Silver lining for Malaysian employment market despite economic downturn

The strategic and low-cost region status, the growth of online business and talent of local employees are among the advantages for the Malaysian employment market despite the slowdown in the economy. Moreover, the depreciating currency will be able to attract foreign companies to invest in Malaysia. This will provide more job opportunities for local candidates. The survey by recruiting experts, Hays revealed a few talent trends for 2016.

There will be a steady growth in shared services centres due to Malaysia’s established status as a low-cost location, proficiency in languages, costs of salaries and talent of local employees. Foreign companies will also be attracted by the depreciation of the local currency which will enable them to establish lower cost centres in Malaysia. This effort will provide more job opportunities.

In the banking industry, many banks are looking to enhance bankcards, mortgages and wealth management segments. This will create demand for salespeople, especially with cross-selling capabilities.

The growth in online business in Malaysia will provide more job opportunities for not only in the IT sector but also for all those who are able to improve efficiencies through the digital tools. As consumers’ online shopping habits have increased, e-commerce has seen a tremendous growth which also provides hope for job seekers.

With the growth of online business, there will be a rising demand for those proficient in IT security. Those proficient in patching, monitoring and configuration will be sought after to minimise security threats.

Local based companies focusing in life science are getting ready for a rapid expansion in 2016. With the introduction of new medical services by strong local market players, more candidates will be required to support the development of this sector. New international investors might be interested to invest in the market.

Human resource professionals will be playing an important role in retention of staff as they begin to seek more job opportunities with signs of improvement in the economy. Talent managers, compensation and benefits as well as learning and development skills will have a good prospect. Moreover, HR will have an important role to predict and identify critical skills required for the coming decades while motivating, training and retaining younger workers who will be replacing seniors as they retire.

There will be significant improvements in business activities in electronics, pharmaceutical and food manufacturing. With the currency depreciation, more new plants will be relocated from high-cost markets to Malaysia. Since employers are facing a challenge to attract candidates due to their decision to set up new plants in remote locations, they will be more flexible and creative when developing remuneration packages.