The talent equation has changed: has your strategy?

The ACCA’s Global Talent Trends 2025 report, the largest annual study of its kind, capturing insights from over 10,000 professionals across 175 countries, sends a clear message: the talent equation is being rewritten. And for employers in Asia-Pacific, this represents both an urgent challenge and a transformative opportunity.

Across the region, mobility is high, and loyalty is low. In Vietnam, a striking 66 per cent expect to move roles in the next two years, and 60 per cent anticipate their next job will be outside their current organisation. This is not a slow shuffle. It is a confident, considered step forward by a workforce that knows its value and demands more than just a payslip.

Pay remains important, but it is no longer the sole driver. Our data shows a complex matrix of motivators: flexible work, meaningful inclusion, support for wellbeing, and opportunities for continuous learning.

Yet here lies the paradox. While 76 per cent of professionals globally prefer hybrid working, more than half (51 per cent) are still required to be in the office full-time. In Vietnam, 78 per cent express a preference for hybrid arrangements, yet 61 per cent remain bound to traditional in-office mandates. It is a mismatch that risks disengagement, particularly among younger professionals who are entering the workforce with vastly different expectations.

Equally stark is the perception gap on inclusion. While many firms in Asia-Pacific have made strides on gender or cultural diversity, our respondents highlight a neglected dimension: age. In Vietnam, 56 per cent say their organisations focus on some aspects of diversity more than others, with inadequate recognition of older professionals being a growing concern. In a region facing demographic shifts and a multigenerational workforce, overlooking this is not just short-sighted – it is strategic self-sabotage.

Meanwhile, the appetite for entrepreneurialism and additional income streams is surging. In Vietnam, exactly half of respondents see themselves becoming entrepreneurs. Side hustles are no longer fringe, they are mainstream. These ambitions reflect a hunger for autonomy and skill-building, and employers should ask whether their organisations are seen as launchpads or roadblocks.

Worryingly, 55 per cent of respondents in Vietnam say they are not acquiring the skills needed for the future, particularly in AI and digital literacy. Yet fewer than one-third report access to AI-related upskilling. This is a wake-up call. In economies that aspire to lead the digital frontier, talent development cannot be left to chance.

So what does this mean for employers across Asia-Pacific? The answer is not more perks or louder recruitment ads. It lies in reengineering the employee value proposition to meet a workforce that is mobile, entrepreneurial, values-driven, and future-focused.

This means embedding wellbeing structurally, not as a campaign but as a design principle. It means offering real flexibility, underpinned by trust, technology, and clearly defined outcomes. It means creating inclusive cultures that respect all identities, including generational diversity. And it means building learning ecosystems where skills are not merely trained, but cultivated.

We believe that the voice of the profession must shape the future of work, and our data confirms that voice is growing more confident and more impatient. The future of talent is not waiting, it is walking. And in Asia-Pacific, it is walking faster than most.