ロバート・ウォルターズ株式会社 CEO ロバート ウォルターズ氏 インタビュー
FAST-GROWING MARKET
Need for specialists high in Japan
By SHINICHI TERADA
Staff writer
Specialists, including accountants, lawyers and salespeople are what the Japanese marketplace needs more of, says Robert Walters, chief executive officer of recruitment firm Robert Walters Plc.
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| Robert Walters |
One of the world's largest professional recruitment consultancies, the U.K.-based Robert Walters operates 23 offices in 13 countries, many of them with growing markets. It's Japan, however, that Walters says "is the fastest-growing market we currently work in." In Japan, "both foreign and Japanese firms now need specialists with an international education and mind-set."
Not only is the economy improving, Japan's economic growth is accelerating and both foreign-affiliated and domestic Japanese companies are expanding their businesses at home and overseas.
At present, Walters observes, the demand for specialists with an international outlook is high because jobs are becoming more detail-oriented with a dual focus on both Japanese and international standards.
Until only recently, employees of Japanese companies were moved from section to section periodically, a practice that resulted in them gaining a wide range of knowledge and experience concerning the company's operation, but rarely any specialized knowledge.
This is not, however, a practice unique to Japan, Walters points out, and Japan is not the only country lacking specialists.
Robert Walters now has a database with the up-to-date details of over 700 Japanese nationals living overseas. Using a system called International Candidate Management, Robert Walters promotes the movements of these professionals around the globe, which allows each to search for new opportunities at home and abroad.
Robert Walters, headquartered in London, specializes in placing candidates on a permanent or contract basis in such areas as (depending on the country): accountancy and finance, banking, operations, legal, information technology, sales and marketing, human resources, and support and administration.
Robert Walters Japan, located in Tokyo's Shibuya, is expanding as well, having invested in hiring more consultants and enlarging its office space.
CEO Walters also says the company is branching out from its original areas of accountancy, finance, and banking in Japan to other areas of specialization as more and more Japanese firms, claims Walters, look to his company for help.
Initially, international banks were Walters' primary clients. Today, other financial institutions, luxury goods retailers and firms dealing with consumer manufacturing are also turning to Walters after seeing that the recruitment firm is well positioned to help them successfully find the employees they need.
Even more expansion is on the horizon for Walters, with new offices planned in both China and India within the next 15 months.
The company will then seek out talent in the IT area from both countries and aim at successfully placing them in Japan as well as elsewhere globally. The new offices, Walter explains, will facilitate that process.
Robert Walters is seeking specialists who can help the firm's clients build teams as Japan's regulations relax and the needs of the marketplace change.
Consultants at Robert Walters, themselves specialists, help match candidates with clients. One consultant, Charles Breen, oversees the IT-related positions within banking and finance.
"An example of the change in the market is reflected in our search for qualified and experienced IT auditors," he says.
"In 2005, the demand for highly skilled IT auditors with international experience outgrew the supply in Japan. However, by using our global network and resources we were able to successfully find those specialists and meet our client's needs."
