CHINA IT & ET

Once dubbed as a technology copycat, the tables have turned for Mainland China, which is now seen as a superpower in the world of technology.

Of late, Mainland China has been hard at work in building a unique innovation ecosystem and producing ubiquitous world-class technologies stiffly rivalling that of Silicon Valley’s. Experts are noting that the roles are now reversed with U.S. tech companies increasingly imitating their Chinese counterparts to catch up with the future of technology. Amongst a slew of examples include Facebook’s likeness of WeChat’s third-party e-commerce and gaming features, and Western equivalents of the Chinese bike-sharing app Mobike sprouting three years only after the inception of the latter.

While the tech sector in Mainland China is now a force to be reckoned with, there still remains tremendous potential for growth. In a Job Registration Survey conducted by Hays Mainland China between March to August 2018, employers within the IT industry have a positive 12-month outlook for the growth of their organisations. About 89 per cent of respondents foresee strong to moderate growth of their organisation, as opposed to the eight per cent that saw stable to no growth in the coming year.

To fuel this, the Chinese government continues to be relentless in its investments to reach its goal of being the authority in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030, resulting in the projected industry worth amounting to 1 trillion yuan (US$150 billion) by that time.

Enterprise businesses have also been receiving foreign and domestic investments for R&D, digital transformation and getting their ABCs –– that is, AI, Big Data and Cloud Computing –– down pat. There has also been greater focus in the Internet of Things (IoT), virtual reality (VR) and block chain, fueling the Fourth Industrial Revolution that is changing the world of work. To add, the focal point for companies is building their capabilities in big data and machine learning to understand consumer trends and expand customer relationships. Candidates who are experts in these areas are hot in demand, as such technologies are highly applicable to both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) industries.

Emerging technologies has been, and always will, be the driving force behind continuous transformation for Mainland China’s information technology landscape. As such, the rapid ‘newness’ of each new technological breakthrough is resulting in a competitive and starkly talent short market in Mainland China’s IT industry. Most notably, talents in ABC have become essential to businesses to maximise customer lifetime value and gain agility to improve operational excellence. As a result, the lack of Data Analysts and Scientists in the country will result in heightened salary increases by employers in efforts to attract and retain talents in this field.

While Mainland China is leading the way as a technological trailblazer, its superlative position is neither uncontended nor does it come without risks or hurdles. In an industry where a company is only as good as its talent pool, IT businesses in Mainland China have been compelled to outbid each other to secure the best talents locally and from abroad.

Outside of AI, despite tightening laws on cybersecurity, Mainland China still remains a hotbed for cybercrimes, leading to the ramped up efforts on protection against cyberattacks. By contrast, according to Shanghai Daily, there currently 700,000 unfilled vacancies for online security experts and this number will increase by twofold by 2020. White-hackers in particular, who specialise in penetration testing to “expose system loopholes to improve online security”, will become increasingly critical within organisations in Mainland China.

To overcome the challenge of astute talent shortage, the Chinese government, and private and state-backed businesses in Mainland China, have been boosting their efforts in luring Chinese tech experts from overseas to return home. Mainland China, for example, has launched programmes, such as state funding, in hopes of luring Chinese fresh graduates from abroad to return to the mainland. These efforts are bolstered by President Donald Trump’s tighter immigration policy, resulting in many Chinese returnees with a wealth of experience from their stints overseas.

Furthermore, companies in Mainland China are far from taking a backseat in enticing potential employees. From 50 per cent salary increments, to on-boarding fees, equity, stock options and attractive bonuses, these companies have been pulling out all the stops in securing the best talents. Other than the experts in ABC, software engineers are yet another breed within the IT industry in China who are highly sought after and therefore command higher salaries in this currently talent short market.

These companies have also been realistic about the strong competition when attracting the very best. Employers in Mainland China are well aware of other increasingly inescapable considerations of tech talents, beyond financial lures. For instance, Chinese companies who are looking to attract Chinese returnees from the U.S. and expatriates have been striving to develop a hybrid culture of sorts to facilitate employees’ transition from West to East. While flex hours and work-life balance are challenging to achieve in China’s pervasive ‘996’ culture –– i.e., working from 9 a.m. till 9 p.m., six days a week –– perks such as on-site massage parlors, open seating arrangements, office pets, foosball tables and open-door policies are progressively commonplace in tech giants and startup companies alike.

Increasingly, companies are focusing on employer branding through career fairs, industry seminars and professional networking events to reel in bright talents. Many of them are also promoting themselves on social media such as LinkedIn and Chinese equivalents such as Zhaoping and Lieping, although LinkedIn is most efficient in luring senior-level executives.

While it may seem that tech candidates have leverage in Mainland China, it would be remiss to not mention that Chinese employers are, at the same time, raising their standards when it comes to hiring. A candidate who is the absolute perfect fit for both mid-level and senior-level roles would have to possess strong technological knowledge and expertise. Supporting this, in the aforementioned survey, employers in IT covet technical knowledge the most (57 per cent), over other criteria such as management/ leadership skills (19 per cent), previous employers (11 per cent), previous career stability (12 per cent) and salary expectations (one per cent).This is owing to the fact that is uncommon for such senior positions to be pure management roles. Employees are therefore expected to take a hands-on approach regardless of their ranks.

In terms of soft-skills, Mainland Chinese employers are looking for individuals who are eager to learn and passionate about technology in order to inspire and lead their teams. More and more, they also take into serious consideration the cultural fit of a candidate, as hiring employees who are aligned with their corporate values, mission and vision, is of growing importance in Mainland China’s booming IT industry.

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