Hays Construction & Engineering - July 2010
Hotspots
Major infrastructure projects are being awarded to consultants and contractors. Developers are also moving forward with new building projects in both Hong Kong and China. This is creating demand for Infrastructure, Tunnel and Rail Design Engineers as well as Site Engineers.
These projects are also creating demand within building services as well as electrical and mechanical engineering.
Headcount is dependent on the projects awarded so it is difficult to predict demand beforehand. However key staff will be put in place to tender for the projects.
For specialist roles candidates with both Cantonese and English skills are highly sought after so employers are particularly interested in those professionals currently working overseas who may want to return back home to Hong Kong.
The coming quarter
Companies that have submitted tenders for large infrastructure projects are preparing themselves to recruit in specific specialisms such as tunnelling and geotechnics. More site positions will be created as the projects gather momentum.
Employer trends
Salaries have been kept level although as the demand grows for specialist staff employers are starting to realise they may need to increase salaries in order to be competitive in the market. International companies on the other hand will bring over internal employers from other overseas projects.
Candidate trends
There has been a decrease in candidate levels but mostly in the civil/infrastructure sector. Candidates who have already taken positions on prestigious Hong Kong projectsare less likely to want to move over the next couple of years. This is good news for job seekers as this means less competition; and with the skills shortage there will be positions available with most of the major companies.
