Hays released their Quarterly Report for Singapore, which provides excellent information and their predictions for hiring activity in different sectors. Here are some extracts from their report for jobs in Singapore.
Accountancy & Finance
There continues to be strong demand for candidates with deep technical IFRS advisory and policy skills. Regulatory reporting experience, both local and international, remains in high demand, and Basel experience is sought after. There is a great deal of activity in the cost and expense management space and candidates with a strong cost management skill-set and business partnering skills are in demand. Internal Audit remains high on the corporate agenda as risk mitigation is still a key focus. There is also a significant increase in demand for contract hires as the Singapore market continues to open up to the benefit of short term solutions.
The product control space continues to grow as leading banks look to move worldwide positions to their already large Singapore hubs. As a result there is demand for candidates with exposure to the exotics, commodities, fixed income and emerging markets.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
We are moving into the busiest period of the year as candidates look to move and employers begin finalising recruitment drives for the year. This activity occurs much more during this quarter as budgets are tighter and sign-on bonuses become more of an issue next quarter. The market is very active across most sectors and we expect this trend to continue.
Banking
Given the increasing deal flow being experienced and projected by corporate finance teams, demand is high for suitably experienced corporate finance/M&A professionals, particularly at the Associate and VP levels to support this growth.
Wealth management and private banking continues to be an area in great demand, with many of the world’s major players trying to expand their market share and announcing development plans in this sector.
With increasing focus and current enhancement combined with stiffening of capital regulations there is an increasing demand for senior banking professionals with strong regulatory and risk management experience, in particular credit risk, portfolio risk, compliance and economic capital.
Structured trade finance, export finance and project finance are areas where niche players that specialise in this space are experiencing growth, and there is increasing demand for people possessing strong networks and proven origination and execution experience.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
Most banks are consolidating and taking stock of their current talent pool after consecutive quarters of aggressive hiring. The last quarter of 2011 promises to be in contrast with this, with expectations that hiring frequency will increase. There is also now an increasing expectation from candidates that they will be compensated for forfeited bonuses in order to move. Internal mobility is also being given much more focus and this looks like a trend that will continue.
Construction
The Construction market in Singapore has seen minor changes over the past year, with the bulk of construction still in the civil sector, driven by the private industry. There is a deep skills shortage for candidates with strong Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) experience and a contracting background. Workplace Health & Safety Officers, Safety Managers, Senior Engineers and Project Managers with consistent experience on MRT contracts are all in demand. In addition, those with Professional Engineer) recognised qualifications are considerably favoured by employers; however, their salary expectations can be out of line with the current market.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
Over the past two months, there has been a number of new and current players in the market awarded Land Transport Authority contracts. As such, the coming quarter will see a significant amount of direct and indirect hiring and strong competition amongst contractors.
Human Resources
There has been an increase in companies looking to fill HR Business Partner and generalist roles at the middle management level as well as a renewed focus on internal recruitment for organisations within commerce and financial services. Demand for Country HR Managers is also on the rise.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
Expect to see more vacancies arising in all areas as businesses look to the HR function to develop talent retention strategies that will help to keep their best talent and focus on succession planning. Regional roles will become more frequent again as organisations continue to move their headquarters to Singapore.
Informational Technology
Cloud computing will be the most attractive skills sought by system integrators and vendors over the next 12 months. All of the top global players, including Apple who recently launched its product offering icloud, will be looking at getting into this space.
There has been a big shift in the market from traditional infrastructure system management to outsourced service management. End clients now prefer to outsource their server and data centre infrastructure and choose to maintain only network service with them.
Virtualisation experts and the demand for traditional network experts will remain the same. We are seeing salary increases within the infrastructure market as the candidate shortage starts being felt and companies try to retain skilled employees.
Candidates with experience in networking and applications development are in high demand for a number of new projects. The demand for senior level candidates is low as the end users are still cautious about market conditions.
There is continued demand for networking professionals, specifically candidates with experience in IP networks, security and with certifications in CISCO. There has also been a demand for mid to senior level Technical Architects and Project Managers in the development space. Many companies are actively seeking candidates with relevant experience in design and implementation for the virtualization sector.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
The market has been positive for recruitment activity, although employers have placed caution on the level the candidates are being hired for. A number of companies are conducting three rounds of technical interviews with candidates before making an offer of employment.
