Koshiro Iwaya leads the energy and infrastructure team at Robert Walters Tokyo. They assist major engineering firms; start-ups in the areas of solar, wind and smart grid power; as well as engineering, procurement and construction contractors who build plants according to suppliers’ requirements.
What are your team’s particular strengths?
Each consultant has several years’ experience providing specialised recruitment support in the energy industry. Regularly attending seminars, study sessions and trade shows enables us to keep up with the latest market trends and build good relationships with clients.
I am confident that our experience and industry knowledge is the best in Tokyo. Moreover, we have developed strong trust among clients since our operations started here.
How is your progress in this sector?
Renewable energy is one example of our aggressive expansion into new fields. Since we started to work with firms in this particular area a couple of years ago, growth has been fast and the work is quickly becoming one of the team’s best revenue sources.
What are the current market trends?
Last year, the Japanese government passed the Bill on Special Measures Concerning Procurement of Renewable Energy Sourced Electricity by Electric Utilities, allowing utilities to restrict the purchase of power generated by solar energy. This has changed the needs of the market.
We now see firms starting to reduce the number of engineers they hire, while setting aside budget to use for sales people who can generate revenue from existing projects. Our clients are increasingly seeking experienced sales people or mature professionals who, when they change employers, are able to bring clients with them.
We expect that demand for such talent will remain strong throughout 2015.
