Taipei, Jan. 9 (CNA) About 73 percent of employers in Taiwan reported recruitment difficulties, with those trying to hire talent with information and data skills facing the most significant challenge, according to the latest survey released by human resources advisory firm ManpowerGroup on Tuesday.
In the 2024 global talent shortage report, ManpowerGroup surveyed more than 40,000 people in 41 countries and regions, including 630 in Taiwan, and found that 75 percent of employers worldwide were dealing with a talent shortage, slightly higher than Taiwan’s 73 percent.
In Japan, about 85 percent of employers found it hard to fill job vacancies, the highest of those surveyed, followed by Germany, Greece, and Israel (82 percent), Ireland, Portugal, and India (81 percent), and the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Brazil (80 percent), according to ManpowerGroup.
The survey found that 79 percent of employers in Singapore said they had difficulties in filling job vacancies, while 70 percent of employers in the United States and 69 percent of employers in China also said so.
Joan Yeh (葉朝蒂), the ManpowerGroup Taiwan general manager, said in a statement that talent shortage appeared to have become a universal phenomenon.
With the emergence of artificial intelligence applications, Yeh said cultivating AI talent had become the most important task for employers worldwide.
Regarding Taiwanese industries, 78 percent of employers in the transportation, logistics, and auto businesses faced challenges in finding talent, the highest of all major industries, followed by the industrial and raw material sectors that came in second (77 percent), the survey found.
Yeh said the talent shortage in the local transportation, logistics, and auto industry came amid an explosion in personal spending in the post-COVID-19 era, with many consumers rushing to take trips and spending big on entertainment activities, which prompted logistics operators and airlines to expand their hiring processes to meet demand.
In Taiwan, 35 percent of employers found those with information technology and data skills the most challenging to find (35 percent), ahead of those with engineering skills (26 percent), manufacturing/ production skills (24 percent), human resources skills (23 percent) and sustainability/ environmental skills (20 percent).
The shortage of talent with IT and data skills in Taiwan reflected the growing demand for AI applications, while many businesses also needed talent with such abilities to analyze data and enhance cybersecurity, Yeh said.
Yeh added there was a need to recruit HR professionals to help find the right personnel to facilitate AI development.
The ManpowerGroup survey said tackling the talent shortage required employers in Taiwan to provide employees with more flexible work schedules, raise compensation, and allow employees to work remotely.
Yeh said such flexibility from employers demonstrates an awareness of the importance of retaining, as well as recruiting, talent.
According to the survey, 70 percent of employers in Taiwan were worried about an economic slowdown. Yeh said economic weakness was expected to lead to employers freezing hiring, and cutting training budgets, which could make it challenging for employees to acquire necessary skills.
