ReleaseWire

Big Law is currently going through a legal recruitment bonanza thanks to the impact of markets and sectors opening up again in a post-pandemic world. Am Law 200 firms hired more than 8,500 associates in 2021, which represents a 24% increase on the average figures for the previous three years.

Compliance initiatives are becoming an increasingly important priority for organizations across the USA. That's according to the most recent research from the Association of Corporate Counsel, which identified a focus on creating contingencies for legal compliance. This is partly being driven by the rise in importance of privacy and cybersecurity issues and expectations that there is also going to be an increase in regulatory enforcement as a result of this and other influences.

After a period of stagnation and uncertainty, the banking and financial services sector looks set to go into overdrive this year, especially in terms of hiring for sales and trading jobs USA. Restraint and cost-cutting may have been the themes last year but there is already evidence that banks are starting to look at great swathes of hiring to support growth throughout 2022. That relates to employees across the board, including senior hires - with plenty of headhunting likely to take place between now and the end of the year.

PwC announced recently that the financial services giant is going to be investing $12 billion over the next five years in a major hiring drive. These resources are being channeled into creating 100,000 jobs that are specifically focused on providing more support for clients that are trying to come to terms with climate and diversity reporting, as well as the role of AI in global strategy.

Antibiotics have come to underpin evolution in human healthcare - and the market is set to grow dramatically in the coming years. Increasing numbers of bacterial infections have meant demand for antibiotics has soared, whether that is treating skin infections, Urinary Tract Infections or something like tuberculosis. Infectious diseases have also been driving the need for greater pharma R&D to find new solutions to diseases such as pneumonia, malaria and lower respiratory infections. This increasing disease burden is making it even more important for governments to invest in vital R&D initiatives to help fuel the development of novel antibiotics and improve the regulatory environment to speed up research and approvals. With all this under the spotlight, it's no surprise that forecasts for market growth are high - the global antibiotics market size is set to increase to $45.4 billion by 2028. This represents a significant increase from the value of $38 billion in 2021.

Challenges have been plentiful for the construction sector over the past year, whether they relate to politics or the pandemic. However, not every part of the industry has been negatively affected, in fact, some have gone on to thrive. As a result, there are a lot of construction projects to watch in 2022. Progress on the ground-breaking HS2 in the UK, for example, has gathered momentum and looks set to speed ahead in 2022, especially at the Old Oak Common site, the only stop along the HS2 in the capital. Sizewell C is a large-scale nuclear energy project that could be one of a number of nuclear developments to receive Treasury funding. According to EDF, construction at Sizewell C could begin before 2024. The former US Embassy at 30 Grosvenor Square in London is going to be the site of another major piece of construction. The £400 million project will convert the former embassy into a 139-room luxury hotel that will be part of the Rosewood group.

It's not breaking news to say that the market for cloud infrastructure is still growing at a very impressive rate. Even as the market starts to mature, the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft are seeing incredible increases in revenue, especially given the impact of mass remote working over the past year. Google and Microsoft are growing at around 40% a quarter, while Amazon is just under that. Overall, the market has seen a huge increase in just a single year with a spike of $50 billion in business in just 12 months. Despite an overall increase in the market, the big three players have retained a fairly similar market share over the past year. Amazon remains the largest player with a 33% share, while Microsoft has 21% and Google has 10%. This market share isn't forecast to change that much, even though the cloud infrastructure market will continue to grow at a significant pace.

Advanced analytics is a fast-expanding market and one that continues to accelerate as more and more companies start to buy into the use of greater analytics and AI solutions. Forecasts indicate that the market is set to grow from $33.8 billion in 2021 to $89.8 billion by 2026. That represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 21.6%. Some of the factors behind the significant increase in the size of the data analytics market include the increasing use of AI and ML technologies to generate real-time customer insights. The impact of the pandemic has been substantial in terms of driving companies to start using this technology, with the goal of creating more effective strategies to achieve goals such as greater engagement via digital channels, as well as supporting employees through ongoing disruption and managing challenging moments in supply chains. As more organizations reap the benefits of advanced analytics, the global market will continue to grow.

