Forecast Talent Acquisition Trends for July – September 2018

Robert Walters Japan Forecasts Talent Acquisition Trends for July – September 2018
Comment in Response to the December Job Openings-to-Applicants Ratio

• Tendency to increase compliance personnel continues to grow

• Increased hiring activity for corporate legal professionals due to a surge in cross-border business

• Demand is growing for client-oriented legal service professionals at consulting firms
   

Tokyo, July 31, 2018 -- Robert Walters Japan, a leading recruitment consultancy with the largest number of registered Japanese and English bilingual professionals, today responded to the Employment Referrals for General Workers statistics announced by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for June 2018. Robert Walters also released its forecast for general employment trends in the July-September quarter.

The effective job openings-to-applicants ratio announced by the MHLW held steady at 1.62 for June, with a continuing workforce shortage. Robert Walters Japan forecasts that in particular, demand will continue to grow in the July-September period for legal professionals with strong business skills and advanced English proficiency.

Joshua Bryan, Director of Financial Services, Legal, HR & Contract at Robert Walters Japan, comments, “Hiring is increasing for compliance officers centred on the three areas of finance, healthcare, and IT amidst the steady progression of stricter regulations, and this hiring trend is expected to continue growing in the fourth quarter of 2018. Furthermore, there is increased hiring activity in companies’ internal legal departments. In addition to companies supplementing their management staff above the manager level, some companies are also establishing new senior-level positions such as CLO (Chief Legal Officer) and other general counsel positions. Amidst accelerating globalization and technological innovation, we can see a trend in every industry for strengthening legal structures to accompany the increase in data utilization and the surge in cross-border business. Active participation is needed for management from specialized points of view in all aspects for handling internal matters related to compliance with the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), M&A, intellectual property protection, and amendments to dispatch worker laws and the Labour Contracts Act. As a result, demand is growing for professionals with advanced English proficiency and industry knowledge in addition to legal qualifications and experience in specialized areas. Additionally, hiring activity is abundant accompanying the expansion of client-oriented legal and regulatory compliance services at consulting firms.

“Such professionals are extremely rare, and exceptional junior and mid-level talents are receiving employment change offers from several companies at the same time. For compliance personnel, as companies in the same industry fall under regulation at the same time, there is a trend for many of these companies to respond by advancing the strengthening of their structures. In the finance sector, an area which has particularly high hiring numbers, structural strengthening stands out at not only large, traditional financial institutions, but also start-up cryptocurrency businesses. Therefore, companies that can quicken their hiring process and shorten their decision-making time, as well as companies that not only judge prospective employees during interviews but also actively promote their post-employment growth and promotion opportunities, are emerging as victors in the competition for talent acquisition.”

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