A third of job vacancies/openings posted in Singapore last year have remained unfilled for at least six months, as the number of vacancies hit a high of 50,200 last year since March 2006.
About 20% of job vacancies were for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET), with teaching professionals being the most sought after within this category. Eight in 10 jobs were for non-PMETs. According to the Job Vacancies report by the Ministry of Manpower, PMET positions needed in the market included teaching professionals, sales and marketing managers, software developers as well as operation officers.
More than four in 10 employers also said they are looking to hire PMETs. About 30% were looking to hire in clerical, services and sales, while 26% were hiring operators, cleaners and labourers.
The report added 23% of job vacancies required at least a university degree, and 63% required working experience. Within that, 26% of companies stated they needed somebody with job specific skills, and 19% needed industry specific skills.
Data released showed that there was a gain of 30,600 jobs in the last quarter of last year and 112,500 gain throughout 2010.
“In 2008 and 2009, we saw some employees, especially PMET’s, looking to re-skill and re-train themselves to be more attractive to employers,” Lynne Ng, regional director of Adecco in Southeast Asia, said.
“We would now expect to see some of these individuals moving into positions where their new-found skills and expertise can be put to good use”.
The highest number of job vacancies were in the service and sales sector (10,330 vacancies), which rose from 68% in 2006, to 75% last year. This was followed by professionals (8,270) and associate professionals and technicians (8,230).
On the other hand, sectors such as manufacturing and construction showed a decline in vacancies, possibly due to completion of projects or restructuring.
With more confidence in the local economy, more employees are beginning to consider new job opportunities. As such, companies have to look into providing benefits and applying retention strategies to keep top talent.
Ng advised companies who are hiring to plan for the future in order to attract the right talent. “This forward planning will be especially important where organisations have cyclical staffing needs,” she said.