Job Vacancies 2019
1 The Manpower Research and Statistics Department of the Ministry of Manpower has released the annual “Job Vacancies 2019” report.
Main Findings
2 Job opportunities remained available across all sectors in 2019, mainly in information & communications, public administration & education, professional services, financial & insurance services, and manufacturing.
3 42% of the vacancies in 2019 were for newly created positions as a result of business expansion and formation. The growth sectors i.e. ICT, professional services, financial and insurance services, wholesale trade and healthcare had above-average proportion of vacancies for newly created positions. There was demand for software, web & multimedia developers and systems analysts, commercial & marketing sales executives and business development managers, nurses and healthcare assistants.
4 For 51% of PMET vacancies such as software, web & multimedia developers and commercial & marketing sales executives, employers placed greater emphasis on the candidates’ skills, work experience and attitude, than on academic qualifications.
5 The lack of necessary specialised skills was a common challenge faced by employers when hiring for PMET vacancies. For non-PMET positions, it was usually due to a mismatch in wage expectations.
Conclusion
6 Even though there were fewer vacancies in 2019 due to the uncertain economic conditions, there remained job opportunities across sectors, particularly in the growth sectors. Employers are also placing more emphasis on applicants’ skills, work experience and attitude, beyond academic qualifications. This underscores the need for job seekers to reskill and upskill to stay relevant to changing job requirements.
7 In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the government has stepped up support for businesses to retain, recruit, and reskill workers for new jobs. The Stabilisation and Support Package announced at Budget 2020 will help workers retain their jobs and upgrade their skills to be ready for new job opportunities when the economy recovers. Enterprises will receive support for keeping workers employed, through the Jobs Support Scheme1 and enhanced Wage Credit Scheme2.
8 MOM and Workforce Singapore, together with tripartite partners, are stepping up efforts to help individuals reskill and access good jobs. Under the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package, the capacity of government reskilling programmes has been increased, with enhanced salary support during the training period for mid-career rank-and-file workers. Employers that hire and reskill jobseekers aged 40 and above will also receive an additional hiring incentive. Mid-career jobseekers will receive an additional $500 SkillsFuture Credit top-up, on top of the $500 Credit top-up for eligible Singapore citizens, to encourage them to reskill.
9 Employers can also tap on government support to redesign jobs through the enhanced Productivity Solutions Grant and the new SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit.
For More Information
10 The report is available on the Ministry of Manpower’s statistics website at http://stats.mom.gov.sg