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MOM: Employers in Singapore filled vacancies more quickly in 2017

According to the latest Job Vacancies 2017 Report released by the manpower research and statistics department of Ministry of Manpower (MOM); employers in Singapore have filled vacancies more quickly in 2017 compared to the year before (2016). Some of the key findings include:

  • Fewer vacancies were unfilled for extended periods
  • Nearly half of all vacancies were PMET positions
  • Academic qualifications were not the main consideration for hiring

MOM job vacancies report

Fewer vacancies were unfilled for extended periods

In the report, the proportion of vacancies unfilled for at least six months continued to decline, from 36% in 2016 to 33% in 2017. Non-PMET vacancies remained harder to fill than PMET openings. In fact, almost half (49%) of non-PMET vacancies were unfilled for at least six months, in particular among service and sales workers. Unattractive pay, work on weekends/public holidays and shift work continued to be reasons these openings were unattractive to locals.

On the other hand, only 16% of PMET openings were unfilled for at least six months. They included openings for software, web and multimedia developers, which employers attributed to candidates lacking the necessary work experience and specialised skills.

Nearly half of all vacancies were PMET positions

The report also showed that the top PMET vacancies were in occupations such as software, web and multimedia developers, teaching and training professionals, commercial & marketing sales executives and management executives. By sectors, PMET job vacancies were mainly in public administration and education, financial services, professional services, and information and communications.

For non-PMET occupations, the vacancies were largely for security guards, receptionists, customer service and information clerks, shop sales assistants, waiters, cleaners, as well as material and freight handlers. By sectors, the non-PMET vacancies were mainly in administrative and support services, food and beverage services and retail trade, which typically had lower staff retention.

Academic qualifications were not the main consideration for hiring close to half of PMET jobs

For PMETs, academic qualifications were not the main consideration for filling 42% of PMET vacancies. Such positions included civil engineers, commercial and marketing sales executives, and software, web and multimedia developers. However, these positions typically required working experience. For the majority (90%) of non-PMET vacancies, academic qualifications were not the main consideration when selecting candidates to fill the vacancies.

In conclusion, MOM said: “As the nature of jobs continues to evolve with technology and industry transformation, mismatches will be a growing challenge. For employers that face difficulty in filling non-PMET jobs, more needs to be done to redesign and improve the quality of these jobs, as well as to facilitate job matching.”

“To overcome skills mismatches particularly for PMET jobs, the government’s wide range of SkillsFuture and Adapt and Grow programmes are available to help jobseekers to pick up the skills relevant to job openings. Employers should widen their pool of prospective candidates and tap on government support to meet their hiring needs,” it ended.

Lead Photo / MOM

Infographic / MOM

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