As exciting as digitalization is, its definite downside is it opens up a new arena for crime – cybercrime. It has been reported that Hong Kong suffers from the second-highest risk of cybersecurity attacks in Asia despite having the most number of firms with increased spending on IT security. It is important to defend against these attacks because of their potential economic impact, which could reach USD32 billion annually.
In response, businesses across all industries and all sizes are definitely in need of cybersecurity professionals, who can help defend against these risks. Not only that, but this skill is vital for businesses who seek to adapt to the city’s digital transformation, as the development of new technology will continue to introduce new cyber risks for businesses. For Hong Kong as a whole, it is definitely beneficial to foster a generation of professionals who can develop the cyber security infrastructure collectively.
With the expansion of a global data economy, it is impossible for any business to thrive without the accurate and efficient use of data. The ability to use and analyze data, using it to develop accurate predictive models is really important. Experts in programming skills, such as Python and R, with specialties in machine-learning, would be highly sought after.
Those who are able to develop digital infrastructure by designing and implementing the ETL processes are highly valued. Businesses want to hire individuals who have the ability to help enrich and provide proper structuring to their databases.
Incorporating the use of data into business strategy is also important, with data architects acting as the pivotal point in the process for using collected data to form business strategy and decisions.
Tech personnel tend to be admired for their depth of knowledge and skill, but if this were the case across the industry-wide knowledge system, it would lead to staggered and inefficient growth and development of technologies. It is important to have DevOps, who would be in charge of stretching the knowledge horizontally. This is especially the case when market demands are increasingly stressing for shorter and quicker cycles for product turnovers. This allows a tech company to release smaller features very quickly while taking into account new feedback quickly.
The talent pool for cloud specialists in Hong Kong, even in Asia, seems to fall behind other competing locations. Even with a strong team of account managers or business development, it is important to have the specialist know-how on cloud technology, such as skills on Docker, Kubernetes, JSON, Terra Form, Python and Ruby. These specialists should be prepared in guiding businesses on moving business operations onto cloud, setting up a cloud environment and choosing the right cloud infrastructure. This would require skills on NoSQL databases, APIs, virtualisation/ server engineering experience, Kubernetes, CI/CD and microservices.
E-commerce is a rapidly expanding growth area for businesses, with appeal for businesses offering all kinds of products, and services. Many retail companies are looking for e-commerce project managers, especially those with experience working in the pioneering Chinese e-commerce companies, like Alibaba. Additionally, software developers with a background in Java, C# and PHP web development, and data analysts specialised in SQL, Python, R or advanced Excel skills would be highly demanded for.
Recent regulatory changes in the banking and financial services makes compliance specialists highly sought after. The focus for most businesses is transitioning from transaction monitoring roles to investigations and sanctions advisory. This is especially interesting at a time when many banks are offshoring their Know Your Customer teams to lower-cost regions, which has increased the demand for KYC and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) advisories locally.
The increasing pace of digitalization is encouraging businesses to venture into uncomfortable and unknown territories. A notable breakthrough industry in Hong Kong is the fintech industry, as banks in Hong Kong apply for virtual banking licenses and are increasingly susceptible to e-banking regulations. This is escalating demand for fraud risk experts, especially those with command in the Faster Payment System (FPS).
As banks and financial institutions are increasingly expanding into new technology projects to improve their trade lifecycle, they require experienced project managers and business analysts to assist them through these pursuits.
It is unsurprising that these skills and jobs revolve around the digital tech world, which is rapidly overtaking the new economy. As contributors to the future economy, we should all bear in mind the centrality of technology in our modern world and ensure that we have the necessary skills and mindset to prepare ourselves for that.
Are you excited to launch your career as a software developer? Lacking the technical skills and financial support? You should consider FEF Foundation scholarship program to enroll in the Xccelerate Full-Time Immersive Software Engineering.
You can apply for our scholarship here.
Software developer jobs are highly sought after by companies from all industries. Here are 5 reasons why people are leaping into this popular career path. Good pay According to one of the HR consultants’ 2019 annual report, the starting salary of a junior hire is from HK$25,000/month. For someone starting out a new profession, it […]
