Japan’s top talent trends for 2021: Working practices revolution and digitalisation both key to the jobs market

The way that Japanese workers operate is set to change dramatically in the post-COVID-19 world, meaning that digital solutions and online transformation will be critical in the coming year, according to recruiting experts Hays, as part of the country's top 10 talent trends for 2021.

Due to the global pandemic and the subsequent 'soft lockdown', in 2020 companies were forced to modify operations, precipitating a transformation in how employees engaged with their jobs. With some two-thirds of domestic companies encouraging working-from-home practices, a theory has been mooted that the traditional salaryman lifestyle - epitomised by packed commuter trains and long days in the office - could be consigned to history.

'This societal shift means that in the coming year companies must reconfigure how they operate,' says Richard Eardley, Managing Director for Hays in Japan. 'For many, the solution will be found in the digitalisation of their functions and moving systems into the cloud, so that hybrid and remote workers can perform their roles as seamlessly as if they were in the office.

'Away from coronavirus-related issues, 2020 saw Japan tackling concerns surrounding the use of big data and cybersecurity. New Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is currently spearheading efforts to establish a government entity called the Digital Agency, slated for early 2021, that will hopefully allay public fears over how organisations use customer data, and companies are preparing for the eventualities that this may inspire.

'And as ever, the issue of sourcing highly qualified, experienced and bilingual candidates is to remain an issue in Japan's recruitment market. This is likely to be most pronounced in accountancy, where CPAs are in short supply, and in compliance, where finding candidates with the precise skills required is likely to pose the greatest challenge for employers.

'All in all, with Japan seemingly having handled coronavirus concerns better than others, 2021's jobs market is expected to be a year of not only recovery, but of potentially bouncing back to bigger and better than before.'

Hays' Top 10 Talent Trends for 2021 in Japan are:

1. Pharma companies to digitise and restructure

One unavoidable consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic is that there has been limited physical access to hospitals, medical representatives and clinical trials. As a result, there has been a pronounced trend for pharmaceutical companies requiring the digitalisation of both MR and clinical online trial services. To this end, 2021 will see an escalation in the hiring of remote MRs and e-MRs, with a pronounced focus on clinical trials. Meanwhile, pharma companies are expected to execute strategy reviews, resulting in a focus switch from the implementation of early retirement programs, and instead placing greater emphasis on R&D and clinical trial budgets with high growth potential, such as oncology, rare diseases, CNS and ophthalmology related treatments.

2. Increased focus on cybersecurity

Potential cybersecurity attacks on the Olympic Games and reports of thefts linked to cashless payments made headlines in Japan in 2020. Against this backdrop of public anxiety, companies have been forced to take cybersecurity issues seriously, as apprehension over such hacks and data breaches has had a detrimental effect on customer trust, and falling foul of regulations can lead to fines and the reduction of workforce productivity. As such, companies specialised in cybersecurity will be actively pursuing experienced candidates that can provide products to companies that require urgent security. Sales engineers will be in demand, with cybersecurity pre-sales consultants at the top of recruitment wish lists.

3. Big data is big news, both literally and figuratively

Data, and how companies may utilise it, became a national issue in 2020. Concerns were raised over how the data acquired from a COVID-19 reporting application would be used, and in order to dampen disquiet following a scandal centring on the sale of data procured from job-seeking students, the government revised the Act on the Protection of Personal Information. These issues aside, there can be no doubt that the importance of big data, and how it is applied to the analysis of customer behaviours, will be one of the most important trends of the coming year. The evaluation of big data will become more efficient with the introduction of AI, and candidates in various industry-related roles - including, but not limited to, data analyst, data scientist, data engineer, NLP engineer and AI specialist - will be aggressively recruited.

4. Working habits to reflect the new normal

The effects that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on Japan's working practices have been pronounced, with a broad section of the workforce operating from home rather than the office, to such an extent that many companies are reviewing their use of office space. This shift, plus the change in how consumers shop for and receive goods, has had a beneficial effect on companies associated with the services and products of delivery and e-commerce industries. Should these trends continue as expected into 2021, the next twelve months should see the emergence of yet more such companies on both the domestic and international stage.

5. Companies taking to the cloud

Following the hitherto unimaginable movement of employees from the office and into a hybrid working culture, companies in Japan were faced with numerous challenges as to how such a culture could be implemented whilst still maintaining efficiency and productivity. One solution was the utilisation of cloud-based systems and operations. Cloud migration will be a major priority for companies of all sizes in 2021, meaning that there will be an abundance of possibilities for candidates operating in the sector in the coming year.

6. Companies seeking digital solutions to the hybrid working problem

Another consequence of the move to hybrid working practices is that digitalisation will be of ever-increasing importance in the year ahead. Last year companies were forced to place a 'hard reset' on their contract hiring strategies, as they re-evaluated which skills and projects were considered essential in order to thrive in an increasingly digital world. In 2021, priority will be given to online-related projects that support business modes and revenues and enable a virtual work-from-home environment for internal staff members. This, in turn, has seen companies offering a work-from-home option for contract positions as they seek to recruit security engineers, governance engineers, PMs, full-stack developers, cloud server engineers, and IT support.

7. Bilingual accountants in demand despite recruitment easement

Accounting firms are expected to be relatively circumspect in finance team headcount expansion throughout 2021. However, this does not mean that recruitment is entirely out of the question, as should impressive candidates be presented, particularly in the FP&A space, employers would be open to creating new positions. Those roles are likely to be of the essential variety as opposed to strategic, and successful candidates should be experienced accountants or finance managers who are fluent in both Japanese and English, familiar with overseas reporting processes, can close books on their own and would be able to hit the ground running with little-to-no training required.

8. Ready-to-go compliance candidates key, but require specialist experience

In 2020, 'compliance' was very much the watchword in banking and finance, and it is expected to continue to be so in the following twelve months. Though the market is awash with experienced compliance talent, there is currently a keener focus on more distinct skills, which is a problem as there is a dearth of candidates who are adequately qualified, particularly those who are bilingual. Another issue compounding this candidate short market is that the specialised nature of the sector results in a low possibility for skills and experience cross-transference, and successful candidates should be ready to go from day one, with little flexibility allowed for knowledge and experience gaps.

9. Semiconductor industry ready to bounce back

With 5G technology being rolled out worldwide and Japan a market leader at the forefront of its technological advances, the semiconductor industry is a principal concern for many tech firms, particularly in Asia. Though the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a decline in necessity for semiconductors and its related equipment and materials, in 2021 the desire for such technology is expected to recover better than many other industries, especially with the demand created by advances in IoT and digitalisation.

10. Supply chain and factories at pre-coronavirus levels

The supply chain industry will continue to see high demand for functions such as production planning and control, direct procurement, and supply chain planning, though there are a number of considerations to take into account following matters that came to light due to the coronavirus pandemic. A primary issue is that the needs of material handling machines and systems have surged dramatically in logistic centres, a situation that can be expected to continue into the coming year. However, with that said, many factories are likely to maintain pre-COVID-19 level operations, especially for science related products and in the chemical products industry.

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