THE TOP INDUSTRIES EXPECTED TO HIRE THROUGHOUT 2023 IN JAPAN

 

The global pandemic accelerated digital transformation and while it was a priority for many businesses pre-pandemic, it became a necessity almost overnight, and is still continuing at pace in 2023. This has created a continued demand for tech skills on all levels, particularly in Big Data, Cloud Computing and Cyber Security.

 

As digital transformation accelerates, so do the threats that companies face today. Organisations understand the importance of strengthening their defence strategies to cope with these challenges and are actively pushing to fill the gaps. Cyber security engineers with Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT), Cloud Security and Security Operation Center (SOC) experience are now highly in demand.

 

With Big Data continuing to play a pivotal role in providing cost-effective options in a wide range of use cases, organisations are cognizant of the need to be able to harness the amount of information available to them. Data Scientists and Big Data specialists with knowledge of SQL, Python, Machine Learning and Business Intelligence remain highly coveted for this reason.

 

As the qualification bar for technology talent continues to rise in 2023, DevOps, Site Reliability Engineers and Cloud Engineers continue to enjoy high demand across the industry, and candidates with a good balance of technical skills (AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, Docker, CD/CI etc) will be top picks.

 

Competition for quality talent remains fierce in the ever-stretched financial candidate market, where the demand for accountants, financial planning & analysis (FP&A) executives and managers endures. Complex political, social and economic uncertainties underpinning the world economy will require talents with the ability to assist organisations in making strategic decisions integral to surviving this difficult climate.

 

Accountants with Nisshou Boki 2 certification with experience in supporting or leading monthly and annual closing cycles were very much sought after. Knowledge in SAP (Concur), Oracle (Hyperion) and IBM Cognos TM1 were popular skills requested, aligning with accounting technology preferred by organisations today.

 

Financial planning and analysis candidates shall benefit from having business partnering experience, setting up Operational Expenditure (OPEX) and Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) for companies, as well as exposure to Profit & Loss (P&L) controlling and FP&A tasks.  Senior FP&A Managers are expected to also be capable of leading full P&L exercises and be able to perform financial modelling and data visualisation for stakeholders. Knowledge in SAP and Oracle was highly regarded, as well as the ability to use visualisation tools such as Tableau, Power BI and Alteryx, and Excel modelling tools such as macros, VBA and SQL. Proficiency in Sixth Sigma was also a desired skill for senior-level roles engaging in project-based tasks. Across all roles, the ability to able to converse in business English was an essential asset.

 

A strong finance team is essential for proper account management. Great teams will be able to identify patterns and provide businesses advice to best navigate these opportunities and challenges. This is especially important in tough times, and businesses with competent finance staff will be more prepared for the future.

 

Roles related to providing after-sales value to customers were in the engineering spotlight, with field service engineers seeing high demand in the country. Specialisations involved centered around electrical, chemical, semiconductor and machine engineering, with candidates possessing relevant experience and a driving license seeing employer preference due to the mobile nature of the job.

 

Further up the funnel, account managers capable of driving B2B proved to be a popular role to fill, especially those with chemical knowledge. Employers also searched for Quality Assurance (QA) engineers, prioritising candidates with demonstrated experience with handling complaints according to QA frameworks. ISO9001 or IATF16949 credentials were seen as key prerequisites for filling this position.

 

Skilled revenue drivers continue to be indispensable to companies looking to drive growth. With Japan’s economic outlook improving as the year progresses, sales executives and managers remain in demand by a variety of industries.

 

Employers looking to fill field sales roles prioritised account and stakeholder management, as well as closing skills in prospective candidates. Conversely, cold calling, business development and communication skills were highly requested for inside sales roles. Candidates looking to land sales manager roles will want to pick up people management skills and master business English, seen as a prerequisite by most companies.

 

Capping off this list are Office Professionals, whose business and administrative skills form the backbone of many industries. Responsibilities for these roles have grown to include catering for an increasing number of non-Japanese executives in organisations, as well as being able to interface with IT and business systems in English. Executive assistants taking up such roles will benefit from fluency in business English, with the ability to handle translation and interpretations. Experience with supporting non-Japanese executives as well as calendar management skills are a plus.

 

Sales administrators and administrative assistants are also a hot commodity, especially in the supply chain, logistics, purchasing support and customer service fields. Systems, Applications & Products (SAP) implementation experience comes highly requested, as well as data management, advanced Excel skills and report generation.

 

At the forefront of service, organisations are also on the lookout for customer service managers who can handle KPI implementation and running a mid-to-large sized teams. The ability to forecast, analyse data and perform budgeting related tasks are some of the necessary skills companies were on the lookout for.

 

The average salary has increased across many of these industries, as skills shortages continue to create demand for sought-after professionals.

 

Hays Specialist Recruitment Japan KK ("Hays Japan"), established in Tokyo in 2001, is one of the largest foreign recruitment companies in Japan with three offices across the country (Head Office, Osaka and Yokohama).

 

At Hays Japan, our experts provide professional services across the private sector, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles, temporary assignments, recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) and IT solutions in the following 15 specialisms: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Finance Technology, Digital Technology, Marketing & Digital, Human Resources, Information Technology, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Office Professionals, Property, Sales & Marketing, Supply Chain and Manufacturing. This ensures a highly focused, fully tailored Specialist Recruitment Service, enabling us to power the world of work by serving thousands of companies and candidates in Japan.

 

Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2022, the Group employed over 13,000 staff operating from 255 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2022:

 

– the Group reported net fees of £1,189.4 million and operating profit of £210.1 million;

– the Group placed around 83,750 candidates into permanent jobs and around 250,000 people into temporary roles;

– 16% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 26% in Germany, 22% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 36% in Rest of World (RoW);

– the temporary placement business represented 55% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 45% of net fees;

– Technology is the Group’s largest division, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (14%) and Construction & Property (11%), are the next largest

– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK and the USA