Employment in Taiwan Gains Optimism in 2021 Driven By Growth in Sustainable Energy

Taipei, January 11, 2021 - Professional recruitment services firm Michael Page Taiwan today launched the ‘Talent Trends 2021 Report’, with a keen eye on Taiwan's optimistic talent market. With 89% of professionals indicating an interest to change jobs and strong demand for talent in the technology and sustainable energy industries, healthy hiring activity is anticipated.

Mark Tibbatts, Managing Director of Michael Page Taiwan, says, “Sustainable energy is earmarked to be the strongest performer, being the largest emerging sector in Taiwan by 2020 and a key link in Taiwan's economic strategy.”

According to the report, sustainable energy companies are willing to offer average salary increases of more than 18% for new hires in 2021, the highest of any industry. 78% of this industry’s professionals stated their interest in seeking new opportunities in 2021. Mark Tibbatts advises, “As economic activity picks up in Taiwan, companies are likely to compete for high potential experts, which means it is even more important for companies to stand out from the competition with strong employer branding.”

Despite an optimistic outlook, Taiwanese companies must continue to focus on innovation, product development and supply chain management. "These areas will help companies find new revenue streams and get through the recovery with a stronger and more powerful posture. Moreover, Taiwan's economy still has a strong need for a quality workforce,” Mark Tibbatts continues.

As Taiwan’s professionals continue to seek flexibility and work-life balance, mental health and wellbeing remain at the forefront of job seekers priorities when identifying an employer of choice. 65% of respondents ranked the company's culture above ‘possible career growth opportunities’ (54%) and ‘company mission and values aligned with theirs’ (53%) when selecting a potential hiring manager.

In addition to recruitment insights and industry analysis on the Taiwanese job market, the report also shares new insights across the Asia Pacific market on related topics such as digital readiness, organisational structure, flexible working, leadership, performance management, and diversity and inclusion.

Across the Asia Pacific region, the COVID-19 pandemic dealt a major blow to the global economy across all sectors and markets in 2020. Job vacancies dropped by 8% to 35% depending on the location. Several businesses reported a conservative approach to their hiring strategy, choosing instead to freeze or even reduce their headcount in order to reduce costs. However the reduced rate of hiring was not an indication that businesses shut out all qualified talent altogether. We saw very positive trends upward from Q2 to Q3, and Q4 versus Q3 2020. Optimism exists in 2021, as 42% of businesses in Asia Pacific said that they are already looking to increase headcount in the year.

New ways of working emerged rapidly as employees adapted to the new normal. The driving force behind the changes was the digital transformation which became top priority for all businesses overnight. 68% of companies intend to increase investment in technology and digital tools in 2021

As a viable option to bridge skill gaps arising from investment in digital tools and organisation redesign, 20% of companies in Asia Pacific cited prioritising short-term contractors/temporary employment in their 2021 hiring strategy. This is an increase from 15% in 2019.

While the boundaries of work-life balance were debated in 2020, 4 in 5 employees were found to feel equally or more productive working from home, only 5% of them prefer to work completely remotely. This indicates a need for frequent social interaction with co-workers. With this, 51% of organisations evolved their performance evaluations. To reflect the times of crisis, management teams started reassessing individuals with greater importance placed on positive behaviours, 64% of companies rated team collaboration as the most valued employees attribute during times of crisis.