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Skills Needed for the Future in Singapore

Creativity and people related skills will be in demand in the future

The Changing Economy and its Effect on Jobs

Singapore’s economy and its structure are changing and this is having a major effect on the labour market. Already we see banks and other financial institutions moving jobs to cheaper labour markets such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and China, while other jobs in the financial industry are being replaced by technology. Similar movements are taking place in other historically core industries such as shipping, oil, energy and engineering. So called “traditional” jobs are being lost and mid-career and above PMETs (Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians) are the majority losers – an estimated 60% to 70% of retrenchments are mid-career and above professionals.

Fortunately the government has taken strong measures to protect and support mid-career PMETs, and there are many initiatives in place to facilitate the retraining and upskilling of such workers. But what skills will be in demand in Singapore the future?

A New Industrial Revolution

There is much talk about the world having entered the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” – but this is perhaps misnamed as it is a technological revolution rather than an industrial one – and researchers and other analysts are looking at the impact this transformation is having and will continue to have on the world of work.

The changing face of industry in Singapore is seeing advances and expansion in research and development, e-commerce, and other digital businesses. This is evidenced by the number of companies that have their R&D centres here and the growing number of e-marketplaces such as Lazada and Amazon building their regional hubs in Singapore. Another strong focus now is to take advantage of new technologies such as IoT (the Internet of Things), AI (artificial intelligence), quantum computing, biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, and renewable energy.

Examples of these developments that we already see in use are the advances in medicine and medical technologies such as ‘nanocarriers’ of chemotherapy drugs that affect only the targeted cells; absorbable heart stents; ‘nanoagriculture’ increasing the production of crops and livestock; self-driving cars; and the growth of data analytics.

Skills for the Future

So with all these changes in technology and the world of work, what skills are not in danger of being replaced by robots or other technologies? What skills are needed in Singapore for 2020 and beyond?

The skills needed for the future can be categorised as creativity related skills and people related skills.

Creativity related skills include creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity and innovative thinking. Creative problem-solving seeks to look at situations from different perspectives to build a fuller understanding of it before looking for novel solutions. Only humans can create ideas out of nothing – technology cannot. Creativity skills are and will always be needed and in demand. Education systems globally result in people using only logical analysis in the search for solutions to complex problems and most people therefore have underutilised intuitive and creative potential – training can help remedy this.

Technology / robots will increasingly be able to analyse complex data but still only from a logical perspective – there is no indication that technology will replace intuition which is a purely human function. Similarly, technology and robots will increasingly develop even more complex mathematical skills but will not be able to master the human intuitive side of making connections and seeing relationships between seemingly random events, nor will they make insightful interpretations of them.

People related skills include the ability to manage people, empathise with them, lead them, build teams, communicate across teams and the ability to coordinate and collaborate with people. Technology and robots cannot do these. Neither can technology provide a customer service orientation to business. These human, people focused skills will always be in demand.

To safeguard your future in work, make sure that you develop creativity and people related skills.

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Google And Changi Airport Are The Most Attractive Employers

best employers in singapore 2017

Job seekers in Singapore have lots to choose from regarding attractive employers. Randstad Employer Brand Research just released its Singapore 2017 report on the top 20 most attractive employers.

Google came in first, followed by Changi Airport and ExxonMobil.

The most appealing aspect of Google is its strong reputation for innovation.

The study used nine employee value proposition (EVP) drivers to measure company attractiveness across all job sectors. Several firms were present, including the top three already mentioned, as well as Proctor and Gamble, Shell, Intercontinental Hotels Group, IBM and several banks.

EVP factors that attract workers to a company often include salary, career advancement opportunities, challenging work, innovation, and learning and development opportunities.

Google came out on top of the company attractiveness scale, with a whopping 78 percent of respondents stating it was their job destination of choice. A close second was Changi Airport Group, and it was the fourth consecutive year that the airport ranked within the top three companies. Changi Airport Group was ranked first last year. The attractiveness can be very promising, but some companies have private doctors that treat some employees badly. It´s not okay because they had to report medical negligence and have them get what they deserve. If you have this problem, file your report right away.

Jaya Dass, the country director for Randstad Singapore, noted that while the ranking was done on local organizations, these same brands are some of the world’s best-known and biggest companies.

