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Though Asia is the most populous continent and land of
most of the big emerging economies such as China and India,
it is still facing the challenge of shortage of qualified
staff. What are the factors leading to this skill shortage?
A serious shortage of candidates with the required skill
sets is consistently seen as the biggest challenge for employers.
In each of the four markets (Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan
and China) surveyed from the Hudson Report Q3 2007, 38%
or 39% of respondents say this is their biggest challenge,
far more than for any other factor.
By a small margin, China has the highest number of respondents
who say that the skills shortage is the greatest challenge—39%.
Pay increases are mentioned by 17%. This issue is particularly
severe in the banking, IT&T and media/PR/advertising
sectors, where the shortage of qualified candidates is having
a major impact on salary demands. Achieving the right cultural
fit is a significant challenge for companies in the media/PR/advertising
and consumer sectors, which are focused on effective brand-building.
In Hong Kong, the skills shortage is particularly severe
in the Information Technology and Telecom (IT&T) and manufacturing
sectors, with 45% and 44% respectively of respondents mentioning
them. Respondents in the banking and media/Public Relation
(PR)/advertising sectors report that pay increases are a significant
issue. In the legal sector, 25% say that finding the right
language skills is challenging, as demand for Putonghua speaking
lawyers is high.
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