Recruitment demand for mid- and senior-level staff rose by 73 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period last year, according to a report from Navigos Search, an executive search service in Viet Nam.

The top five fields looking to fill more executive jobs are manufacturing, IT, consumer goods and retail, banking and finance, and business services.

For the first time, the business service industry appeared in the top five for executive positions, with the highest demand in financial advisory, management advisory, promotion, advertising, and education.

In the manufacturing industry, industrial construction and civil construction categories occupied the largest portions, followed by electricity and electronics.

The highest demand in the consumer goods industry was from F&B (food and beverages) and fashion and cosmetics.

The recruitment demand for IT developers and engineers skilled in embedded software increased significantly. At many companies, demand doubled compared to last year.

However, the supply of qualified and experienced developers and IT engineers in Viet Nam still did not meet demand.

Many companies had to change their recruitment process because of demand for employees who have full working proficiency in English.

Previously, companies put technical skills as a priority, but they now test English ability first to eliminate candidates and then provide further technical training for those who pass the English test.

The online recruitment website Vietnamworks said in its latest report that both recruitment demand and labor supply jumped in the first quarter of the year.

Recruitment demand in the first quarter climbed 23 per cent year-on-year, while labor supply rose 38 per cent year-on-year.

In the first quarter, the top five industries with the highest growth in recruitment demand were electricity/electronics with an increase of 67 per cent; executive officers and managers with 104 per cent; construction with 46 per cent; PR and advertising with 35 per cent; and customer services with 51 per cent.

As for labour supply, the highest number of job applications belonged to education, electricity/electronics, executive officers and managers, architecture/interior design and customer services.

During the period, the IT industry led recruitment demand, followed by administrative/secretarial, accountants, customer services, PR/advertising, manufacturing, architecture/interior design, construction, marketing and sales.

HCM City and Ha Noi were the two hottest locations for recruitment demand in the country, with Binh Duong Province, Da Nang and Bac Ninh Province rounding out the top five.

The administrative/secretarial industry had the highest competition rate with 1/66, meaning that one candidate has to compete with 66 others for a job.

The second position belonged to accountants with a 1/61 ratio. The remaining top five were import/export (1/56 rate), manufacturing (1/51) and health service/biotechnology (1/47).

Information in the report was based on data sets collected from posted jobs and job applications on www.vietnamworks.com. —VNS