KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18): Professionals with niche skills who are changing jobs are looking at an annual salary increment of 30% due to demand outstripping supply in 2020, according to a specialist professional recruitment consultancy Robert Walters Salary Survey for 2020.

In a statement today, Robert Walters Malaysia's country manager Kimberlyn Lu said the firm anticipates a 3-8% increment for those staying in their jobs while those who are moving jobs or getting promoted can expect a 15-20% increment.

She said that overall, 59% of talents in all industries expect bonuses of 15% and above of their yearly salaries in the coming year, while 33% of professionals said the career progression is their primary motivation in changing jobs.

According to Robert Walters' survey, technology and transformation roles remained in high demand as the pace of digitalisation picks up and more companies are working at improving their business processes and delivery.

It said the prominence of technology is clear across major industries like finance, banking, engineering, human resources (HR), and legal and corporate secretarial.

The survey looked at key roles for each of these industries, and tech-driven roles make it to the top of the list in demand.

The survey also showed that traditional roles such as governance and operations management together with roles relating to the adoption of recent technological advancements such as analytics, digitalisation, transformation, automation, big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and cyber security continue to gain more attention as they will be highly sought after in 2020.

"Professionals in Procurement & Logistics (89%), Accounting & Finance (75%) and Engineering (75%) are optimistic about opportunities in their industry as they have been early adopters of technology and are experiencing the middle wave where digitalisation has already begun to impact the way they do their job," said Lu.

Robert Walters said engineering roles and niche IT positions are anticipated to be in high demand in the Northern Region.

Meanwhile, in the HR sector, the onslaught of digitalisation is opening up opportunities for talents with hybrid skill sets.

It said a balance between traditional HR capabilities, analytics and AI implementation knowledge in HR processes can enhance the attractiveness of an applicant.

"Companies are expected to seek digitally savvy talent with a progressive mind set across all functions to accelerate digitalisation efforts.

"As for the technology and transformation sector, some key trends which will drive the job roles and demand are emerging tech and digital transformation for both enterprise and consumer levels, digital forensics and cyber security as digitalisation seeps into the DNA of businesses and e-wallets and payments which is increasingly becoming the transaction of choice for the younger consumer base," it said.

The survey also delved into drivers of job satisfaction among talents to give employers a good idea of what the talent market expects when they accept a job. Work life balance, good working environment, learning opportunities and competitive remuneration are among the key reasons that influence people to stay and thrive in the working environment.