A declining population that will need the tech industry to step in and make the labour force more productive and efficient, as well as an impending 5G network transformation will pushing businesses to develop even more efficient and intuitive digital experiences and tools to meet these demands. These factors against the backdrop of a slowing global economy that necessitates business and digital transformation, have led to a robust outlook for enterprise technology (ET) in Japan.
A critical need for ET talent
These are some of the findings from The Inside Story of Japan, a monthly regional recruitment analysis undertaken by global recruitment expert Hays. Focusing on ‘Enterprise Technology’, the analysis found that despite a positive outlook, Japan’s ongoing talent shortage, combined with rapidly changing skill sets required in the industry have led to a severe talent crunch in the sector. External factors such as the impending 2020 Tokyo Olympics have further exacerbated this shortage, with expectations running high that the games will help transform the country. From an IT perspective, this means legacy systems now need to be upgraded. Enterprise companies are expecting an influx of business from these preparations for more global interaction.
Advisory skills in high demand
As the software revolution progresses, IT leaders will need to act as trusted advisors to business leaders, who will increasingly insist on taking a greater share of ownership of the solutions their teams use, and for whom technology will be seen as critical to creating business value. However, candidates with an IT-based advisory skill set are exceedingly rare in Japan’s already talent-short IT market. This is made more complicated by the demand for bilingual or even trilingual candidates (Japanese, English and Mandarin), leading to more Japanese companies looking to hire from overseas regions such as China and Korea. The shortage has also led to an increase in flexible recruitment solutions, or the hiring of contracting and temporary professionals, as well as outsourcing to IT vendors.
Soft skills paramount for senior hires
Organisations are now looking for candidates with a proactive mindset and who are capable of breaking through the passive and hierarchical traditions that were previously common in Japan. Such soft skills are expected from senior-level hires as well, alongside requirements of extensive people and project management skills. Experience in managing multicultural teams has risen to top this list of priorities, in preparation for the impending global, multicultural interactions as Japan continues to grow more open.
Richard Eardley, Managing Director of Hays Japan commented, “Japan currently has the potential to become a global leader in enterprise technology sector. However, the shortage of suitable talent has made it imperative that organisations find ways to attract and retain the right staff. This could include flexible recruitment solutions, as well as improving hiring processes that can prevent candidate drop out, such as making more engaging, collaborative and mutual interview processes. Often, websites are the only source of information for a candidate who never really have a chance to get to know company – this could be disadvantageous to hiring employers. Letting them ask more questions at a first interview would give them a chance to get to know both the interviewer and company better.”
To read the full Inside Story of Enterprise Technology in Japan, please click here
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About Hays
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 2019 the Group employed 11,500 staff operating from 265 offices in 33 markets across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2019:
– the Group reported net fees of £1,129.7 billion and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £248.8 million;
– the Group placed around 81,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 254,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 18% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 27% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 32% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 43% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA