Why the talent crisis persist despite a larger pool

Professionals can command 15% to 20% salary increases in new permanent roles.

Over seven in 10 employers are still struggling to find the right candidate despite the larger pool of tech talent, according to a survey by Robert Walters Hong Kong.

The survey, which polled over 120 business leaders in tech, said 50% of employers have a talent shortage at the managerial level, especially in the digital transformation sector.

Top talents are becoming more cautious to jump ship, resulting in longer tenures amongst IT professionals. The average tenure rose from 1.4 years in the third quarter of 2023 to 1.6 years in the first half of 2024, said LinkedIn Talent Insights.

This could be a result of “The Big Stay”, or the high number of job changes during 2021 to 2022 and current fears over job security amidst economic uncertainty, said Robert Walters.

Thus, candidates are less transparent, more selective about employment terms, and slower to make decisions in their job hunting processes, said Vivian Tsang, associate director at Robert Walters.

Due to the urgent need for talent, professionals can often command 15% to 20% salary increases when moving to new permanent roles.

With the government's Top Talent Pass Scheme issuing more working visas, employers can tap into the Greater Bay Area to fill their skills gap. Many companies are also offshoring roles to Southeast Asia, the survey added.

In the meantime, IT decision-makers are turning to contractors as a cost-effective way to secure talent. Organisations are often willing to offer 20% to 25% higher salaries for project-based contracts lasting one to two years, according to the survey.

“It has been a norm for tech professionals to take contractor roles to gain exposure to new technologies and projects across the industry in a short time. Companies tend to extend contracts for qualified talent, especially those with specific domain knowledge or technical expertise. The extension rate is approximately 70%,” said Tsang.