China to suffer professional skills shortage

Over half of bosses are already worried.

According to a survey by Michael Page, with a continued skills shortage of quality talent likely in China’s professional recruitment market during 2013, many employers will look to develop more targeted attraction strategies to secure the talent they need for their business.

Almost half of all employers surveyed (48%) expect their business will experience some staff turnover during the year and 51% believe there will be a professional skills shortage.

The majority of surveyed employers (68%) believe this skills shortage will lead to salary levels increasing above the rate of inflation; an increase of 6% from the percentage of employers with this view in the 2012 survey.

Aligned with this sentiment, most of the employers surveyed (36%) indicate they are likely to award average salary increases in the range of 8-10%. This finding is consistent with the previous year’s survey, where 34% chose 8-10% as the range for average salary increases.

“While general hiring activity is expected to be positive over the coming 12 months, the shortage of quality talent will continue to present a challenge for employers.

The limited availability of exceptional professionals is likely to be exacerbated by an increase in staff loyalty and the ongoing shift for employees to stay with an employer for longer in a role and take advantage of training and development opportunities,” says Mr. Richard King, Managing Director of PageGroup in North and Eastern China.

A significant 70% of survey respondents indicate the professional skills shortage in China will lead to the development of more targeted attraction strategies, and highlights attraction and retention as an ongoing business focus and challenge for many employers over the coming year.

Further, 32% of surveyed employers believe recognition and reward will be the most important factor for attracting and retaining staff and 28% cite structured career progression as key.