China’s top talent trends for 2020: tech innovation to drive job market

Global movements towards digitalisation and China’s ambitious goals to assume global leadership in a number of emerging technologies will shape the country’s job market in the coming year, says recruiting experts Hays, as part of the country’s top 10 talent trends for 2020.

One of the biggest talent trends observed this year is China’s role in the increasing proliferation of Artificial intelligence (AI) globally, that is building to a future characterised by smart devices and insightful analysis. Considering the ongoing shortage for advanced tech talent in the region, the fierce competition for such roles is like to continue well into 2020. A similar story is being charted for the e-commerce industry as well as the IT industry at large, as China moves to an increasingly global playing field and domestic companies transform in an effort to keep pace. Underlying this digital motif is an increasing need for IT security, a skillset that is expected to continue growing rapidly in demand.

The influence of technology, as well as the U.S. triggered trade war has also led to transformation in the manufacturing and operations sector (M&O) as well as a renewed focus on industrial sales. The government’s ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative will also see movement in the R&D space as more businesses set up local centres.

Other trends involve hiring demand in compliance and regulatory skills, both in banking & finance and the life sciences industry, brought into focus by China’s complex regulations and impending changes to it. Both areas are likely to see continued investment and an increasing focus on mores specialised talent and skill sets.

“An increasing domestic focus, diversification of supply chains and accelerating innovations in emerging technologies will be the major influences for China’s job market in 2020,” says Simon Lance, Managing Director for Hays in Greater China.

“The growth & expansion of domestic companies into international marketplaces, has continued to drive demand for candidates with both local and international experience. Chinese citizens currently working overseas in high-skill industries and sectors, are increasingly finding attractive offers and opportunities to repatriate back to China, or work with Chinese organisations abroad. Salaries and benefits in China’s Tier 1 cities have become much more competitive on the global stage, which is also fuelling the repatriation of Chinese professionals.

‘Soft skills such as regional experience, cross-functional communication, leadership and foreign language skills have also been elevated in importance amongst employers for hiring critical roles. The rapid digitisation and disruption in most industries is placing increased importance on an employee’s aptitude to embrace change and continually upskill their technical capabilities. Learning agility and change management are set to become strong differentiators of top talent in the years ahead.”

Hays Top 10 Talent Trends for 2020 in China are:

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WILL CONTINUE DOMINATING TECH TALENT MARKET

Bolstered by consistent government support and a booming tech ecosystem, China is expected to continue surging forward in its bid to become the world leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, including Autonomous Things, Augmented Analytics, and AI-driven Development. Emerging technologies like robotics, drone vehicle and their various applications are expected to see significant growth, bringing with them a demand for top tech talent like self-driving embedded systems engineers, deep learning scientists, machine-learning engineers, geospatial software engineers (for drone technologies), and robotic process automation scientists. In addition, algorithm/applied scientists, data scientists and software development engineers will also be highly sought after to facilitate the adoption of these technologies.

FOREIGN BANKS GO LOCAL

With Chinese regulations being more open to WFOE (wholly foreign-owned enterprises) investors, many foreign banks are setting up wholly-owned securities/asset management services and are looking for candidates who are from global financial institutions but also have local experience. This is alongside a renewed focus on FI and particularly NBFI (non-bank financial institutions) portfolios like insurance, asset management and private equity/venture capital, that will likely see an increase in hiring for experienced or high potential NBFI relationship managers. Additionally, due to the strict and complex regulation in China, compliance and risk candidates continue to be areas of high demand. KYC and AML skills are particularly sought after and will warrant competitive salary increases in 2020.

R&D MOVES TO CHINA

Following the “Made in China 2025” policy, multinational companies will start bringing part of their R&D function to China as well as set up more R&D centres locally. While tier 1 cities (Beijing, Shanghai) are often the preferred location for these, more companies are likely to move to tier 2 cities as well, owing to their favourable tax policy, fixed costs and strong support from local governments. This will drive up demand for R&D engineers as well as salaries as such roles which are not easily found in these locations. We expect competition for these roles to intensify, as the available pool of R&D candidates is unlikely to grow as fast as the number of companies.

