SBWire

2021 was challenge for many sectors, however, the rise of remote work and e-commerce has had a knock-on effect and increased the need for specific services. For example, companies need more storage space for the products sold online, and their expanding e-commerce platforms must be supported by data centers. The COVID-19 pandemic also increased awareness about the importance of healthy buildings, and the importance of indoor air quality. Cooperatively US engineering firms are continually catering for these types of specific services.

Building services engineering ensures that buildings are fit for purpose and provide a safe and comfortable environment for the people they house. But simply, Julia Evans, CEO of the Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA), states that: "Architects can design the most beautiful or complex building, but without building services being introduced effectively it's not going to work." Building services engineers also work tirelessly to create a more sustainable environment by designing buildings that reduce energy consumption.

As the world turns a corner in the fight against COVID-19 thanks to the approval and mass production of various vaccines, Germany is leading the way with research and development at a crucial stage of the pandemic. With the added pressure of vaccinating as many people as possible to ensure that the transmission of the new variants is kept to a minimum, vaccination capacity needs to be ramped up throughout the country.

The increase in chronic illness rates, such as oncological cancers, asthma, cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, has contributed to an increase in drug consumption. As a result, the demand for new drug and pharmaceutical research has also intensified, making pharmacovigilance careers evermore abundant. Pharmacovigilance has turned into a sector in which billions of people are now intensely relying upon in order to keep the general population safe from adverse and unwanted side effects from medical products such as the coronavirus vaccines.

Now that a Brexit deal has been reached there are new opportunities on the horizon for closer financial relations between Switzerland and the UK. As a small country with a large economic footprint, Switzerland has often advocated for open markets and financial centres, emphasising the benefits for all. For a relatively small nation, Switzerland has achieved remarkable status thanks to its adaptability and innovative flair when it comes to careers in both banking and financial services. Thanks to the combination of its liberal economy, vibrant export industry and international ties, a major part of Switzerland's success can be attributed to its low inflation and centuries of neutrality which have both contributed to the Swiss Franc becoming an international haven, which in turn has heightened the country's overall reputation and attractiveness.

In 2011, ABN AMRO sold its Swiss Private Banking business to UBP, shortly afterwards Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch followed suit, each selling their International Private Banking units to Credit Suisse and Julius Baer. In 2020 this trend continued and more recently, it was broadcasted that Rothschild are set to purchase Banque Paris Bertrand, plus, Intesa Sanpaolo have acquired 69% of REYL. As recruitment leaders in banking and financial services Selby Jennings keep a close eye on acquisitions and consolidations and how they create opportunities from a hiring perspective. For example, where acquisitions and consolidations created opportunities with regards to job-placements, these transitions can also be slow, bureaucratic, and often have internal implications, thus causing prior content bankers to consider new opportunities.

Within the pharmaceutical industry, the US is incredibly well established, meaning that doors are often opened when it comes to trialling, producing and financing drugs and medicines that other countries have a shortage in capacity and facilities to successfully manage. This in turn, provides exciting opportunities for those looking to develop and advance their roles across a number of research and development sectors, all the while proving that the US is still one of the best places in the world to pursue a career in research and development.

2021 is set to be an exciting time for the recruitment industry when it comes to life sciences, with research and development providing new and impressive medical treatments and therapies. In Switzerland, AC Immune SA with their partners Janssen Pharmaceutical of Johnson & Johnson, have announced positive interim results from its clinical trials into a vaccine for Alzheimer's disease. Biospace expressed that the vaccine demonstrated a potent antigen-specific antibody response against phosphorylated tau in 100% of older patients with early Alzheimer's disease.

During the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Switzerland has made an important and effective contribution to the global solution. The Swiss biotech industry has worked closely with leading research laboratories, hospitals, diagnostic companies, drug manufacturers and multinational pharmaceutical companies in an effort to fight back against the virus. The pandemic has shown how much damage can be caused by the uncontrollable spread of pathogens, but it has also exemplified the way in which research capacities and platform technologies can be used to quickly respond to new medical demands and the need for the new development of effective treatments.

As we move into a new phase of the pandemic, many leaders are looking at the success stories of other countries as inspiration for their own strategy. Places like New Zealand and the Isle of Man are shining examples of how adopting a Zero Covid strategy has allowed them to return to a normal way of life. In the US, with a new administration, a fresh take on battling the virus and with vaccination programs underway, this could result in the United States getting on track and tackling the pandemic.

2020 proved to be a tumultuous year for professionals in the logistics and technical operations industry, as the coronavirus pandemic directly impacted the movement, storage, and flow of goods through borders. Plus, travel restrictions crippled the air transport industry and consequently placed intense pressures on shipping and road freight. Despite the unprecedented challenges faced, many in the industry are keen to ensure that plans to make practises more sustainable will still go ahead, such as plans to reduce carbon footprints and ensure ethical and sustainable supply chains. In order to establish a successful benchmark, category managers will be working to obtain more reliable results from suppliers whilst others will be placing pressure on the industry to adopt more sustainable practises throughout the year.

A financial centre, or a financial hub, refers to a city with a strategic location, leading financial institutions, reputed stock exchanges, a dense concentration of public and private banks and trading and insurance companies. In addition, these hubs are equipped with first-class infrastructure, communications and commercial systems, and there is a transparent and sound legal and regulatory regime backed by a stable political system. Germany, in particular Frankfurt and Berlin are prime examples of such cities which provide favourable destinations for professionals because of the high living standards they offer along with immense growth opportunities, especially within the banking and financial services industry.

