Recruiters yet to see talent spike in Crypto sector

With Hong Kong’s recent legislations boosting Crypto and the support of Beijing, hundreds of firms have been flocked to the city to set-up shop, but recruiters have yet to see a spike in interested applicants.

Original story by Jesse Coghlan for Cointelegraph

While Crypto firms have been taking advantage of new policies in Hong Kong to set up shop, with about 150 companies lined up last June to apply for a local crypto license, recruitment execs like Hays have said that the industry’s recruitment needs are light.

“Many Web3 companies are still in the early stages of development, but we anticipate an increase in openings as they continue to scale up and mature,” Hays managing director said to Cointelegraph.

Wei even said that Hays itself has seen a drop in requests for recruiting technical talent. She said that a lot of talents are hesitant, too, towards crypto companies owing to the instability of such businesses–which are dependent on price changes.

In a similar vein, Michael Page Hong Kong also said that they are yet to see a significant increase, especially for jobs in Web3.

As Web3 and crypto companies acquire their licenses, mature and establish themselves in Hong Kong, however, companies would eventually compete over talents to fulfill key roles. 

Kevin Gibson, founder of Web3 recruitment firm Proof of Search, told Cointelegraph that a surge could happen in six months.

“A lot of specialist talent has left Hong Kong in recent years,” Gibson explained. He said the local talent pool is thin, and companies landing in Hong Kong “will find themselves in an extreme war for talent.“

Some organizations however, have seen some switches from traditional finance to cryptocurrency. Neil Tan, chair of the FinTech Association of Hong Kong, who said has met several people who have made the switch, said that Traditional Finance has increased its turnover rate every year.

“A lot of people are saying there’s so much positive news inside of the crypto and Web3 space in Hong Kong that they’re willing to take a shot,” Tan said.