E-COMMERCE BOOM BRINGS CHINA TO INTERNATIONAL MARKETS

The presence of e-commerce giants such as Alibaba has the country poised to surpass the US as the biggest retail market in the world. More international ecommerce platforms such as Amazon and eBay have also opened their international marketplaces to China, bringing the power of “Made in China” to the next level. Chinese sellers in the East and Southern regions are geared to become critical contributors to international trade once again, but this time, on ecommerce platforms. These developments will result in a demand for more candidates with international trade, ecommerce operations, and key account management skills and experience, particularly in port locations like Shenzhen, Ningbo, Xiamen and Shanghai.

RETAIL INDUSTRY FACES MASSIVE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The ongoing digital transformation of retail has industry leaders reconsidering the way they go to market. More retailers are moving from looking at omni-channel retail as an interesting idea to understanding it as a crucial step forward. The constant pressure to be competitive has also pushed more companies to examine and research aspects like customer experience and how it can create differentiation or attract and retain shoppers. These developments will open doors to capturing new market opportunities and revenue growth, leading to a rise of job opportunities in the digital space such as product managers, eCommerce managers, business/system analysts and user experience designers.

TRANSITION TO GROWTH MARKETING

2020 will see more demand for Chief Growth Officers (CGO), a new role in the marketing space that reflects a shift in focus towards understanding market trends and using those trends to drive business growth. As part of this rising management role, the responsibility of a CGO is to build connections and break the barriers between different departments such as sales, marketing, operations and IT. Focusing on customer needs, market dynamics, and customer behaviour and preferences, a CGO will not only cover traditional marketing, but also apply functions such as consumer and business leadership, and strategic planning.

MANUFACTURING & OPERATIONS RE-FOCUS ON SALES

The trade war between China and the USA has caused many companies to review their business model and move away from the once successful export model of producing in China and then selling abroad. Instead, many businesses will now work towards selling locally, making hiring industrial sales candidates a priority for many employers in the M&O space. Ideal candidates would have a strong established network of clients and successful experience in building up commercial teams. This is especially true for industries like consumer durables, machinery or spare parts and chemicals.

LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY WILL SEEK SPECIALISED SKILLS

The Chinese talent market will continue to benefit from significant investments being made by the pharmaceutical industry. However, upcoming regulatory changes will likely create uncertainty in this space and consequently create demand for market access and regulatory/government affairs experts. Candidates with experience in new drug applications in both domestic and overseas market like US can expect to benefit the most in terms of compensation. Alongside there, the influx of investment into technology in the areas of oncology, rare disease and chronic disease will also create high demand for candidates with specific function experience such as biomarker scientists, clinical research physicians and medical advisors.

IT SECURITY AND IOT SPECIALISTS WILL CONTINUE RECEIVING PREMIUM OFFERS

It comes as no surprise that IT security jobs have been on a sharp rise in the last year, amidst rapid global digitalisation. This trend expected to continue well into 2020 as IT industry leaders look to safeguard their businesses from malicious attacks. This is good news for security candidates, as there is a shortage of these skills in mainland China, giving them the upper hand when negotiating roles and remuneration. Similarly, we have observed a surge in investment for digital tech projects across a range of traditional industries that are looking at new ways to innovate. Payments, agriculture, transport and food and hospitality are all being disrupted by the rise of IOT and AI, resulting in the creation of several new and exciting digital roles in these spaces.

DOMESTIC GROWTH BRINGS DEMAND FOR INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Owing to exponential growth in recent years, more Chinese companies across industries are now looking to expand their business overseas. This has resulted in a demand for senior level talent with both local and overseas experience to help set up the structures and strategies needed to penetrate global markets. Such companies are also looking at ways to fine tune their local structures, processes and systems to enhance quality of output. While demand may see a slight slowdown in the coming year, the demand such senior level candidates remains intact and companies are increasingly seeking overseas Chinese citizens looking to repatriate for such positions.