In 2024, parts of the healthcare industry focused on boosting efficiency, while other areas saw increased investments and rising demand for talent. Rica Chuang, Manager at Robert Walters Taiwan relates,
In the name of streamlining and organisational efficiency, pharmaceutical companies rolled out waves of merger and acquisition activities. This unlocked fresh demand for talent who were innovative, great at multitasking and thriving in hybrid work settings, and with a strong inclination to commercial excellence.
Hiring volumes grew, too, for professionals with expertise in medical policies, including market access or government affairs. The past year also saw more funds going into specialty drugs, with cancer drugs in particular receiving more attention.
Read on to find out more about the job market and hiring trends for Healthcare professionals in Taiwan in 2025.
Industry trends for 2025
The market movements that defined 2024 are still in underway, and Rica expects these trends will persist in 2025. She also foresees that companies will invest more in self-pay products with high marketing potential, naming obesity, eye care and aesthetics as some examples.
In the year ahead, National Health Insurance (NHI) policies will also come under the spotlight, as these inform the approaches that foreign pharmaceutical companies take to the Taiwan market. They will need to weigh out how to manage their investments in Taiwan, balancing between self-pay drugs and insured drugs.
The industry is also expected to turn towards artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools to boost operational excellence.
Lastly, in hiring, Rica believes that professionals will likely be more open-minded towards moving into a different function or domain, stating,
They could move from commercial to non-commercial, or from the pharmaceutical space to devices.
Most in-demand positions and skills
In 2025, employers will favour professionals with a hybrid background, such as experience across both commercial and non-commercial, or in different functions like sales and medical.
Within the commercial space, prior experience with shaping policy and in multi-disease will be highly sought after. Within non-commercial, the most sought after skill sets are medical excellence and regulatory affairs and quality assurance (RA/QA) in medical devices.
Sales managers will see high demand in the coming year, as companies need leaders who can help boost revenue. Medical scientific liaisons are also highly sought after for their ability to communicate complex scientific and medical information about new products.
Lastly, RA/QA managers will also feature heavily in the hiring market, particularly within medical devices. Rica explains,
Taiwan’s policies around medical devices are generally stricter than other countries and they also change every year. We’re also seeing more of such roles based here that cover more markets and regions, so demand is growing fast.
More personalisation in benefits
Market uncertainties are making professionals cautious about moving jobs, particularly as many in the industry are streamlining their organisastional structures. Moreover, many companies are also focusing on retaining key talent, so professionals are often less enticed by offers outside.
Rica’s advice for companies looking to attract and retain their talent in 2025 is to provide a greater level of personalisation in the areas that healthcare professionals value most: work-life balance and benefits.
In recruitment, she suggests allowing prospective hires to choose from a range of flexible benefits that best suit their individual needs. These packages could provide varying setups for remote work or flexible hours, which give candidates more flexibility in their schedules.
As for talent retention, companies could consider permitting more customisation for other benefits like health insurance plans, retirement savings matching, wellness programs, child care assistance or home office stipends. Rica affirms,
This level of personalisation can deepen the employee’s connection with the company, and serve well to attract and retain high quality talent.
Salaries rise
In 2025, salaries for job mover are likely to go up by between 15 – 20%, a slight increase from last year. This comes as professionals are more conservative about switching jobs, so businesses must increase offers to bring talent onboard.
However, Rica notes that increments will be more conservative for junior and operational staff. Companies will reserve larger portions of their budgets towards key talent who play a strategic role, providing more sizable pay bumps to retain them.
Find out more
Request access to our 2025 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in Taiwan.