More and more, companies turn to studies like the Randstad report to help in their recruiting and hiring practices. Many organizations find it increasingly difficult and competitive to attract the critical talent they need in the Singapore market.

There is often a disconnect between the critical EVP areas from the employer point of view compared to the employee point of view, as outlined in this 2014 study by Towers Watson.

As per the Towers Watson report, base pay and career advancement are strong influencers, but employees also need to have trust and confidence in the senior leadership of the company, a factor employers often overlook. Many companies continue to underestimate the impact that senior leaders have on employees.

Employee engagement is also a strong predictor of employee retention. Engagement plays a vital role in both attracting and keeping employees. Sustainable engagement in a company is a three-pronged approach.

  • Engagement: ensuring that employees feel deeply involved in the company and are willing to put forth extra effort on behalf of the company.
  • Enabling: Ensuring that employees have the tools and resources they need to be successful in their jobs. This is a role of both first-line supervisors as well as senior leaders.
  • Energy: It is increasingly important for employees to work in an environment that considers health and wellness as an important part of the workplace.
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Employees In Singapore Are Less Engaged

A recent survey of over 5 million employee responses showed that less than 25 percent of employees consider themselves to be highly engaged in their company.

The report, “2017 Trends in Global Employee Engagement,” by Aon Hewitt, covered over 60 industries and showed overall engagement (highly engaged + moderately engaged) scores in the 60 percent range.

Both Singapore and Malaysia fell to below 60 percent for employee engagement. Singapore had a four- point decrease year on year.

Other APAC countries are slightly higher, but are all under 70 percent. India leads the pack at 69 percent, China is at 67 percent, Thailand and the Philippines are tied at 65 percent, with Indonesia rounding out the mix at 61 percent.

employee engagement in singapore 2017

In particular, millennials feel the most disengagement, particularly when surveyed about their companies’ methods to attract talent, promote employees and retain staff. Millennials also rated low on feeling their companies were giving them the appropriate resources to do their jobs.

According to Stephen Hickey, a Partner at Aon Hewitt APAC, “As organisations strive to fuel growth, they must understand how their workforce productivity and pay programmes—both fixed and variable, compare to market. They must educate their people on how they implement pay for performance and recognise top contributors using a blend of financial and non-financial rewards such as development opportunities.”

Aon Hewitt found that there are regional variations in engagement, driven by cultural differences, regional political climate, and local economics. However, some things are universal: colleague recognition and fairness in reward programs is increasingly important in engaging a workforce.

Highest-performing employees are also the most engaged, and there are definitely financial benefits to having engaged employees. Companies with engaged employees outperform other companies by 202 percent and have lower absenteeism. In fact, companies that increase investments in employee engagement by 10 percent reap a reward of higher productivity by $2,400 per employee per year.

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Singapore Is Good At Attracting, Growing and Retaining Talent

best countries talent jobs career

We all know that attracting and managing talent is very important.

This also recognized by the Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2017 , published by INSEAD and Adecco, which provides insights into countries that are the best at attracting, growing and retaining talent.

It also looks at how these efforts are translated into output.

The top 10 countries in the ranking are:

  • Switzerland
  • Singapore
  • United Kingdom
  • United States of America
  • Sweden
  • Australlia
  • Luxembourg
  • Denmark
  • Finland
  • Norway

Switzerland, a regular in lists of global leaders, offers an attractive economic environment and excels at keeping domestically developed talent in the country.

Singapore, though, which came in at second place, received a great deal of attention in this year’s report because of the way it approaches the development of its talent while technology changes.

Singapore approaches talent management with ecosystem-wide initiatives that are developed/executed (often jointly) by government agencies such as the Ministry of Manpower, the Infocomm Development Agency and the Workforce Development Agency.

As a result, Singapore has found a variety of benefits:

  • It has been able to decrease its reliance on foreign labor and employees.
  • Businesses in Singapore have found ways to use automation to enhance productivity rather than replacing employees.
  • Automation has pulled in smart technology in a variety of sectors. In the cleaning and service sector, for example, robots have been used to clean floors or fold napkins, and this allows hotel staff to focus on jobs that can’t be performed by automation.
  • The government has launched a variety of initiatives, such as the Lean Enterprise Development Scheme, which works with many different partner agencies to provide small businesses with the funding and resources needed to use technology to support their workers.

Singapore’s education system also fits well into the framework.

