A grim hiring forecast for Singapore
By Lin Yanqin, TODAY | Posted: 09 December 2008 1003 hrs
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/395071/1/.html
SINGAPORE: Come the first quarter of next year, pockets of hiring can still be expected, but as the financial crisis begins to fully hit home, employers are painting a grim hiring outlook.
According to an employment outlook survey :by employment services provider Manpower Singapore, of the 629 employers across seven industry sectors interviewed here, nearly half — 46 per cent — expect to decrease their headcount. Only eight per cent expect to increase it. The remainder expect no change.
Most optimistic were employers from the mining and construction and public administration and education sectors, while the weakest outlooks came from the wholesale trade and retail trade, services and the finance insurance and real estate sectors.
For students expecting to enter the job market after graduation next year, such findings are just the latest in a stream of gloomy news.
“I’m planning to take on an internship in China before I graduate,” said Singapore Management University final year student Joyce Yu, 22. “Hopefully, it helps my resume.”
Like her peers, she has braced herself for lower starting salaries. “Some people who graduated this year are still having problems securing jobs,” said Ms Yu, who had planned to go into marketing.
Although it saw a sharp decrease from last quarter, the public administration and education sector remains one of the more optimistic sectors among the seven surveyed, said Manpower country manager Philippe Capsie.
“It should also be noted that this sector consists of private educational institutes which might have caused the sharp decrease in percentage points,” he said.
“An additional point to note is that the survey was conducted in mid-October — before the recent announcements made by the Government (that it would be hiring).”
According to a statement from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) last Friday, “the high volume of construction contracts awarded in the past two years will translate to a sustained volume of construction work over the next two years that opens up job opportunities in the sector”.
BCA will hold a training and career fair on Jan 17.
Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it is looking to fill 1,000 positions in its various agencies, while the Education Ministry and the Health Ministry are also bringing forward their hiring plans.
Ms Teo Jing Ting, 22, is still hoping she does not have to lower salary expectations.
“I think if you’re good enough, you won’t have to compromise your expectations,” said the Communications student at Nanyang Technological University, who graduates next year. Ms Teo plans to go into the public sector, where she feels job security and prospects are more stable.
Mr Capsie said that job seekers have to be “realistic” in their expectations as employers are less likely to offer high salaries.
“However, employers may still pay for exceptional talents,” he noted. “In addition, job seekers should expect to see more companies offering contract and temporary positions — rather than direct employment,” he said.
“In the current situation, job seekers should keep their options open to these positions as the economy is not expected to pick up in the short term.”
Although mass retrenchments have already taken place, Mr Capsie did not expect to it to become a long-term trend.
“We expect more companies to slow down in their hiring, freeze their headcount or eventually adopt wage cuts until the economy stabilises. However, companies with immediate staffing needs will still continue to hire,” he said.
SOME INDUSTRIES STILL ACTIVELY HIRING
Even as forecasters predict a gloomy employment climate, preschool principals, teachers and restaurant managers are people who are in demand right now.
As of last month, employers working with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in the Food and Beverage sector had about 1,600 vacancies, including those for waiters and waitresses, bartenders, cashiers and restaurant managers, WDA deputy chief executive Goh Eng Ghee told TODAY.
The healthcare sector is looking at filling about 600 job vacancies in areas such as therapy assistants, allied health professionals, and staff nurses, while the childcare sector has openings for at least 500 preschool principals and teachers.
Employers in the hotel sector need to fill about 350 job vacancies in areas such as housekeeping executives and guest service executives.
“These figures cited are gathered from talking to employers and industry partners,” said Mr Goh.
A National Healthcare Group (NHG) spokesperson said that while jobs like nurses and allied health professionals such as occupational therapists require specific skill sets, NHG has “a slew of training programmes and sponsorships” to equip those interested, with the necessary skillsets.
“These training programmes cater to people with education qualifications (from) a school certificate to a degree,” she said.
Meanwhile, other jobs available requiring more generic skill sets include those for patient service associates, coordinators and administrative assistants.
Said Mr Goh: “With the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) coming onstream to help employers defray training costs and save jobs, and help Singaporeans who are ready to take up skills upgrading, WDA hopes for a positive response from companies and workers.”
