Cyberport to host virtual job fair to fill over 1,500 I&T positions
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Cyberport, one of Hong Kong's major tech hubs, will hold a career fair from June 4th to 6th, with over 150 companies offering more than 1,500 job openings to innovation and technology (I&T) aspirants.
Following the three-day career fair, an online job-matching platform will remain open for another month to allow employers to interview local and overseas job seekers and match them with relevant positions.
"We're excited to create a new 3D experience for the first time, allowing job seekers to immerse themselves in a Metaverse-like space. The job-matching platform has been made even more interactive to facilitate the recruitment process," says Eric Chan, chief public mission officer of Cyberport Hong Kong.
"As an example, the user interface has been further enhanced with 'Kumospace', a long-distance social networking portal that creates life-like interactions for participants."
The career fair will have additional career development resources like a CV clinic and AI analyses of interview performances to help job seekers enhance their chances of getting the position they want.
More than 50 career forums and recruitment talks with industry leaders, entrepreneurs and young talents will be broadcast live. These events will provide aspiring job seekers with a new perspective on tech world trends and career prospects.
Meanwhile, Cyberport's job search platform, iTalent, allows global talents to look for job openings, share their CVs with recruiters, and get interviewed by employers virtually.
"A virtual career fair gives participating employers the flexibility to reach the greatest number of qualified candidates. At the same time, live events such as keynote addresses and panel discussions will also be broadcast live."
More tech firms use emerging technologies like blockchain, non-fungible tokens (NFT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to form new business models. Some are building an ecosystem for Metaverse and promoting digital asset ownership. Chan says they need talented individuals to drive their business ambitions and capitalise on a first-mover advantage.
In recent years, many start-ups in Hong Kong have been using innovative technology to help brands do marketing and promotion. Given the growing popularity of digital art and the emergence of Metaverse, there has been an increase in demand for user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) designers.
Among the different types of job opportunities at this year's career fair, technical and design-related positions topped the list, making up over 40 per cent of the jobs on offer. This reflects an increased diversification of I&T across skillsets, according to Chan.
Hong Kong is transforming itself into a smarter city, with a focus on digital economy initiatives. As a result, there has been a surge in demand for talents like RetailTech, EdTech, HealthTech, EnvironmentalTech, AI and the Internet of Things. One of the most common job vacancies at this year's career fair is related to 'Smart Living'.
During the start-up phase, it is important for a venture to hire people with creative skill sets and those that share the team's values. As well as being agile, successful tech start-ups depend on the cultural fit of their employees, he says.
In the meantime, start-ups are relatively more open to a hybrid working model where employees are allowed to work from home or anywhere on a regular basis, which the younger Gen Z and Millennials increasingly prefer.
"Cyberport's co-working space is open 24 hours, and I sometimes see people there at midnight. I can feel these young people's passion for their work and their company."
Zaf Chow, director of digital strategy and partnerships at Animoca Brands, a Cyberport-based game software and venture capital company, says the company develops Web3 platforms and has invested in over 200 tech ventures, including blockchain companies.
Built on blockchain technology, Web3 is a decentralised version of the current internet and a more democratic version of the current one, she says.
"As a tech firm, we're always on the lookout for project managers, software developers, designers (UI/UX), marketing specialists and other techies. We also want talents from other industries, like music, film production, entertainment, fashion and hospitality, to help manage Web3-related community engagement."
Brands are starting to recognise the potential of Web3, but many of them have no idea of how to make a transition. Therefore, Animoca Brands wants to hire someone from the fashion industry who knows how to help fashion brands set up shop in Metaverse or someone from the showbiz who knows how to organise virtual concerts.
"We need our ambassadors to be able to explain to brands how to get their Web3 strategy across and engage with their community members effectively," she says. She expects their ambassadors to be communicative apart from having industry knowledge or technical skills.
In the past 12 months, Animoca Brands has hired about 50 new employees and is looking for more to join the team through this year's career fair.
Virtual events are a great way to keep a brand's audience engaged, says Chow. Target audience or customers can experience their products and services, attend shows, exhibitions or conferences, talk to each other, and communicate with the organiser instantly.
Since 2015, Cyberport has been organising career fairs. Between 2020 and last year, they switched to a virtual format due to social distancing rules. To this day, Cyberport is home to an innovation ecosystem of more than 1,800 companies. That compares with about 1,000 in 2018.