In the most recent PISA (Program For International Student Assessment), more than half a million 15-year-olds from 72 countries took a two-hour exam. The assessment puts Singapore at the top — ranked first in science, math and reading.

The country sources and develops high quality teachers, providing each student with a world-class education. Students learn things like coding when they are young and teachers get up to 100 hours of training each year.

The index did note that Singapore could improve in the access to growth opportunities and innovation, along with the tolerance of immigrants.

New Global Cities Talent Competitiveness Index

This year’s report also narrows down the best cities within the indexed countries, as most people look to move to highest-rated cities first. This year’s top 10 are spread throughout many European countries, along with two U.S. cities.

  • Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Zurich, Switzerland
  • Helsinki, Finland
  • San Francisco, United States
  • Gothenburg, Sweden
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Paris, France
  • Eindhoven, Netherlands
  • Los Angeles, United States
  • Dublin, Ireland

The top three offer a high performance in quality-of-life, physical and information infrastructures, and solid international relationships.

For more information on the index, criteria used and other qualitative insights, have a look at these videos.

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Almost Half Of The People In Singapore Have Poor Work-Life Balance

Employees In Singapore Have Poor Work-Life Balance

A survey of employees in various locations, found that almost one in two people in Singapore report a poor work-life balance. In the Emolument study, 47 percent of respondents stated that the balance between their professional life and personal life is awful.

Many of the people with the worst work-life balance also have the largest paychecks, but is this too high a commitment for employees?

Locations and Jobs That Offer Top Salaries in Exchange for High Commitment

Out of all the locations in the survey, the ones that are offering top salaries in exchange for a high commitment from employees include Singapore, UAE, and Hong Kong.

The most unhappy set of employees are consultants. Due to the nature of the job, consultants are often subject to longer working hours and have less control over their environment.

49 percent of consultants are unhappy with their work-life balance and categorize it as awful. They often deal with clients, need to readily obey their commands at the drop of a hat, and they have no control over where and when they work.

Gender and Work-Life Balance

The study also examined the differences in gender when it comes to work-life balance.

It was found that a higher percent of women than men find the balance between work and personal life to be awful, with nine percent more women feeling this way.

Often there is relatively more pressure on women when it comes to what they handle in their lives.

Most women deal with the commitments that come with children, such as the children being sick or having events at school.

Women also have to deal with all the logistics that come with raising a family, such as arranging day care or transportation, in addition to handling/overseeing the housework, cleaning and cooking.

A successful career and a fulfilling personal life can be a huge juggling act.

Future Implications

Alice Leguay, the COO of Emolument.com, says that although large companies have been talking about work-life balance for many years, it’s only recently becoming a factor for people when they go through the process of picking a career or employer.

The younger generations are coming into the workforce looking for jobs that are flexible in that they expect less face-time and micromanaging. More and more young people want to be trusted to do the job under their own terms.

Depending on the industry, these expectations may be a long way off for some employers, but many are starting to understand that a poor work-life balance could result in higher turnover rates.

These employers are realizing that more employees aren’t finding higher pay enough compensation for a poor work-life balance.

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Most Employees In Asia Reject Counter-Offers From Employers

A recent survey from recruiting firm Hays says that last year around 61 percent of employees in Singapore rejected a counter-offer from their bosses to make them stay in the firm. Meanwhile, 30 percent of employees claimed that they accepted their offers and stayed.

Such counter-offers ranged from salary increases, more company benefits, a highly sought-after promotion or a new job title, more responsibility, a change in the current role, or more involvement in projects. These types of counter-offers are made in the hope that managers and CEOs convince employees to stay at the firm.

Hays’ survey revealed that while 30 percent of employees said that they accepted the counter-offers and ended up staying with their employers for more than 12 months after accepting the counter-offer, 9 percent said they ended up leaving the organization anyway less than 12 months after receiving the counter-offer. For these 9 percent, those counter-offers from their employers were not enough to make them stay in the long run.

“People reject counter-offers because in most cases it’s too late” says Lynne Roeder, Hays’ managing director for Singapore “Whether it’s because they want to take the next step in their career or they want to broaden their professional horizons, chances are they made their mind up when they applied for that other job. It could also be that they wish to change industries or simply because they are currently unhappy in their present role. Before considering presenting a counter offer, employers should be wary that once an employee has announced their intention to leave, their long-term loyalty can come into question.”

