Talent Search Yet to Match the Rush for Crypto Licenses Witnessed in Hong Kong

The recruitment executives in Hong Kong admit that in-country hires are still minimal relative to the rush for crypto licenses firms seek. The recruiters indicate that the administrative region is witnessing heightened activity from hundreds of firms applying for registration. Nonetheless, they lament that loads of applications are yet to trigger a rush for talent. 

Hong Kong Witnesses Huge Entry of Web3 Startups

The recruitment executives acknowledge that most crypto firms rushing to Hong Kong have considered entry. They regret that the excitement is hardly triggering in-country hires. The executives estimate that 150 companies are lining up for the license that would permit them to run a local trading platform for digital assets. They noted that some confessed to incurring $25 million to secure the permit.

Hays recruitment firm’s executive Sue Wei regrets that though the exchanges seek to establish an operating base in Hong Kong, light hires are witnessed in the industry from the rush. The firm’s managing director acknowledges that many Web3-based firms are still in their infancy development phase. 

Wei is optimistic that the quest for talent will rise in Hong Kong as the firms scale up development. Most Web3 startups would soon exit the infancy stage into the maturity phase, increasing the openings.

Mild Recruitment Witnessed in Hong Kong

Wei revealed that the decline witnessed by the digital assets market since mid-2022 eroded the requests submitted to Hays for technical talents. On the contrary, crypto firms laid off the talents en masse as the winter grew colder. A significant number of talents became hesitant to work for the crypto firms citing the unstable nature of business heavily reliant on crypto pricing that has been continually dipped till May 2023. 

Neil Dundon of Cryptorecruit echoes the pronouncement that hiring in the segment remains mild in Hong Kong. The executive indicated that while rules change, the in-country hires and venture activity are incredibly mild. He expressed confidence that the segment would recover from rock bottom as firms start trending upwards. 

 Olga Yung, who heads the Michael Page, illustrates that the government’s recent push is not yielding job openings. However, she projects a significant increase in openings as Web3-based firms assume a maturity stage. She added that Web3-based firms registered higher legal and compliance hires in the mid-second quarter 2023. 

Kevin Gibson from Proof of Search anticipates the talent search to surge after six months. The founder of the recruitment specialist for Web3 indicates that increased crypto talent is bound to occur as firms secure license approvals. 

Boom in Talent Search Likely in Hong Kong 

Gibson highlights that Hong Kong has recently lost a considerable segment of its specialist talent. He considers the existing local talent pool as thin and incapable of satisfying the opening boom that is looming as firms landing start recruitment. As such, Hong Kong would witness a fierce war for existing talent.

Gibson revisits the new rules that obligate firms within the administrative region to have full-time positions. He anticipates a prolonged talent squeeze till 2024 as more Web3 companies relocate headquarters to the pro-crypto jurisdictions. 

Loss of Attraction in TradFi as Individuals Become Risk Averse

A review of Hong Kong’s labor stats shows the city’s demographics lean toward decelerating the population growth rate. Gibson considers the decline as starting in 2020. Nonetheless, the employment statistics in quarter one this year rose by 38% compared to the previous year. 

Yung considers the primary challenge is nurturing attraction for individuals desiring employment in the Web3 segment. The sector has become less attractive as many candidates have become risk-averse, citing the market turbulence. 

The current Chair of the FinTech Association, Neil Tan, indicated a high incidence of individuals swapping TradFi for Crypto. Crypto firms are directly approaching a significant number of these individuals.

Tan observes that others are utilizing Linkedin to identify and fill the roles. He added that TradFi is losing employees from 2021. He considers the trend shows stability is losing the attractiveness it held before.  

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