Skill Shortage impacts Technology Growth in Hong Kong

Azure, Data and Cloud talent in demand.

New research conducted by global talent services company Morgan McKinley as part of its 2024 Salary Guide has revealed that 76% of technology hiring managers found recruitment ‘very’ or ‘quite’ competitive in 2023 in Hong Kong.

The Guide identified key challenges for 2024, with 25% of hiring managers citing shortage of skilled candidates as their primary obstacle. Other challenges included difficulties in competing on pay and benefits (22%) and a lack of approval for new headcount (19%).

Despite the challenging market, things are looking brighter in 2024 with half of technology hiring managers revealing that they are increasing headcount in the first half of the year and 46% of technology workers are looking for new roles in that same period, with a further 31% considering a move.

Flexibility continues to be important in the technology industry, with work from home and flexible working hours placing first and third respectively in Tech professionals’ top five valued benefits - alongside bonus (second), health insurance (fourth) and pension (fifth). Technology had the greatest proportion of people who placed 'work from home' as one of their most valued benefits out of all 10 specialisations surveyed (71% of technology professionals picked it in their top five).

42% of technology professionals would prefer to be in the office 1-2 days a week, whilst only 8% want to be on-site 5 days a week. Over half (53%) would skip a pay rise if it meant they got the flexibility they desire. 69% of employers expect their salary offers to increase for certain hard-to-fill roles across technology, and a further 20% plan to increase salary offers for all Tech teams.

Rob Sheffield, Managing Director of Morgan McKinley Hong Kong & China, commented: “The high demand for technology professionals in Hong Kong remains consistent. The main difference in 2023 was the slower pace - processes took longer due to clients being selective and interviewing multiple candidates before committing to an offer. There is a distinct lack of junior-level technology professionals; it is likely that there will be turnover at this level of hiring for 2024.”

“The demand for experienced contractors and outcome-based consulting has increased noticeably in Hong Kong. The need to support business-critical programmes and time-sensitive roles is driving this demand.”

Key jobs and skills in demand for 2024 in Hong Kong across areas of Technology:

The Morgan McKinley 2024 Salary Guide presents up-to-date and accurate salary data for a wide range of Technology roles across Hong Kong, providing hiring managers with industry benchmarks when they are working out what to pay employees and giving professionals more visibility over what they can earn. 

Research from 650 businesses and 3,400 professionals was conducted to find out what companies’ hiring intentions are for 2024, what the key motivators are for changing jobs, and what the expectations are for movement on salaries.

For the Morgan McKinley Hong Kong SAR 2024 Salary Guide, visit: 

https://www.morganmckinley.com/hk/salary-guide

About Morgan McKinley

Morgan McKinley is a global talent services expert, offering the full spectrum of solutions to meet employers’ and jobseekers’ needs. With 19 offices in 10 countries and nearly 1000 employees, it provides 3 distinct solutions for customers. Morgan McKinley Recruitment Solutions encompassing deep expertise across 10 professional disciplines offering temporary, contract and permanent recruitment; Morgan McKinley Executive Search for targeted C-Suite talent searches; and Morgan McKinley Talent Solutions including RPO, MSP, Project Recruitment and more.

Morgan McKinley is part of Org, a more human kind of professional services company that harnesses the power of talent to bring better business outcomes for clients across the world through advisory, managed services and talent services.

https://www.morganmckinley.com