Singapore is not the only area where a high number of workers are rejecting counter-offers from their employers. Hays has conducted similar research throughout Asia and found that 45 percent of workers in China, 56 percent of workers in Hong Kong, 61 percent of workers in Japan and 63 percent of workers in Malaysia said “thanks but no thanks” to the counter-offers they received from their bosses.

This makes Singapore tied with Japan for the second-highest rate of employees ditching counter offers and leaving their firms, with Malaysia having the highest rate and China having the lowest.

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Facebook Tops The List Of Most Empathetic Firms In 2016

Due to continued economic uncertainty around the world, empathy has never been in such high demand.

As the 2016 Empathy Index shows, empathy is more important to a successful business than it has ever been before. In today’s business world, empathy strongly correlates to growth, productivity, and earnings per employee.

The annual Empathy Index seeks to answer this question: Which companies are successfully creating and fostering empathetic cultures, and which are not?

Companies that create strong empathetic cultures are ones that retain the nicest people, create environments where diverse and open-minded teams thrive, and ultimately reap the greatest financial rewards.

Methodology

Empathy was down into five categories: ethics, leadership, company culture, brand perception and public messaging through social media.

Some of the metrics used, which are publicly available, include CEO approval ratings from employees, gender ratio on boards, and the number of accounting infractions and other scandals. This year, a new metric was added: carbon, or how environmentally conscious the company is.

The financial information came from S&P Capital IQ, and the employee information came from Glassdoor.com. The study also analyzed over 2 million tweets from Sept. 27 to Oct. 16, 2016. In a new source of qualitative data added this year, the leaders of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders were asked to rate the companies’ morality.

The Empathy Index focuses on global companies. Unfortunately, due to a lack of public information, it was not possible to include companies from China in the survey.

Results

The top 10 companies in the Empathy Index 2015 increased in value more than twice as much as the bottom 10. They also generated 50 percent more earnings than the bottom 10, as defined by market capitalization. A strong 80 percent correlation was found between departments with higher empathetic value and those with high performers.

The Index results found empathy is correlated with ethics, and any ethical failure on a company’s part can prove costly. This is best reflected by the Deutsche Bank’s sharp drop from 40th place in the 2015 Index to the 110th place in this year’s Index, and Wells Fargo plummeting from 20th place in 2015 to 130th place in 2016. Both of these falls from grace come in light of the two banks’ recent scandals and poor brand perception.

Meanwhile, the tech sector continues to lead the ranking in high empathetic value, now accounting for an even greater share of the top 10 with 60% value in 2016 compared to last year’s 50% value. Facebook usurped Microsoft as the number one most empathetic tech company, owing to its focus on improving its internal culture and the introduction of the Empathy Lab.

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Ranking Of The Best Universities For Landing A Job

A new global ranking shows which universities are the best for getting a job after graduation. QS, a group of global higher education analysts, has put together its first graduate employability index. The index aims to measure how appealing a university’s graduates are to employers.

The Results

QS examined data from over 300 universities around the world, comparing their performance on five key employment indicators.

Their data shows that Stanford University is the number one university for getting a job, with Massachusetts Institute of Technology coming in second.

Though this is a global rankings list, the U.S. has an incredibly strong presence, with five colleges in the top 10 and 10 colleges in the top 20. Making up the rest of the top 20 are three universities each from the U.K. and China, two from Australia, and one each from France and Hong Kong.

Why Is This Study Important?

Employment prospects have never been so crucial to students deciding where they want to study for the next four years. With student debt at record high levels and a global economy still struggling to recover from the recession that began in 2008, there is a powerful incentive to start earning as much as possible and as soon as possible after graduation.

On top of that, college is becoming increasingly more accessible to young people around the world, meaning that young people are going to college more than ever before. As a result, competition for employment after graduation is fiercer than in previous years.

According to Ben Sowter, head of research at QS, the global ranking data shows that universities with a strong focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) scored higher on the employability index.

However, Sowter said the rankings were not solely because of STEM graduates being more employable than non-STEM graduates. The employment rate was only one of the five indicators used to compile the rankings. He also added that the employment rate was not broken down by subject.

