[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]Korea‘s emerging virtualisation and big data industries are struggling to find enough skilled workers according to the recently released 2013 Salary Survey by Robert Walters, one of the world’s leading specialist professional recruitment consultancies.

As more companies adopt technologies to accommodate rapid growth and lower operational costs, firms offering services in virtualisation, storage services and big data management are facing a shortage of experienced professionals. Companies sought technical sales specialists and business development professionals to drive business growth and provide client support for these technologies. Despite a steady supply job-seekers looking to enter this space, the number of professionals with bilingual ability and hands-on technical experience remained extremely limited.

The 14th edition of the Global Salary Survey also reports that competition for skilled professionals amongst hiring firms was high. As a result, cloud computing engineers could command salary rises from 10 to 20% when changing companies. However for traditional hardware or generalist software sales professionals, salaries remained generally stable at 2012 levels due to reduced business demand for these technologies.

Anthony Modrich, Country Manager of Robert Walters Korea explains:

“Both local and foreign companies expanding in Korea, so employers are demanding technologies that can help improve the productivity of their workforces and keep them ahead of their competition. Though business demand for specialist IT services is steadily increasing, the market is not producing enough experienced professionals with both the experience and bilingual language ability. Given the shortage, salaries should rise as competition for available workers intensifies later this year.”