Hays Information Technology
January - March 2012
CHINA Hotspots
There is high demand for IT system and network specialists and SAP functional consultants to cope with IT infrastructure and application needs, while software development is looking for hands on holding programmers.
Candidates with Java, .Net, IOS and Android skills continue to be highly sought after in the market.
A number of companies are moving their global new business focus to China and as such are executing global and regional ERP projects in the country. They are looking for candidates with strong business sense and can offer solutions to improve business efficiency.
The market now is very competitive and good candidates are receiving multiple offers. In order to attract the right candidates, fast hiring processes and competitive salaries are indispensable.
Overcoming skills shortages
Quality candidates are available in the market in relation to IT infrastructure specialist skills, but many lack the required English fluency needed. In this instance we would advise employers to look into offering English lessons for high calibre talent or lower their requirements around English speaking ability.
Those employers wishing to secure SAP talent are speeding up their interview processes as the job market is highly competitive for these candidates and time efficiency is key to attract them.
For traditional technology skill set like JAVA and .NET, some employers are lowering the bar for years of experience or English skills in order to fill these positions. For IOS and Android technologies, since these skill sets are very new, most employers are willing to accept smart candidates that have previously worked with other technologies.
Employer trends
Employers demand more highly skilled candidates and prefer those with overseas training. More IT Managers are open to opportunities from IT professional services consulting firms.
Salaries have also increased significantly during the past year, and some companies are using this as a method of attracting good candidates, especially for those fast growing local companies. They are more willing to pay high salaries to recruit good candidates from multinational companies.
Some of the more large scale international companies also plan to outsource their whole IT organisations to third party partners.
Candidate trends
Candidates are waiting for their year-end bonuses to be paid out and possible promotion this quarter, but there are still candidates who are open to new opportunities for better career development. Many of these candidates are being approached by professional IT services firms.