Glass is well established as a popular construction material and looks set to become even more of a magnet for investment going forward. A new report has identified the glass façade market as one set for significant growth over the next six years. According to the latest forecasts, the market is going to reach a value of $92.6 billion by 2026, which represents a Compound Annual Growth Rate expansion of 3.9%. Glass façades have become a first choice in construction due to the qualities that they bring to a build, including energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness and aesthetics. Tempered glass is set to see a particularly impressive rise in growth - this material allows building design to make the best use of natural light and reduce energy consumption so it is on-trend with many of the sustainable initiatives happening right now. This and other factors, such as the rise in raw energy costs, are going to work to drive up the value of the market by 2028.

The East Coast is a key hub for the biotech industry and some major pharmaceutical and life sciences organizations and institutions are located in this part of the US. For a biotech recruiter that makes this a particularly important location, especially as hiring in this location is forecast to remain strong throughout 2022. Massachusetts is a prime example of the strength of East Coast biotech, as it's a state with robust collaboration between government, industry and academia, as well as large waves of talent entering the sector here, including a 50% increase in graduates from biotech programs in the past 10 years. New York is also a key contributor to the strength of East Coast biotech recruitment, thanks to 50+ hospitals, 9 academic medical centers and a $1 billion initiative to create 40,000 new jobs and establish the city as a global leader in the industry. Then there is New Jersey, which is home to 14 of the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the country and 3,200 life sciences companies.

Remote clinical operations present an innovative opportunity for the evolution of life sciences into a more versatile, digital age. During the pandemic, Trans Perfect in partnership with Innovaderm used Trial Interactive tech to make a significant contribution to partner organizations seeking to find new treatments to COVID-19 and to help support further research. Trial Interactive is a connected eClinical experience that is designed to make improvements in a number of key areas, including compliance, speed and quality across site detection, selection and activation. Remote clinical trials were achieved by giving customers access to Trial Interactive's Study Document Collaboration solution by integrating tailored remote monitoring rooms. Now, Trans Perfect and Innovaderm are looking to scale the deployment of Trial Interactive to offer the opportunity of remote clinical operations on a much broader basis. The two companies have been in a long-standing collaboration that began with language translation services many years ago. Today, together they have an opportunity to make an impact with remote clinical operations on a much bigger scale.

Regenerative medicine is developing an increasingly visible reputation in healthcare, both among patients and professionals. This innovative sector has enormous potential for changing outcomes for patients thanks to treatments such as cell-tissue therapeutics and products like exosomes and Chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy. Patients are becoming increasingly aware of, not just the risks that are associated with regenerative medicine, but the advantages too. As a result, forecasts for the increase in the size of the regenerative medicine market are substantial, especially as a wider range of products is increasingly being launched to help prevent complications in patients. One study has found that by 2028 the market for regenerative medicine is likely to be worth $12.9 billion. A particular focus for those operating in regenerative medicine has been the need to spread awareness so that patients can make informed decisions that lead to better outcomes where treatments are concerned.

Renewable energy has very much become a seller's market with global corporate procurement setting records in 2021. Even though power purchase agreement prices continue to rise there seems to be little chance of this trend slowing down. In 2021, corporations worldwide purchased just over 31 GW of renewable energy, which was a record in itself and an increase of 24% on the previous year (which was also a record at the time). This puts renewables at the head of energy procurement demand among corporate buyers. There are many factors involved in these record-breaking numbers, including the fact that there remains a backlog in clean energy from the delays that were caused by the pandemic in 2020. In addition, the demand is being driven by the expansion of clean energy goals among corporate buyers, with many moving from simple improvement goals to the more comprehensive net-zero standard.

When the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was signed into force in November 2021, it brought with it a new focus on hydrogen as a vital part of the energy resources of the USA going forward. The new law included specific provision for a number of measures to shift the focus onto hydrogen, including Section 813, which covers the provision of $8 billion for the creation of at least four Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs and a new Section 816 to provide $1 billion for a Clean Hydrogen Electrolysis Program. The new law also put time frames in place in which the Department of Energy (DOE) will need to start actioning the provisions of the Act. As a result, it has now taken the first steps to implement hydrogen procurement programs, issuing requests for information from both the industry and energy users. The next stage in the process is for the DOE to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement, after which the process of implementing the programs can get underway.

Recent UK government data has revealed that the British tech sector is a success story, with considerable growth experienced over the past year. That's especially so for the cyber security sector, which is growing at a substantial rate. Figures from the Department for Digital, Culture, Music and Sport's Annual Cyber Sector Report reveal that around 1,800 cyber security firms in the UK generated more than £10 billion in revenue across the most recent financial year. Overall, the sector contributed more than £5 billion to the UK economy and the spike in revenues represented a 14% increase on the year before. The 2021 figures are not just impressive for the year but are also a record as they represent the largest increase since the government reporting began in 2018. Employment in the industry followed a similar trajectory, with an increase of 13% and 6,000+ new job opportunities created. As a result, there are now more than 52,000 people working in the UK's cyber security sector.

