% increase in salary at the end of this year compared to the beginning of this year is particularly evident in hot sectors such as real estate, education, manufacturing and IT. We expect to see increasing competition for talent from well-financed local organisations that will create a need for innovative attraction and retention strategies throughout the year. It is vital employers remain up-to-date with market rate remuneration packages and keep the 2018 Hays Asia Salary Guide to be released in January 2018 close by as a ready reference.

 

AI is moving into the HR function with the deployment of predictive analytics and machine learning changing the way people hire and retain talent. Still in its early days, AI will have an increasing role to play in HR, and we will start to see a trend for HR leaders to re-skill and refocus their departments to leverage the benefits of AI throughout 2018. HRD’s have an important role to play in developing a top-level strategy for the use of AI and must also be able to demonstrate a clear ROI on any investment in the technology.

 

Over the next decade, the “millennials” (born around the turn of the century) will increasingly move into middle-management roles and start to become the senior leadership talent pool of the future. Employers are focusing on ways to develop this ambitious and tech-savvy demographic. Research suggests that companies should have a strong environmental and ethical conscience, which should shape the management culture of organisations seeking to fully harness their value. Strong corporate social responsibility programs, flexible working arrangements and the opportunity for new employees to work with cutting edge technology platforms will all play a role in the way organisations attract, engage and retain this generation.

 

The tightening regulatory environment in Mainland China continues to drive demand for qualified and experienced audit, risk and compliance candidates, both for in-house and professional practice. Incoming regulations on cyber-security and data privacy will further drive the need for organisations to have robust risk management plans in place, supported by expertise on either in-house or outsourced talent. 

 

 

Hays plc (the "Group") is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2017 the Group employed 10,000 staff operating from 250 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2017:

 

– the Group reported net fees of £954.6 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £211.5 million;

– the Group placed around 70,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 240,000 people into temporary assignments;

– 24% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 49% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 27% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;

– the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;

– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA.