Top tech skills in high demand for 2018

Technology recruitment will be robust in 2018, with digital transformation driving much of the demand. Many businesses in Hong Kong looked to integrate a digital strategy into their overall business approach. This has led to huge demand for digitally astute candidates in all areas of technology. 

What companies are looking for

Developers will be in high demand, in particular those who can bring Node.js skills to DevOps teams. According to the latest Robert Walters Salary Survey this will be the trend for 2018, with more intense competition for candidates due to a shortage of professionals in the market.

“Companies will look at investing in up-skilling their existing employees in Agile methodologies and new technologies; at the same time professionals with rich Agile project management experience and those who are scrum masters will be of particular interest to hiring managers.” said Kitee Fu, Manager - IT Commerce Division, Robert Walters Hong Kong.

Professionals with niche and emerging skill sets, such as big data, DevOps, cyber security and cloud collaboration, were in high demand and could command higher pay rates in 2018.

The call for IT professionals will continue to rise, especially for e-commerce, retail and digital specialists.

Where applications and development are concerned, Python is becoming more popular as the major programming language; as a result, big data roles will require developers proficient in its use. To handle big data projects, companies are seeking programmers who have strong quantitative skills and programming expertise in Python and/or C++, to work on data manipulation and analysis.

Rise in demand for IT contractors

“There is a shift in employers preferring to hire contractors to run their business projects across a variety of sectors including retail, logistics, airline and software.” said June Tam, Senior Manager - Contract - IT & Procurement, Robert Walters Hong Kong.

The contracting roles in demand include project managers and business analysts with experience of running and executing process re-engineering and change management projects, human resources information system (HRIS), outsourcing and data analysis.

Salary increments for technology talent in 2018

“In the face of constant technological change, companies are seeking candidates who are willing to learn new skills and be open-minded about upgrading their professional abilities.” said Manager - Transactional, IT&T Division, Robert Walters Hong Kong.

Salary increments in the tech & transformation sector vary greatly according to the demand for and supply of particular skills, with an average of 10-15% for permanent roles and 15-20% for contractors when changing jobs. 

Ready for the next move? Check out the hot tech jobs in the market here.