According to QS, the top 10 global universities ranked on employability are:

  1. Stanford University (U.S.)
  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (U.S.)
  3. Tsinghua University (China)
  4. The University of Sydney (Austalia)
  5. University of Cambridge (U.K.)
  6. Ecole Polytechnique ParisTech (France)
  7. Columbia University (U.S.)
  8. University of Oxford (U.K.)
  9. University of California, Berkeley (U.S.)
  10. Princeton University (U.S.)

The full rankings can be found here.

As well as post-graduate employment rates, universities were also assessed on employer reputation, partnerships with employers, employer-student connections and alumni outcomes. All of these factors went into the overall ranking.

Chicago University (23rd overall) was the highest-placed U.S. institution solely on graduate employment rate. The category was topped by South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University. Australian universities also did well in this particular metric, with five in the top 20, reflecting a currently buoyant domestic economy. South Korea and Mexico both had two universities in the top 20 based on post-grad employment rate.

“As the global employment market changes in unprecedented ways, students are increasingly emphasizing the link between their university choice and their future career,” said Sowter. “We’re confident that the insights provided by this ranking will prove invaluable in allowing them to do so.”

Conclusion

While employability should figure prominently in every student’s considerations for where they’ll go to college, it should not be the only factor. When deciding where they will want to spend the next four years of their life, students will need more than just the prospect of finding a job after graduation to get them through those next four years.

Other equally important factors, like academic quality/style and reputation, affordability, and whether or not they can see themselves being happy and comfortable at the university, should be considered when deciding where to go.

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More Leave For New Parents In Singapore

The Singapore Parliament recently passed some changes to the Child Development Co-Savings Act that offers more time off for parents, whether they are adopting a child or having one the old fashioned way.

This time off is not just for mothers of newborns, but also includes more paternity leave for fathers. It has the intent of providing the necessary support for new parents during the time when they should be learning the ropes of caring for their child and bonding as a family unit, rather than worrying about going back to work.

Changes to Child Development Co-Savings Act

  • All mothers will be given up to 16 weeks of leave after the birth of their child. It does not matter if they are married or single. This goes into effect on 1 January 2017.
  • Mothers that adopt children will get an increase in the amount of paid leave starting next July. Previously, they had received four weeks of leave, but they will now receive up to 12 weeks of adoption leave.
  • All fathers of newborns are going to be granted a paternity leave that doubles the previous amount of time off, from one week to two weeks, starting in the new year.
  • Mothers will also have the option of gifting a portion of their maternity leave to their husbands starting in July 2017, as well. They can give up to four weeks of their total 16 that they receive under the act, to increase their husband’s paternity leave time off.

Benefits of Changes to Leave

One of the biggest benefits of this change is for fathers. These changes will allow new fathers to have up to eight weeks off during the first year of being a new parent. They can have the two weeks of paternity leave that this change enables them to have, as well as the four weeks that they can share with their wife. This combines with the paid childcare leave that gives them six days off and unpaid infant care leave that lasts for a week.

 

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Ranking of The Best CEOs In The World

best ceos globally

Harvard Business Review posted its latest list ranking of the top 100 CEOs in the World that have the best performance in the long term.

This list doesn’t focus on short-term returns but examines the CEOs that have provided their respective companies with the best returns over time.

Top Three Spots

The coveted top spot on the list goes to the CEO of Novo Nordisk, a company in Denmark that produces medications, Lars Sørensen.

Second on the list is Martin Sorrell, who is the CEO of WPP, which is an advertising firm in the United Kingdom.

The third spot goes to Inditex’s CEO, Pablo Isla, who heads this Spanish-based fashion retailer.

Changes

Before the Harvard Business Review changed the way that it ranked this list, Jeff Bezos, the CEO of Internet powerhouse Amazon, had been in the top spot. However, since HBR changed its criteria to add in ESG, or the environmental, social and governance factors, he dropped down to the 87 spot in 2015.

In 2016, Bezos moved up the ranks to 76. When it comes to just the financial aspects of this ranking, Bezos still leads the pack of CEOs as he has done so for three years running. The thing is that Harvard Business Review has determined that these additional metrics add value to long-term performance.

Compilation Method

The list was compiled by HBR examining the CEOs of companies ranked on the S&P Global 1,200.

The rankings were calculated using the returns that shareholders received overall, along with the market capitalization that happened under the CEO’s career at that company.

Also factored in were the ratings of the ESG performance.

Additional Interesting Statistics

There are a few additional statistics that can be drawn from this list.

