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HONG KONG

Hong Kong workers think they are not equipped with

the requisite skills for digital economy: survey

Over half of Hong Kong’s workforce feels their jobs are at risk from the rapid growth of the digital economy, with over 40% suggesting they feel they don’t have the required skills to compete in it, a survey has found.

 

Tech consultants IDC for Workday conducted the survey, polling nearly 1,500 employees in eight Asia-Pacific countries, assessing their attitudes towards the digital economy.

 

David Hope, president of Workday Asia-Pacific, stated that manual jobs were the most at risk from digitalisation, such as sorting through job applicants’ CVs in the initial stages of the hiring process, and call centre operators.

 “We hear all this terminology about how AI will impact the industry, but it will take time,” said Hope. “Transformation takes time because there is so much foundation work that needs to be done.”

 

25% of respondents said they planned to leave their current employer within a year, citing wages, work-life balance and a lack of career prospects because of digitalisation as the biggest factors. 30% of Hong Kong workers stated they feel they are not receiving sufficient training in digital skills.

 

Hope said that the next step is for firms to provide very proactive training and education in digital skills “to make employees feel empowered and not as though they were being left behind”.

 

Hong Kong’s digital economy is predicted to be worth US$9 billion by 2020 and approximately 60%of Asia ex Japan’s GDP will be digitalised, the survey said. 

 

In line with the government’s long-term vision to transform Hong Kong into a smart city to rival the likes of Singapore, Shenzhen and Tokyo, HK$50 billion was put aside in this year’s budget to develop the city into a leading centre of technology and innovation.

 

However, despite the huge potential for cost saving, many Hong Kong companies have been slow to embrace robotic automation technologies. According to a March survey from KPMG China and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants Hong Kong, 80% of companies in the city were either unaware of financial automation or had no implementation plans.

 

Hope makes the point that Hong Kong’s economy stands to lose out if firms do not digitalise fast enough but remained optimistic that adoption would speed up. “For a lot of industries all over the world, if they don’t take these new digital opportunities, they will lose out. Hong Kong is no different, but it has always been very adaptive and typically pretty savvy to market demands. I’m confident that Hong Kong has what it takes to adapt to the new economy.”

 

Source: South China Morning Post

Gemini Development

Case Study

 

After several in-depth consultations, it was agreed that wholesale layoffs may not be the perfect solution as it would involve hefty compensation packages, additional recruitment, on-boarding and training costs. Gemini worked with the client to assess the background of their workforce and identified that 40% of them have the potential, aligned with appropriate training, to be redeployed to another position within the group.  

 

Our client agreed that the combination of both outplacement and redeployment would not only prove more economical, but that it would also improve workforce agility and reduce potential damage to staff morale.

 

The client accepted our proposal and we set to work. We ran individual assessments against specified competencies for each of the staff identified for redeployment, holding workshops and training sessions. The result was that 8 employees (27% of total affected workforce, including both front line workers and office supporting staffs) were successfully reassigned to new positions within their group. For the staff that were unfortunately made redundant, we provided individual outplacement support, offering expert advice, rebuilding their confidence, and working on their profiles to better position them for re-entering the job market. We are very happy to report that many are already interviewing for new positions and that some have already landed new roles.

 

With “the end of cheap China”, the aftermath of a trade war looming and digital transformation, Gemini expects the need for outplacement and redeployment support to increase in Q3 and Q4. While the career transition services market in Asia is a still at a nascent stage when compared to Europe and the US, appreciation of the importance for employers to look after their employees post-employment is growing.

 

To have a confidential discussion regarding outplacement services, redeployment or other HR related matters, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Gemini’s HR Consulting Division at consulting@gemini.com.hk.

Top 5 Candidates in Hong Kong

Regional Financial Controller

 

Nationality: Hong Kong                Availability: Immediately available

Based: Hong Kong

Languages: Native Cantonese, Mandarin and English

Skills:

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For more information about this candidate, please contact varsham@gemini.com.hk.

HR and Administration Manager  

Nationality: Hong Kong                   Availability: Immediately available

Based: Hong Kong

Languages: Cantonese and English

Skills: 

- 14 years’ working experience in human resources and administration functions, with multinational companies. Great knowledge of resources planning, recruitment & selection, compensation & benefits, employee relations, performance management, succession planning and international assignments. 

- Actively supports the success of business by delivering people focused solutions and support, as well as local implementation of global projects and managing changes.

For more information about this candidate, please contact kittys@gemini.com.hk.

Executive Assistant 

Nationality: Hong Kong                     Availability: Immediately available     

Based: Hong Kong

Languages: Native Cantonese, Mandarin and excellent English

Skills:

- Master's Degree of Commerce in Advanced Information Systems and Management and a Bachelor's Degree in Information Systems from Australia.

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- Extensive experience in supporting top management and teams, used to work in fast paced and multicultural environment. 

- Good communication and interpersonal skills.

 

For more information about this candidate, please contact laurisy@gemini.com.hk.

CFO, Finance VP and Corporate Controller  

Nationality: U.S.A and Hong Kong      Availability: Immediately available     

Based: Hong Kong or San Francisco

Languages: Native Cantonese, Mandarin and English

Skills:

- Experienced finance professional with experience as CFO (4.5 years), VP Finance (10 years) and Corporate Controller (8 years).

- 4 years with Big 4 CPA (Deloitte) and 3 years in a large U.S. National CPA firm (BDO USA).

- Successful partnership with CEOs and CFOs to re-structure organisations, evaluate new business, reduce operational expenses and cash burn, raise finance, achieve profitability, and prepare companies for sale.

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For more information about this candidate, please contact katheriney@gemini.com.hk.

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