[email protected]
By Lin Yanqin, TODAY | Posted: 09 December 2008 1003 hrs
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/395071/1/.html
SINGAPORE: Come the first quarter of next year, pockets of hiring can still be expected, but as the financial crisis begins to fully hit home, employers are painting a grim hiring outlook.
According to an employment outlook survey :by employment services provider Manpower Singapore, of the 629 employers across seven industry sectors interviewed here, nearly half — 46 per cent — expect to decrease their headcount. Only eight per cent expect to increase it. The remainder expect no change.
Most optimistic were employers from the mining and construction and public administration and education sectors, while the weakest outlooks came from the wholesale trade and retail trade, services and the finance insurance and real estate sectors.
For students expecting to enter the job market after graduation next year, such findings are just the latest in a stream of gloomy news.
“I’m planning to take on an internship in China before I graduate,” said Singapore Management University final year student Joyce Yu, 22. “Hopefully, it helps my resume.”
Like her peers, she has braced herself for lower starting salaries. “Some people who graduated this year are still having problems securing jobs,” said Ms Yu, who had planned to go into marketing.
Although it saw a sharp decrease from last quarter, the public administration and education sector remains one of the more optimistic sectors among the seven surveyed, said Manpower country manager Philippe Capsie.
“It should also be noted that this sector consists of private educational institutes which might have caused the sharp decrease in percentage points,” he said.
“An additional point to note is that the survey was conducted in mid-October — before the recent announcements made by the Government (that it would be hiring).”
According to a statement from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) last Friday, “the high volume of construction contracts awarded in the past two years will translate to a sustained volume of construction work over the next two years that opens up job opportunities in the sector”.
BCA will hold a training and career fair on Jan 17.
Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it is looking to fill 1,000 positions in its various agencies, while the Education Ministry and the Health Ministry are also bringing forward their hiring plans.
Ms Teo Jing Ting, 22, is still hoping she does not have to lower salary expectations.
“I think if you’re good enough, you won’t have to compromise your expectations,” said the Communications student at Nanyang Technological University, who graduates next year. Ms Teo plans to go into the public sector, where she feels job security and prospects are more stable.
Mr Capsie said that job seekers have to be “realistic” in their expectations as employers are less likely to offer high salaries.
“However, employers may still pay for exceptional talents,” he noted. “In addition, job seekers should expect to see more companies offering contract and temporary positions — rather than direct employment,” he said.
“In the current situation, job seekers should keep their options open to these positions as the economy is not expected to pick up in the short term.”
Although mass retrenchments have already taken place, Mr Capsie did not expect to it to become a long-term trend.
“We expect more companies to slow down in their hiring, freeze their headcount or eventually adopt wage cuts until the economy stabilises. However, companies with immediate staffing needs will still continue to hire,” he said.
SOME INDUSTRIES STILL ACTIVELY HIRING
Even as forecasters predict a gloomy employment climate, preschool principals, teachers and restaurant managers are people who are in demand right now.
As of last month, employers working with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) in the Food and Beverage sector had about 1,600 vacancies, including those for waiters and waitresses, bartenders, cashiers and restaurant managers, WDA deputy chief executive Goh Eng Ghee told TODAY.
The healthcare sector is looking at filling about 600 job vacancies in areas such as therapy assistants, allied health professionals, and staff nurses, while the childcare sector has openings for at least 500 preschool principals and teachers.
Employers in the hotel sector need to fill about 350 job vacancies in areas such as housekeeping executives and guest service executives.
“These figures cited are gathered from talking to employers and industry partners,” said Mr Goh.
A National Healthcare Group (NHG) spokesperson said that while jobs like nurses and allied health professionals such as occupational therapists require specific skill sets, NHG has “a slew of training programmes and sponsorships” to equip those interested, with the necessary skillsets.
“These training programmes cater to people with education qualifications (from) a school certificate to a degree,” she said.
Meanwhile, other jobs available requiring more generic skill sets include those for patient service associates, coordinators and administrative assistants.
Said Mr Goh: “With the Skills Programme for Upgrading and Resilience (Spur) coming onstream to help employers defray training costs and save jobs, and help Singaporeans who are ready to take up skills upgrading, WDA hopes for a positive response from companies and workers.”
[email protected]
