New labour laws boost demand for skilled Singaporeans

The Government's new Fair Consideration Framework introduced on August 1st has increased competition for local talent in the jobs market. Singapore's very strict policy when it comes to hiring foreigners will further exacerbate the skills shortage in Singapore, and this is likely to have a significant impact on the hiring of middle-income employees.

Large and medium-sized companies must now advertise jobs with a monthly salary below S$12,000 on the Government's online job database. Only Singapore citizens and permanent residents can apply for these positions and jobs must stay open to locals for two weeks before the company is allowed to seek foreign candidates.

Many multinational corporations use Singapore as their regional headquarters, attracted by its political and economic stability, low taxes, and ability to attract talent from across Asia and the world. Foreigners make up around 38 percent of Singapore's 3.4 million strong workforce. As companies must now prioritise hiring locals over foreigners for middle-income jobs, this could potentially tarnish Singapore's business-friendly reputation.

The current economic expansion in Singapore has resulted in low unemployment and employers continue to struggle to attract highly skilled and experienced professionals. It's quite a paradox as employers can't find the skilled and qualified workers they need, especially in technical areas like IT, construction, and engineering. So they need to look overseas if workloads are to be completed and Singapore is to remain competitive in the global business environment.

However, it's now very difficult for foreign candidates to gain work in Singapore, particularly when they are looking to move to the region and are not based here. Filling vacancies has become more difficult in the past year and the trend is set to continue. This could result in a rise in companies moving certain departments offshore.

The flip side of the new laws is that they have created a lot of competition for local talent, especially in the area of IT. Topping the IT roles in demand are IT Technology Risk and Security Engineers, Agile Developers, and Digital/Big Data specialists.

IT Technology Risk and Security Engineers are in strong demand as banks are looking to comply with regulatory guidelines. The risk that banks' information systems will be attacked by cyber criminals is increasing and there is a need to bolster their defences to combat the threat. We expect these IT professionals to continue to be in short supply.

The banking sector in Singapore is experiencing solid growth, and the banks are responding by increasing both their temporary and permanent staff. Demand exists for Compliance Officers, Banking Operations (Middle Office), Projects/Change Managers, Credit & Market Risk specialists, and Commodities specialists.

In construction and engineering, particularly rail and tunnel projects, we continue to see a rising number of new vacancies in the market and there remains an overall skill shortage for local candidates. Meanwhile, in the insurance sector employers continue to push for local talent but are becoming more and more aware of the skills shortage in the market. Many firms are opening their doors to overseas candidates, particularly when looking for strong technical knowledge.

The government's decision to push companies to consider locals above foreigners is good for the Singapore economy as a whole. However, due to the ongoing skills shortage, overseas talent is still needed to fill vacancies where local Singaporeans are in short supply.