NAVIGOS SEARCH: REPORT ON RECRUITMENT DEMANDS FOR SENIOR MANAGEMENT LEVEL IN QUARTER 4/2019

Manufacturing and Consumer Goods/Retail lead the demand for high-level personnel

According to statistics based on recruitment needs from Navigos Search’s clients, the top 5 industries with the highest recruitment demand are Manufacturing; Consumer Goods/Retail; Information Technology; Banking and Finance; Professional Service. Accordingly, Professional Service has the highest growth rate, up to 35% compared to Quarter 3/2019; followed by Consumer Goods/Retail with a 7% increase.

Increasing the trend of “Digital Banking”, increasing the demand for recruiting related positions

As observed by Navigos Search, the demand for recruiting mid and senior positions in Q4 / 2019 in the banking sector was quite stable. Notably, local banks are focusing on developing digital services, so the demand for recruiting related positions also increased in this quarter. Specifically, such as Business Development for digital banking, Customer Experience Analysis, and Information Technology, such as Project Management, Data Analysis, etc.

Banks face many challenges in recruiting these positions because the domestic source of candidates has not met expectations. In addition, because Banking is a highly specialized industry, businesses still prefer candidates with industry experience before looking for candidates from other industries. To address a part of the challenge, banks are now prioritizing looking for Vietnamese candidates but having experience working abroad or overseas Vietnamese returning to Vietnam for work.

The emergence of new investors and open opportunities for Tourism/Hospitality and Education personnel

It is forecasted that in the resort real estate industry will continue to thrive in 2020, many corporations are investing in the hotel and resort chain, increasing the demand for recruiting mid-level and senior personnel to put into operation. As observed by Navigos Search, there is a shortage of qualified local personnel, so businesses have to attract personnel from big cities with attractive salaries.

In the Education industry, many foreign language training institutions, international schools, and Vietnamese corporations are in the process of setting up to prepare for enrollment in 2020. The positions being recruited include the Principal, Human Resources Director, and Finance Director.

Candidates have more choices, IT enterprises have to compete to attract talents

As predicted by Navigos Search, in the field of Information Technology in 2020 will continue to have high recruitment demand, especially for Outsourcing companies, with the entry of a number of large foreign investors from Asia. Also according to the observation, candidates in the industry are having more choices, which leads businesses to attract talents with competitive salaries, attractive employer brand and new or interesting work or project.

Retail is still growing dynamically, predicting recruitment demand will increase in 2020

Retail sector has appeared new foreign investors in 2019 in Vietnam for Fashion, Cosmetics, Food & Beverages, etc. This investment is mainly concentrated in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang,… Accordingly, it is expected that the demand for recruiting mid- and high-level personnel in Q1/2020 will increase, especially after the Lunar New Year.

In addition, the Retail industry also appeared investors from China. These enterprises do not have much market information in Vietnam, so recruitment requirements are still not localized and suitable for Vietnam’s labor market. For these businesses, the recruitment requirements for mid-level and senior personnel in addition to meeting the professional requirements also need to be fluent in Chinese.

Following the trend of digitalization, Retail businesses “have not fully understood, but still have to recruit” 

Vietnamese businesses in the Retail industry are aware of the development of the trend of e-commerce or digital marketing to compete in the market. This has led to an increase in the demand for the hiring of these positions while the number of candidates is still limited. However, there are still some businesses that have not developed a clear orientation for digital development so recruitment needs are not yet specific and appropriate. This led to difficulties in recruiting personnel, and the gap between supply and demand is growing as demand continued to increase and supply did not keep up.