LIFE SCIENCES CANDIDATES ATTRACTED BY BIGGER JOB SCOPES ADMIST STIFF COMPETITION FOR TALENT IN CHINA, SURVEY FINDS

 

China’s booming domestic life sciences sector has faced stiff competition for talent from international MNCs amidst the ongoing talent crunch. The results of a recently conducted Hays survey show that while domestic companies have the distinct advantage of offering bigger roles with more responsibility, nearly 63 per cent of the respondents indicated they would give priority to international MNCs if offered, of which 45% said European and American companies would be their first choice. To compete and attract the best talent, Jack advises domestic companies to play on their strengths and invest into their recruitment, attraction and retention activities. Aside from bigger job scopes and titles, the survey further found that Aggressive Expansion (57 per cent) and Better Compensation and Benefits (56 per cent) were the two other biggest reasons why a candidate would consider working for a domestic company. 

 

Medical Affairs roles have continued to rise over the last decade, in accordance with the success of China’s life sciences industry that was expanding at a faster rate than the economy before this year. Jack shared that CRP (Clinical Research Physicians), MA (Medical Affairs) and MSL (Medical Science Liaison) roles continue to be in high demand, alongside senior roles like Medical Director, CRP/MA Manager and MA/MSL Managers. Sunny Wang, Senior Manager for Hays China, who was also present at the conference, stated that that there is particularly high demand for candidates with a Physician background, particularly those from the therapeutic areas of Oncology, Auto-immunology, Infections, Central Nervous System (CNS), and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). 

 

This trend could also be a contributing factor to the current shortage and mismatch of talent in China’s booming Life Sciences industry. Drawing from the Hays Global Skills Index, Jack explained that China’s highest indicators in terms of macro-economic backdrop were that of Talent Mismatch and Wage Pressure in High-Skill Industries, with the latter implying that workers in high-skill industries, particularly scientific activities, experienced strong wage growth last year. The growth of China’s Life Sciences industry has continued in line with these indicators, with opportunity and above-market pay demand for skilled talent abounding, but a continued lack of skilled or appropriate talent resulting in a shortage of supply. The shortage will contribute to the rising cost of recruitment in the sector. 

 

Speaking on the event and industry at large, Simon Lance, Managing Director for Hays in Greater China said, “China’s ambitious target of providing affordable and effective healthcare for all its citizens, while at the same time fostering the development of the country’s domestic life sciences industry has only been accelerated by recent events. The drive towards not only developing but delivering high quality pharmaceutical products and services to the market has resulted in an expanding need for Medical Affairs professionals with the background and knowledge to successfully market new products and gain competitive edge. Events such as the CMAC will continue to form important bridges between professionals and businesses in the life sciences who are looking to close the talent gap and capitalise on the wave of innovation in the sector.”

 

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Hays Specialist Recruitment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is one of China's leading recruitment companies in recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across a wide range of industries and professions. 

 

Hays has been in China for over a decade with operational offices in Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. We boast a track record of success and growth, dealing in permanent positions across 14 different specialisms, including Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Digital Technology, Engineering, Finance Technology, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing & Digital, Office Professionals, Procurement, Supply Chain and Sales. Hays China was named Best Workplace™ and Best Workplaces™ for Women in Greater China 2019, and recently ranked one of the the Best Workplaces™ in Asia by Great Place to Work®.

 

 

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 Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2020 the Group employed c.10,400 staff operating from 266 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2020:

–    the Group reported net fees of £996.2 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £135.0 million;
–    the Group placed around 66,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 235,000 people into temporary roles;
–    17% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 26% in Germany, 23% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
–    the temporary placement business represented 59% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 41% of net fees;
–    IT is the group’s largest specialism, with 25% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Construction & Property (12%), are the next largest
–    Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, 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