MALAYSIA’S leading employment platform JobStreet is seeing a significant shift in the employment market which it has termed as the “great re-configuration”.
According to its managing director Vic Sithasanan, the COVID-19 pandemic has ‘permanently accelerated’ this shift caused by more organisations embracing digital transformation initiatives over the past two years.
“When the pandemic occurred at the start of 2020, the market viewed it as a ‘temporary disruptor’. However, it has since become a ‘permanent accelerator’ for change within the employment market,” he pointed out in a statement.
This scenario has resulted in a strong employment market as organisations raced to fill roles requiring new skillsets involving roles such as digital marketing, digital transformation initiatives and cybersecurity.
Vic said that the skill base has not adapted as fast to evolving employment demands.
“When hiring needs went down in 2020, so did employees appetite for new jobs. People became risk adverse: If someone had a job, they tend to want to keep it and not take risks to move for better paying jobs,” he observed.
“As organisations pivot, so did jobs – but candidates’ mindset didn’t. That said, we are seeing confidence return and candidates are now slowly opening to change roles, but not as fast as organisations want it to happen.”
According to the just released Job Outlook Report 2022 (Malaysia) by JobStreet, four broad industries – (i) semiconductor and wafer fabrication; (ii) electrical and electronics (E&E); (iii) computer and IT (software); and (iv) transportation and logistics – have recovered to pre-pandemic levels or even higher.
These industries experienced strong recovery and growth primarily due to digital transformation initiatives which increased productivity and operational efficiencies.
Other industries showing gradual and steady recovery include healthcare and medical, manufacturing and production, food and beverages, retail and merchandise, building, construction and engineering, as well as banking and finance.
At its end, JobStreet which is also evolving with the market will be introducing in the months ahead new initiatives for hirers’ benefit.
They include new flexible packages, more holistic HR solutions, a revolutionary platform called SeekMAX, role-based pricing, and a unified platform for seamless sourcing. – Oct 7, 2022
Main photo credit: EXPATGo
