There is a keen interest from companies to recruit professionals skilled in the areas of digital, e-commerce, IoT, software development, semiconductors and healthcare. This is according to the latest Salary Benchmark 2018 report from global recruitment specialists Michael Page Taiwan.

The director of Michael Page Taiwan, Shaun Cronin says, "There is a fierce talent war to secure the top Taiwanese employees particularly in the software, semiconductors and IoT areas. Companies need to remain competitive by offering attractive salary packages and maintaining strong employer branding. Professionals often have multiple job opportunities and assess potential employers on their in-house technological advancement. Therefore it is important that firms invest in the implementation of new technology to ensure candidates gain experience in these cutting edge projects."

The report also states that professionals with the requisite technical skills such as product development and integration, quality engineering, machine learning as well as data science can expect a higher than average salary increase of 15-20% when moving jobs.

These salary increases are driven by the job rich and talent short employment landscape. Cronin explains, "The supply of jobs is entering Taiwan in large volumes because of both multinationals and local companies expanding their operations. Taiwan has a reputable high-quality developer market. Therefore we are seeing a number of traditional companies finding ways to digitally reinvent their processes as well as companies from Singapore, Hong Kong and other South East Asia countries identifying Taiwan to establish their regional research and development centres."

The rise of e-commerce and digital will continue to create job opportunities across sectors. Skilled professionals are highly sought after by both traditional companies looking to digitalise processes and progressive technology-driven firms wanting to stay ahead of the curve.

To support the technical aspects behind these platforms, technical candidates including mobile application developers, user interface/user experience (UI/UX) designers as well as search engine optimisation (SEO) engineers are in equally high demand. Savvy digital marketers with the ability to harness a full suite of marketing tools are also in demand to produce data-driven results.

With strong government support, Taiwan's healthcare industry will continue to mature in 2018 and attract even more international players. The jump in hiring activity is anticipated to be seen across pharmaceuticals and medical devices creating more opportunities for professionals in medical affairs as well as brand and product management.

Market access which ensures that all drugs and media procedures are facilitated to the appropriate patients has also developed relatively well and will generate more demand for experienced talent. Again, this is an area with acute talent shortage which will increase the pressure on Taiwan's existing candidate-short market.

Editor's Notes: The Michael Page Taiwan Salary Benchmark 2018 was produced in collaboration with the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT), and released at an ECCT Premium Event lunch held on 26 March 2018. The research covers market insights and recruitment trends. Compiled with employment figures from the group's database in the last 12 months, the report contains in-depth analysis and projections in key sectors such as human resources, engineering, manufacturing, marketing, procurement, supply chain and sales. 

About Michael Page
Michael Page provides specialised recruitment services for professionals at middle management to leadership levels, along with highly specialised technical positions. In Taiwan, the group specialises in roles across industries, within the following disciplines: Engineering & Manufacturing, Finance, Human Resources, Sales, Marketing, Procurement & Supply Chain, Retail &Sourcing, Financial Services and Technology.

About the ECCT
With over US$44 billion in direct foreign investments, European businesses are collectively the largest group of foreign investors in Taiwan. The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan is the only foreign nationwide business chamber in Taiwan and the principal organisation promoting European business interests in Taiwan. The chamber represents over 860 members from over 400 companies and organisations. Through a network of 30 industry and support committees, the ECCT has been successful in addressing specific concerns and providing concrete recommendations to all levels of government to facilitate improving the business environment. The ECCT annually publishes a series of position papers that comprise issues identified by its committees as hindering the further development of their respective industries and provide recommendations to the government of Taiwan for improvement of the business environment on general issues as well as industry-specific problems. They also serve to keep the European Commission and parliament as well as the governments of individual European countries informed about Taiwan's business environment.