Three is better than one: Hong Kong job hunters need to be trilingual come 2015

Here are the other jobhunting trends for next year.

Increasing demand for China-specialised professionals, the localisation of the workforce, continuous innovation and the impact of the ‘through train’ stock connect scheme are among the trends that will shape the recruitment landscape in Hong Kong in 2015.

According to a release from Hays, vacancy activity is tipped to increase in 2015, with a focus on the banking, retail, supply chain, accountancy & finance and technology sectors.

“We’ll see a general expectation that candidates in Hong Kong need to be trilingual and the contract market will continue to evolve," said Dean Stallard, Regional Director of Hays in Hong Kong.

“Digital marketing will also be a big area of jobs growth. As the technology and marketing worlds integrate, mobile optimisation will continue to be a significant priority for businesses. Mobile strategies will move beyond simply having a responsive site or mobile app, and focus on mobile-optimised content and social media marketing as well, which will fuel jobs growth for suitably qualified and experienced candidates.”

Here's more from Hays:

On a number of fronts, a major engine for hiring in contiguous Hong Kong's legal, financial and other jobs markets is China’s move towards operating in the global economy. The renminbi is on track to become the third-largest international currency behind the US dollar and the euro within five years as China accelerates its promotion of the yuan. Meanwhile Shanghai and Hong Kong have linked their stock exchanges, and Hong Kong listings of China-based companies are driving work in local capital markets. Demand for Mandarin-speaking, China-specialised professionals will therefore be high in 2015.

Recent heavy fines imposed on global banks for violating US sanctions have put the financial industry on alert about the risks associated with exposure to international money laundering. Banks have responded by hiring thousands of new compliance experts and are spending millions of dollars to improve their anti-money laundering (AML) programs. Compliance (more specifically AML/sanctions) will, in 2015, be considered by many candidates as the hottest job in banking.

Experts agree that big data, alongside the right data mining technology, can provide unprecedented new insights and predictive patterns into employees (not just customers), leading to improved recruitment and retention strategies. In 2015 we will see HR experts interpret data relating to talent attraction, engagement, retention, performance and satisfaction, and use it to make strategic talent acquisition decisions.

In 2015 employers will continue to focus on hiring local candidates over expatriates as they are already ‘on the ground’ and often have Chinese, especially Mandarin, language skills and PRC experience. The Hong Kong government also advocates that local candidates must be considered first, with the exception being highly skilled candidates who are in short supply locally.

Hiring intentions are positive for 2015, yet most departments continue to be under pressure to control costs. Innovative new strategies to attract and retain talent will therefore be required since employers cannot increase salaries in line with the level of demand.

Job seekers and employers alike will increase their use of mobile recruiting in 2015. According to a recent website poll 41 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong said they do their job searching mostly by desktop but sometimes by mobile, while 56 per cent said they search mainly by mobile and sometimes by desktop. As a result, we’ll continue to see employers invest in their EVP by optimising their careers site and developing their mobile plan.