3 in 5 Singapore companies likely to suffer from talent dearth in the next 3 years

Almost half of companies do not invest enough for staff training, says a survey.

Close to half (43%) of companies in Singapore do not sufficiently invest in staff training and education, according to Randstad’s latest Workmonitor Q3 2012 survey. The findings were revealed as part of a global survey of 14,780 employees from 32 countries.

The Singapore figure is among the highest of survey respondents in the Asia-Pacific region. Underinvestment in training and education is less of a problem in other countries like New Zealand (37%), India (25%) and Australia (38%) where fewer respondents believed employers insufficiently invested in their people.

Randstad Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Ms Deb Loveridge said the findings suggest business leaders in Singapore need to make a greater commitment to staff development.

“To build loyalty and encourage employee motivation, companies need to provide training and education opportunities, as well as set a clear career path to enable employees to grow in their roles,” Ms Loveridge said.

The survey of 405 employees in Singapore also found that the majority (67%) of respondents believe their companies have trouble finding the right people for certain jobs, and almost three fifths (58%) will face a shortage of highly qualified staff in the next three years.

Ms Loveridge added, “Career development opportunities are proven to help retain and motivate staff. This is particularly important given Singapore’s low unemployment rate and competitive talent market.”

The survey indicated that more than a quarter (26%) of employees in Singapore have changed jobs in the last six month. Better employment conditions such as training and career development opportunities, a more competitive salary, and a greater work-life balance were cited as the main reasons for moving.

“Many low cost options exist for companies looking to improve their career development offering. For example, the introduction of mentorship programmes to team up junior staff with more experienced executives, or encourage teams to host internal knowledge sharing sessions to provide staff the opportunity to upskill from each other,” Ms Loveridge said.

The survey also found that:
More than half (55%) of employees said that they see many people whose jobs do not match their educational field
Two in five (41%) of employees said that their employers do not offer sufficient career opportunities.

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