  • It is interesting to note that being on this list doesn’t guarantee being able to keep a CEO position. Lars Sørensen will be retiring in December, ahead of when he was expected to retire, after Novo Nordisk’s stock dipped by almost 20 percent back in August.
  • Of the 100 CEOs on this list, there are 22 nationalities represented, with the companies based in 19 different countries.
  • There were only two women on this list this year, Ventas’ Debra Cafaro and Lockheed Martin’s Marillyn Hewson. Only three percent of the 886 companies that HBR studied to create this list have female executives in charge.
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Accolades For Career Counselling And Training In Singapore/Asia

Since starting in 2008, Sandbox Advisors has come a long way.

Over the years we have established ourselves as an expert provider of career related counselling, coaching and training services in Singapore/Asia.

Our website/magazine is read by thousands of people every day, who enjoy the extremely practical and science-based insights. Our content and expertise has also been featured regularly in the media (print and TV), including Straits times, Channel News Asia, AllTop, Singapore Business Review, Simply Her and CLEO.

In 2016, we continued to expand our reach, helping many individuals and organisations in Singapore and South-East Asia.

And we are fortunate that the contributions we made have been recognized. Here are some highlights:

WINNER AT THE HR VENDORS OF THE YEAR AWARDS

Once again we were recognized as one of the best HR firms.

This is as per votes from over 500 senior HR professionals in Asia and a panel of over 60 HR leaders from some of Asia’s largest organisations.​

HR Vendors of the Year, published since 2006, has garnered an immense following by HR professionals across the region for the past 10 years.

BEST GLOBAL TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP AWARD

The quality of our leadership, management and creativity training was recognized by the World HRD Congress.

Their research cell produces a shortlist of individuals/organisations who are doing extraordinary work. The shortlist is then reviewed by a jury comprising of senior professionals from across the globe. The criteria and competencies benchmarked are:

  • Strategic Perspective
  • Track Record
  • Effective use of Training Technology
  • Training Effectiveness & Innovation
  • Future Orientation
  • Integrity and Ethics
  • Thought Leadership

Based on this, we were presented with the “Best Global Training & Development Leadership Award” citation.

HRD RISING STARS

And finally, our CEO Amit Puri, was named as one of the 20 Rising Stars in the industry.

Human Resources Director magazine, asked their readers to nominate HR professionals who they believe are doing outstanding work. This list was then reduced to 20 professionals who had the best career progression and achievements.

As per the magazine, “the final list of 20 professionals is a stellar collection of superstars.”

The entire team of consultants and writers at Sandbox Advisors puts in a tremendous amount of effort into what we do. And we are grateful to our clients and readers for recognizing our work.

Thank you and here’s to a great holiday season and 2017!

best counselling and training singapore asia

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Soft Skills Development Lacking In Asia/Singapore

Technical/Hard skills may be the ones most commonly listed on resumes, but a recent study by the Singapore Management University, in partnership with J.P. Morgan, shows that soft skills are the ones that many economies in the region are lacking.

The study looked at the skills challenges in countries that are part of the Association of South East Asian Nations, or ASEAN, especially Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Results showed that even in government programs, like SkillsFuture in Singapore, participants and employees were receiving sufficient training in hard skills, but soft skills, or the abilities that can be taken across jobs, were being pushed aside.

Soft skills are the characteristics and skills that employees can use anywhere they go, such as common sense, interpersonal and social skills, communication skills, and character traits. They are important for relationships with others, which is something all employees need at any level of employment.

SkillsFuture, the Singapore government’s national effort to improve the education, training and careers of their residents and workers, has made significant strides toward giving employees the teachable, specific skills that are measurable, or hard skills training.

However, the lack of soft skills is one area in which the Singaporean economy needs improvement. The report also showed other factors and shortages that may be impacting the economy.

  • Singapore, right now, has a high reliance on foreign workers. As a result, the study notes that redesigning or restructuring jobs to better use technology and increase productivity could help to reduce this reliance on foreign workers.
  • There is a definite lack of skilled middle and senior-level professionals in the cybersecurity fields. Much of this is due to lack of training programs and paths to entry for those looking for mid-career switch into the field.
  • Skill gaps are also present in the info-communications technology, electronics, electronics manufacturing, finance and insurance fields. Furthermore, employers are having a hard time attracting qualified professionals into these fields because of pay cuts that many will experience, along with the extensive knowledge needed for success.