KUALA LUMPUR (July 20): There is an increased demand for assistant managers and professionals in Malaysia’s human resources (HR) market, a quarterly report by recruiting expert Hays Plc has shown.

“Malaysia’s HR market remains active with increased demand for permanent positions and contract staff in the retail, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) and manufacturing industries,” Hays said on their website.

In the report, Hays listed assistant HR managers, HR business partners, and compensation & benefits professionals as positions for which there are strong demand.

Vacancies were created in order to assist existing HR managers and directors, Tom Osborne, Hays’ country manager for Malaysia, said, adding there was high demand for candidates with strong experience in stakeholder management, English language proficiency and a high level of confidence.

As for HR business partners, sound knowledge of compensation and benefits is sought after, so that such employees can work on retention programs and yearly performance reviews, said Osbourne.

“The education industry in particular, is aggressively looking for compensation & benefits professionals, as it needs specialised assistance to carry out competitive salary benchmarking, determine remuneration packages and execute retention strategies,” he added.

Talent acquisition specialists were wanted to reduce costs, manage bulk recruitment at the executive level, and participate in organisational development where there is an increased focus on diversity and inclusion in the workforce.

“In terms of candidate trends, [we have] seen an increase in the number of HR professionals from the oil & gas industry, looking for their next role, with FMCG and manufacturing industries often their preferred choices,” Hays said.