Frankfurt has been the financial centre of Germany since the second half of the 20th century as it was before the mid-19th century. Berlin held the position during the intervening period, focusing on lending to European countries. Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Dublin and Paris are all destinations where the majority of the financial services sectors will continue to host their European Hubs. The Eurekahedge European Hedge Fund Index (EHFI) took a dip in March last year. But, after a short space of time it managed to turn itself back around.

In Hong Kong, Asia and beyond, talent procurement is both a challenge and an opportunity for organisations in the logistics and supply chain sectors. In unprecedented times, where a culmination of political circumstances has exerted pressure on recruitment processes, it's paramount that businesses in Asia have the right support regarding building resilient teams with the potential to lead a company with confidence. As industry leaders, DSJ Global partners with businesses and individuals to ensure that when it comes to logistics and supply chain careers in Asia, the best possible business relationships and connections are established.

The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC), recently unveiled its 2021 economic forecast – envisaging real GDP growth of around 3.5%. Moreover, throughout Hong Kong and, more broadly North Asia additional opportunities are also on the horizon. Mainland China has given clear signals indicating its interest in opening a key financial services sector to foreign investment. One example of this is China's wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) rules, allowing foreign investors to further capitalise on growing investor demand. But what does this mean for financial services careers in Hong Kong? As leading recruitment specialists within this field, Selby Jennings predict that this WFOE will yield results across several international banks within Hong Kong which will seize on the opportunity to take either a majority share or a wholly owned stake in their onshore China securities and asset management businesses.

As we reach Q1's halfway mark we are able to reflect on the positive trends likely to impact financial services recruitment roles in what is set to be a year of growth. In the past few years Singapore has seen a steady stream of global managers set up shop. Recently JPMorgan doubled Singapore private bankers and U.S. hedge fund D.E. Shaw communicated plans to grow its Asia-Pacific footprint with the opening of an office in Singapore during 2021. Moreover, Singapore has great benefits when it comes to ease of access, capabilities and platforms.

As Q1 begins to unfold the outlook for the rest of 2021 brings a sense of positivity among financial services and banking institutions throughout Singapore. As leading recruitment specialists across all financial service sectors, Selby Jennings partner with many businesses who are starting to rebuild teams and recruit for positions where stability and resilience have remained steady. Furthermore, American buy-side clients, for example hedge funds and asset managers continue to storm APAC with a strong push to invest in the region's overall growth. Due to potential prosperity and resources and coupled with a more agile hiring process, Selby Jennings expect to see greater growth when it comes to local talent looking to move into these firms.

DSJ Global specialise in end-to-end supply chain recruitment throughout Switzerland. Now more than ever before, the logistics industry has had to react rapidly to the constant changes caused by recent technical developments, such as tech-enabled warehousing, customised manufacturing and crowd sharing; alongside the issues presented by the pandemic, such as border disruptions and national lockdowns.

Over the past few years, organisations around the world have incorporated environmental practices into their work in an effort to protect the world against the effects of global warming by working towards a more sustainable way of functioning. According to the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM), "the supply network for a typical consumer product accounts for more than 80% of the associated greenhouse gas emissions and more than 90% of the associated impacts on air, land, water, biodiversity and geological resources."

Throughout 2020 there were three main areas of growth for Risk Management; Country Risk, Risk Analytics, and Operational Risk & Business Continuity. All three of these areas are set to continue throughout 2021. In the post-Brexit UK market, Country Risk is likely to remain a high priority area for firms with even greater career opportunities for emerging markets. Positive news also extends to roles in Risk Analytics; as the UK continues to see advancements and growth in automation and data-driven decision making, thus, candidates with backgrounds in Quants will be highly sought after.

Adjusting to the UK's departure from the European Union earlier this year, logistics and technical operations professionals have had to adapt to the new requirements when carrying out duties in a post-Brexit society. Despite the year-long transition period which was designed to give organisations and government time to adjust and make the departure as streamlined as possible, there have still been long border delays between the UK and EU caused by complex paperwork issues. A recent study by MAKE UK reported that 61% of companies have reported supply chain disruptions either exporting or importing to and from the EU and around 32% are having their supply chains impacted in both directions.

Procurement practitioners contribute a great deal to society and the modern world. This has been increasingly evident in recent months due to the ongoing global situation and the effects this has had on the logistics and supply chain industries. DSJ Global work with talented professionals throughout Germany, in major cities such as Berlin, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg and, Munich establishing themselves as leading international logistics recruiters.

Despite market disruption in 2020, and numerous comparisons being drawn with 2008, overall, the financial services sector finds itself in a far more lucrative situation than 12 years ago. While 2020 saw many industries suffer dramatically across the financial services sector, there were plenty of examples of unrivalled performance - many High Frequency Trading firms recorded huge profits: Optiver, Citadel, and Jump Trading all benefited from the unpredictability of the market. In addition, some traditional sell-side trading desks in banks such as Jefferies and BNP Paribas posted record quarters. Stay-at-home orders and employee safety concerns led to a sharp rise in remote working, which took some adjusting for both employers and employees.

One key takeaway from 2020 is that change is and continues to be the new constant, and when it comes to countries such as Hong Kong, this type of change should help create the birth of a new global power centre. As we look ahead into 2021 and beyond Hong Kong looks perfectly placed to become an international business and financial hub with high-speed communications, free flowing information and capital, and a low and simple tax system. From wealth management to fintech, a raft of new initiatives are all set to strengthen Hong Kong's role as an international financial centre.

The coronavirus pandemic has had a drastic effect on many aspects of life. In recent months, air cargo has played a vital role for many airlines to keep the industry alive. As a consequence of the implementation of stringent restrictions to daily life across Europe, the online shopping and e-commerce industries have boomed reaching an estimated worth of €717 billion at the end of 2020.