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INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES LOOK TO ASIA
A noticeable rise in international candidate interest in Singapore’s job opportunities is one trend revealed in the latest Hays Quarterly Report.
“The volume of UK, Europe and US candidates seeking opportunities in Singapore has definitely increased,” said Chris Mead, General Manager of Hays in Singapore.
“One reason is anticipation of continuing growth in India and China. The major projects on offer, particularly in the oil and gas and construction and property markets, easy lifestyle and tax breaks are also major contributing factors in the interest international candidates display in local roles.
“In particular, the accountancy & finance market has experienced a big increase in UK candidate applications, most notably from senior candidates. Many international finance technology candidates are also displaying interest in local roles, particularly those from established markets that have suffered under current conditions. Meanwhile the strength of our oil & gas market ensures Singapore remains a highly sort after expatriate location for international candidates in this sector.
“Employers are open to considering these candidates, most notably middle office banking employers since the increase in the volume of trading as well as the complexity of products traded requires qualified and experienced banking professionals,” says Chris.
In other trends, the Hays Quarterly Report shows construction & property and oil & gas are leading the way as the powerhouses of Singapore’s recruitment market.
“All disciplines in Singapore’s construction and property market continue to maintain their focus on recruiting and retaining staff,” says Chris. “As Singapore continues to attract local and foreign investments, many companies have relocated head offices to Singapore to execute projects throughout the region, which is also increasing the need for staff.
“With positive resource growth expected in construction, engineering and architecture, the recruitment market remains active. There is a strong and constant demand in Singapore for all levels of staff up to senior specialists, such as quantity surveyors, construction managers, senior engineers and architects.
“Singapore’s oil and gas market is also very busy. No decline is in immediate sight and the demand for oil is unlikely to decrease. Heavy investment in exploration and drilling programs remains and companies are tendering with many projects due for award, while projects in the feasibility stage are moving into construction commissioning phase,” he said.
The Hays Quarterly Report reveals the hotspot areas where demand for skills is strongest. These include:
- Accountancy & Finance: “High demand exists for product controllers and internal auditors within financial services,” says Chris. “Commerce and industry in particular is performing strongly with senior recruitment levels notably up over the last few months. The construction and property sector is creating many new finance roles, especially within the reporting arena.”
- Banking: “While Singapore’s private banks have become cautious about hiring, recruitment has not come to a standstill. Certainly banks are dismissing non-performing staff, but conversely they are recruiting seasoned bankers with a stable track record since their client relationships are very precious. Investment banks need candidates in structured trade finance, trade and cash management and Islamic banking. In the middle office market, compliance, risk, operations control, re-engineering and transformation candidates are all required. Back office recruitment activity is very strong, with hotspots existing in private banks and asset management for change managers, functional managers and experienced reference data operations professionals.
- Construction & Property: “With over $US20 billion of construction work in either design or construction stages, substantial demand exists, most notably for qualified architects, engineers and construction managers with five or more years experience. Experienced project managers and project directors, property professionals and those with rail experience are hotspots.
- Finance Technology: While a large number of banks are replacing only essential staff, another group are hiring aggressively and capitalising on their lower sub-prime exposure. As a result, talented application support candidates are needed as more banks turn to Singapore to support regional businesses. Development candidates, particularly core object orientated languages such as Java, are also needed.
- Legal: Within private practice mid level lawyers who are bilingual, bicultural and can do deals in and out of China are the main hotspots of demand. The in-house banking market requires derivatives lawyers to support the Asia Pacific region from Singapore, while in commerce formidable corporate lawyers are highly sought after to provide cross border legal support. Commercial litigators are also required.
- Oil & Gas: Candidates with experience supporting the development of oilfields, from geologists to design engineers and technicians, are in extremely high demand. Broadly, demand exists across the whole industry for staff, such as drilling, exploration, geoscience, operations and project controls. The highly specialised and technical complexity of the work means the number of candidates with the right experience is limited, forcing companies to look further a field.
Further details of these hotspots, in addition to recruitment activity, executive activity, candidate trends and salary movements by sector, are contained in the Hays Quarterly Report, available at www.hays.com.sg/forecast
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