New Hong Kong virtual banking licenses spur demand for data jobs

The hottest roles will include data scientists, UI engineers, and full stack developers.

Hong Kong’s workforce dynamics are changing spurred by new virtual banking licenses introduced in the territory, according to recruitment experts Hays.

According to Riley King, senior manager, digital technology and accounting & finance at Hays, banks are now placing a lot of emphasis on hiring highly capable teams to bring their technology-driven projects to fruition and hottest roles include data scientists, UC and UI engineers, and full stack developers for mobile and web applications.

Also read: Hong Kong grants four more virtual banking licenses with Ant Financial and Tencent entering fray

“This is an especially exciting time for tech talent, especially those who have had experience in the banking sector. However, as this is a candidate-short market, employers are increasingly receptive of talent who do not necessarily possess industry experience but have the right technical competencies to do the job,” he added.

The global recruitment firm also noted that candidates must be agile and adaptable in order to thrive in the evolving fintech market, highlighting how consumer and investment banks are launching a myriad of digital products and applications for both corporate and consumer markets.

“Already, the Economic Corporate Network (ECN) reports that 48% of organisations view artificial intelligence (AI) as an opportunity for their business. There is a lot of pressure to get things up and running, and candidates must be prepared to work in a fast-paced and highly dynamic work environment,” Riley added.