Germany continues to be a hot location for technology companies, attracting many of those that are looking to invest in expansion within the Eurozone. One of the latest to do so is the software development company Oves Enterprises, which has now opened an office in Munich. The Romanian firm is also aiming to open another office in Berlin in the near future, according to the Romanian-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, AHK Romania. Oves Enterprises has said of its expansion moves that they are intended to facilitate collaboration between the business and small to medium sized enterprises that don't have access to sufficient personnel. Oves is also targeting customers that don't currently have the leverage to contract with large companies in the German market. Oves Enterprises was founded in 2015 and has expanded significantly since then - the office in Munich, and the planned location in Berlin could be just the start of the company's story in Germany.

Big data is a fast-expanding market wherever you are in the world and this is being driven by significant increases in data volumes. Thanks to this spike, the forecasts for the size of the big data market are impressive, with an increase to US$273 billion predicted by 2026 (up from US$162 billion in 2021). Key to this has been the rise in big data adoption across virtually every industry, as organisations in sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, retail and life sciences look to take advantage of the opportunities this presents when it comes to innovation and development. This is creating a range of new opportunities for enterprise solutions, as organisations across all industries seek to take steps, and make investments, that will provide firmer foundations for operational efficiency and growth. This is only likely to increase as the trend in big data expands across emerging countries, including India and China.

Digital therapies represent a huge growth area in German healthcare and have the potential to give many more patients access to a much broader selection of choice. Germany is one of the world's largest unified healthcare markets and now Pfizer and Alex Therapeutics have formed a collaboration in order to improve access. The collaboration will make clinically validated, evidenced-based therapies available to patients across Germany and provide a more personalised approach. Pfizer is renowned as being a cutting-edge pharmaceutical company and Alex Therapeutics is a digital therapeutics business based in Stockholm. Together, the two bring a range of skills and experience to the table, including in AI and software development as well as medicine and clinical validation. The collaboration will lean on Alex Therapeutics' AI powered digital therapeutics platform, which combines two key therapies (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) so that patients can receive treatments that are specifically tailored to their individual, unmet needs.

Quality assurance in the healthcare sector has always been vital. However, during the pandemic it became a particularly hot topic, especially in the context of patient safety. In Germany there are two systems that are key to implementing quality assurance: The Guideline of the German Medical Association (Rili-BÄK) and accreditation according to DIN EN ISO 15189. Creating uniform standards for quality assurance across the country has been at the heart of the role that these systems have to play. Over the past two years, with so much cross-border collaboration taking place, it also became crucial to ensure these standards were being maintained across borders, which is why quality assurance jobs have become indispensable in the German pharmaceutical manufacturing sector, and beyond. Ensuring patient safety through competent diagnostics is vital and it has been key to use these standards to establish trust in the medical facilities and the laboratories that support them.

A spike in activity in the responsible investment sector has triggered a wave of demand for ESG experts, which outstrips the number of talented people available to fill roles. This area of expertise is where many organisations are currently looking to recruit talent, often building new sustainable investment teams from the ground up. The number of businesses currently looking to increase the size of teams to support this new direction for the company is rising significantly, with a proliferation of roles available for those with ESG expertise. Alongside this comes the inevitable increase in earning potential, with offered salaries significantly higher than standard salary inflation. Incentives, such as cash bonuses, are becoming increasingly common as businesses look to attract the best talent and ensure that they have the internal skills and expertise to establish a viable, and thriving, responsible investment team in-house. Among asset management recruiters, there is currently high demand for ESG experts looking to take a career-defining next step.

Headhunting recruitment can significantly reduce the timeframes, and improve the efficiency, of executive searches, bypass talent shortages and seek out the leaders who may not otherwise be found.

Talent acquisition is a priority for private equity firms looking to ensure executive roles at portfolio companies are optimally filled, and executive leadership teams are primed to deliver resilience, profitability and growth.

The tech industry is made up of just 17% women, with only 10% of leadership roles female-held. Connecting with a richer and more diverse pool of senior talent is a vital next step for enterprises across a sector at risk of falling behind.

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