Taiwan is next year to see fierce competition for talent in several high-tech areas as digitalization is taking hold of industries, recruitment consultancy Michael Page Taiwan said yesterday.
The local market, with a persistent brain drain, mainly to China, would continue to see a candidate-driven hiring landscape, Michael Page Taiwan managing director Mark Tibbatts said after releasing the firm’s annual report on the job market for the following year.
“We anticipate market buoyancy for software development, online gaming start-ups, app development and other developer-driven sectors,” Tibbatts told a media briefing.
There are several hiring bright spots for Taiwan, with technology looking particularly promising, Tibbatts said, adding that big global technology players have increased their investment in Taiwan.
Alphabet Inc’s Google has announced plans to double its office space next year, while Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp have made known their intentions to expand research and development capacity, he said.
The coming year is to see further advances in artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things and 5G wireless communications, making experts in these fields keenly sought after by companies, Michael Page Taiwan director Claire Wu (吳紹瑀) said.
Taiwanese start-ups are also on the road to consolidation within the e-commerce, customer-to-customer platforms, streaming and AI solutions spaces, the consultancy said.
“Attracting and retaining top talent will be key to achieve business success,” Wu said.
However, salary levels in Taiwan are too low and would accelerate the brain drain, Tibbatts added.
The firm published the results of a survey of 8,000 people, which found that 81 percent are positive about the job market and 94 percent see themselves having better career progression, up from 77 percent and 87 percent for this year respectively.
In addition, 63 percent are inclined to work overseas and 70 percent believe that it would take less than three months to find a new job, the consultancy said, adding that young people tend to quit before securing new positions.
Respondents said that they would have stayed in their previous job if training and development plans were created, and a promotion and raise were offered.
Work culture and team dynamics; the maximization of skills and abilities; new challenges and industry exposure; salary; and mentorship and leadership capabilities are top considerations when accepting a new job, the survey found.
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