Some employers have been looking at taking on contract staff to help deliver specific projects within short time frames. This coming quarter expect to see an increase in the number of contract employees and strong demand for junior and senior executive level hires, more so than the demand for managerial level roles.
Insurance
The insurance industry is still growing at a steady pace, as international companies continue to set up operations in Singapore, looking to take advantage of the strong market in order to expand their product distribution and presence into new areas. Market dominance is as aggressive as ever with the top tier firms attempting to monopolise or break into the lucrative insurance industry through limited bancassurance distribution channels. Many of these larger organisations continue to restructure their reporting lines and address regional and local strategies in order to gain greater market share. As a result, Bancassurance Development Managers are in demand.
Corporate Actuaries, Claims Assistant Managers, Underwriters and Compliance Officers are also in demand.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
Expect the next few months to be increasingly job rich with new vacancies arising not just through company expansion but also due to the need to streamline internal reporting processes and procedures. This will see a rise in demand for candidates with projects and change management, compliance and management reporting skills.
Office Professionals
There is strong market demand for Office Managers, particularly with experience in the set up of new businesses and deep knowledge of the Microsoft Office suite. Multi-lingual candidates, particularly those who can speak English and Mandarin, will find themselves being snapped up quickly by employers. Proficient Executive Assistant’s with banking experience are also well sought as are Executive Assistants with one-on-one support experience coming from an MNC. The need for contractors is still growing as more employers and employees become aware of this trend.
Oil & Gas
There continues to be strong demand for Subsea Engineering professionals, particularly within the deepwater space. A shortage of candidates in this area is not only apparent in Asia but also world-wide. There has been a soar in requirements from companies looking for Remotely Operated Vehicles and umbilical candidates at present especially.
Project controls remains in high demand as the market continues to strengthen and recover. There is also a great deal of movement within the geosciences and petroleum sector for the same reason. Management and executive positions continue to grow as companies regroup ahead of the predicted boom in 2012. Employers continue to look outside Asia as well as within for quality candidates. With a couple of big contracts awarded recently, there is now some movement within the engineering, procurement and construction sector.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
The coming quarter is set to be fast paced with all market sectors within the industry once again recruiting. Expect to see a lot of movement of candidates as companies compete to attract talent.
Pharmaceuticals
There is a continued requirement for technical skills such as Quality Assurance, Validation and Regulatory professionals in the life science space as product manufacturing remains big business in Singapore despite the gradual shift of operations largely to China, Taiwan and India.
Other areas where activity continues to grow include the commercial and medical sectors. Given all of the top listed Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Medical Device players have a medical and commercial presence in Singapore, there is a need for Medical Directors and Commercial Marketing professionals.
While clinical research increases very steadily, hiring activity has been placed on hold for many major CRO employers due to mergers and buy outs in the market.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
The market outlook is positive in Asia with joint ventures, alliances and M&A activity.
Sales & Marketing
The South East Asia region continues to benefit from its proximity to the emerging markets. Corporations are investing in sales and marketing appointments focused on supporting activities in countries such as Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia. Recruiting is not exclusive to any one sector with IT, FMCG, services and engineering based industries represented in the list of active employers.
One interesting trend is the positive effect of the energy and commodities boom. Apart from supporting firms with direct interests in this sector, the indirect result on firms providing services, technology and intellectual property has been clearly apparent. These firms are investing in Sales Executives, Marketing Managers and Communications specialists.
In the consumer space FMCG and luxury brands continue to be the main focal point. The global consumer market continues to take hold in Singapore with cultural and buyer attitudes becoming internationalised.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
Anticipate consistent investment in the $200,000 salary market for both sales and marketing executives. The specialist sectors of digital marketing, e-commerce and corporate social responsibility will be the new appointments featuring in the market. These roles traditionally sit within the hospitality, technology and digital electronics industries; however this is expanding to include FMCG, services and consumer durables markets.
Supply Chain
Supply chain and procurement hiring experienced an increase in recruitment activity in the second quarter and the trend looks to continue into the third quarter. Skills in procurement across banking and manufacturing are in demand as well as manufacturing, chemical and industrial sectors on the supply planning side. Rising inflation rates in Singapore will continue to put pressure on salary levels for the remainder of the year.
Hiring expectations for the next quarter
The hiring pipeline is looking healthy this quarter with many companies in the banking, manufacturing, industrial and chemical industries looking to fill supply chain positions over the next three to six months as they continue to invest heavily in expanding their Asian operations.