Singapore recruiters not worried about slowdown in job creation
4 February 2015
Singapore recruiters say they are not worried about the predicted slowdown in creation of skilled jobs and that there is still a war for top talent.
Wed, 4 Jan 2015
Singapore recruiters say they are not worried about the predicted slowdown in creation of skilled jobs and that there is still a war for top talent.
As Recruiter reported yesterday, Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) predicts fewer skilled jobs will be created in the sovereign city-state this year in light of increased uncertainty in the global economy.
Steve Greenwood, executive director at multi-specialism recruiter Berkley Recruitment, said the slowdown might affect recruiters who work with mid-junior roles, “however, it’s not as alarming as it initially sounds as already many manufacturing facilities have been, or are, moving out of Singapore due to higher costs”.
Marie Brown, operations director for rec-to-rec recruiter Windsor Royce, said any pressures on skilled job creation would be “transitory and will begin to dissipate once global job growth reverts to its long-term growth trajectory”.
She continued to say Singapore’s economic position was likely to benefit from factors such as its proximity to the growing economies of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar (Burma).
Matthew Streeton, managing director for multi-sector recruiter LMA Recruitment Singapore, said overall there was a talent shortage in Singapore, “and competition for skilled workers is intense”.
He also said new sectors continue to be invested in, biomedical for example, and other sectors, such as professional services, continue to grow.
Martin Grindrod, MD for Asia Pacific (APAC) for life sciences sector recruiter ProClinical, agreed, saying both the biomedical and life sciences sectors were growing and in general, “pharmaceutical companies tended to be more protected from global macro-economic factors”.
Berkley’s Greenwood said there was a “worrying factor” though – the tightening of labour laws on hiring foreign skilled and semi-skilled workers in Singapore, which could lead to a shortage of available talent to fill the 13k to 14k new roles that have been estimated will be created this year.
“Overall, it won’t have a major immediate impact on recruiters working in the professional services space at mid to senior-level executive roles. However, a knock-on effect could follow as companies that need to hire significant numbers of lower-level skilled workers may not find Singapore as attractive as before due to cost factors and labour market restrictions,” he said.
Singapore recruiters say they are not worried about the predicted slowdown in creation of skilled jobs and that there is still a war for top talent.
As Recruiter reported yesterday, Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) predicts fewer skilled jobs will be created in the sovereign city-state this year in light of increased uncertainty in the global economy.
Steve Greenwood, executive director at multi-specialism recruiter Berkley Recruitment, said the slowdown might affect recruiters who work with mid-junior roles, “however, it’s not as alarming as it initially sounds as already many manufacturing facilities have been, or are, moving out of Singapore due to higher costs”.
Marie Brown, operations director for rec-to-rec recruiter Windsor Royce, said any pressures on skilled job creation would be “transitory and will begin to dissipate once global job growth reverts to its long-term growth trajectory”.
She continued to say Singapore’s economic position was likely to benefit from factors such as its proximity to the growing economies of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar (Burma).
Matthew Streeton, managing director for multi-sector recruiter LMA Recruitment Singapore, said overall there was a talent shortage in Singapore, “and competition for skilled workers is intense”.
He also said new sectors continue to be invested in, biomedical for example, and other sectors, such as professional services, continue to grow.
Martin Grindrod, MD for Asia Pacific (APAC) for life sciences sector recruiter ProClinical, agreed, saying both the biomedical and life sciences sectors were growing and in general, “pharmaceutical companies tended to be more protected from global macro-economic factors”.
Berkley’s Greenwood said there was a “worrying factor” though – the tightening of labour laws on hiring foreign skilled and semi-skilled workers in Singapore, which could lead to a shortage of available talent to fill the 13k to 14k new roles that have been estimated will be created this year.
“Overall, it won’t have a major immediate impact on recruiters working in the professional services space at mid to senior-level executive roles. However, a knock-on effect could follow as companies that need to hire significant numbers of lower-level skilled workers may not find Singapore as attractive as before due to cost factors and labour market restrictions,” he said.
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