Hong Kong tech professionals tipped for wage gains
The skills shortage in Hong Kong’s information technology industry has led to a growing battle for top talent, which could see the city’s hi-tech professionals receive a 4.3 per cent average salary increase this year, according to recruitment services company Robert Half.
“A booming technology market is driving demand for skilled information technology professionals,” Robert Half Hong Kong managing director Adam Johnston said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As companies invest in the cloud, open source, and performance tools such as DevOp and Agile, candidates with specialist skills in these areas are in high demand.”
Total information technology spending in Hong Kong is forecast to grow 4.2 per cent this year to HK$168.2 billion, up from HK$161.5 billion last year, on the back of higher expenditure in software and technology services, according to research firm Gartner.
Robert Half’s latest salary survey said its 4.3 per cent average pay rise estimate was in line with positive salary sentiment. It found that almost three in four, or 73 per cent, of 100 information technology professionals polled in February think they are being paid a fair salary in relation to their job responsibilities.
About 98 per cent of the respondents also said they would switch jobs for more pay if they felt they were not getting fair wages by their current employer.
The top technology jobs in the city that Robert Half estimated would have the highest salary gains this year are led by cloud [computing] engineer, data warehousing specialist, network manager, project coordinator, and information technology security lead.
The estimated maximum annual salary for a cloud engineer this year is HK$1 million, representing a 16.2 per cent year-on-year growth, according to Robert Half.
Cloud computing enables companies to buy, sell, lease or distribute online a range of software and other digital resources as an on-demand service, just like electricity from a power grid.
