In Asia, hiring in tech sector is booming
BEIJING - Hiring in the technology sectors in several countries in Asia is booming, even as regulatory clampdowns on the industry have dampened employment sentiment in China, the world's second largest economy after the United States.
Companies are dangling perks, such as workcations, to draw talent, with many continuing to hire remote positions or bringing in expatriates amid the pandemic.
Last year, bonuses at Bharat Pe in India included BMW bikes, Apple AirPods and Samsung Galaxy watches. The fintech start-up, which has some 100 engineers, also offered employees workcations in Dubai during the cricket World Cup in a move to retain workers. Local media reports noted that tech firms in India are expected to raise salaries or counter offers by up to 120 per cent this year to attract and retain talent with niche skills.
Mr Harshvendra Soin, global chief people officer and marketing head at multinational firm Tech Mahindra, told The Sunday Times: "2021 was the year of digitalisation (due to the pandemic), and 2022 will be a year of recalibrating talent to address the demand for niche skills and digitally adept employees."
The top five IT software firms in India - TCS, Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra - hired 122,546 workers between April and September last year, The Economic Times in India reported.
Tech Mahindra expects to double its talent supply in digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud technology and blockchain by sending its current employees for training and "looking for fresh talent in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and overseas", said Mr Soin, referring to cities with a population of one million or fewer.
Another big firm, Wipro, told ST in a statement that it has hired 17,500 new graduates so far in its current financial year. It is looking to hire 30,000 fresh graduates in its next financial year.
In the Philippines, job openings in the tech sector grew by 37 per cent, according to recruitment firm Michael Page. The company said in an October report last year: "Companies in the Philippines have adapted to the pandemic and are going ahead with their previously paused business plans."
It added that the shift to working from home has also raised demand for technology workers who are skilled in setting up remote workstations.
The Philippine Labour Ministry said in a jobs report for this year that IT and business process management will continue to generate the most jobs in the country.
Firms are also hiring more IT-related workers such as software engineers, website developers and network administrators, it added. For example, power-generating companies recorded a 39 per cent increase in IT hires last year, with roles such as programmers and testers being the most sought after.
The tech sector in Indonesia is still growing and in need of more and experienced talent, said Mr Rachmat Kaimuddin, a special adviser for technology and sustainability development to a senior minister.
Currently, IT engineers in Indonesia are not as experienced as those in the US, given that Indonesia's first-generation big tech companies such as ride-hailing app Gojek and e-commerce giants Tokopedia and Bukalapak have been around for about 10 to 12 years only, compared with mature behemoths such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Google, he added.
Still, the country's tech industry has grown quickly, with hundreds of firms these days compared with several companies about a decade ago, he said, adding: "We must encourage further growth (in the IT talent pool)."
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Tech companies and government officials in Indonesia told ST that firms are resorting to hiring talent who can work remotely, such as those living in the US, India, Singapore and Canada, to fill the talent gap, adding that some firms will also bring in expatriates, when necessary.
They expect Indonesia's talent pool to need at least 10 years before reaching maturity.
Some firms also choose to nurture the local talent. For example, Bukalapak has been sponsoring training for its younger employees in technology-related roles.
In China, however, a series of regulatory clampdowns last year, including a ban on after-school tutoring firms and anti-monopoly and cyber-security blitzes, have hit technology companies such as Tencent, Alibaba and Didi hard.
New Oriental Education, China's largest edutech firm, retrenched 60,000 employees after Beijing outlawed after-school tuition in July last year, its founder Yu Minhong said in a social media post earlier this month. ByteDance, the owner of TikTok and its Chinese twin Douyin, has retrenched between 20 and 40 per cent of its staff, while iQiyi, one of China's largest video platforms, let more than 20 per cent of its employees go.
Graduates are also shunning the technology sector - known for its punishing "996" culture - for more stable positions in the civil service. The term "996" refers to how employees, particularly those in the tech sector, are expected to work from 9am to 9pm, six days a week.
Mr Rou Jingxiong, 30, a former programmer in a US-listed Chinese social networking company, is considering taking the civil service examination after being retrenched from Internet firms at least twice in the past three years.
"I'm so tired of the uncertainty. Internet companies are very results-driven to begin with, and the clampdowns have worsened matters," he told ST.
Source:
https://www.straitstimes.com/busine...tion-in-asia-hiring-in-tech-sector-is-booming
As I've said before, if Sinkies will still resent the government from allowing qualified foreign PMETs to come in, very soon, it's time to say Sayonara to the Sinkie economy and nobody is going to sympathize with Sinkies because they had brought this to themselves. Don't just talk about India, but even the Philippines and Indonesia are upping the ante now. Stop procrastinating because time and tide wait for no man.
