Employers struggle to find workers with the right balance of soft and hard skills
56 percent of employers struggling to fill open positions – the highest reported since 2008
Lack of experience, applicants and higher pay expectations are key reasons employers struggle to fill vacancies
Sales representatives are hardest to find in Singapore followed by engineers and drivers
56 percent of Singapore employers report difficulty filling jobs, according to the ManpowerGroup 2018 Talent Shortage Survey of 360 Singapore employers. At a time when there are more jobs than skilled workers, businesses are struggling to fill open positions with sales representatives, engineers and drivers most in demand. Most of the jobs where demand is growing are mid-skilled roles that require post-secondary training, yet not always a full university degree.
“While artificial intelligence is fast-expanding what can be automated, technology is redefining rather than replacing in-demand roles,” said Ms Linda Teo, Country Manager of ManpowerGroup Singapore. “Sales representatives as well as engineers, drivers, professionals and technicians are ranked among the top five hardest roles to fill for this year.”
Demand for drivers and customer service remains strong fueled by the rise of consumerism – increasing online retail trade, logistics and last-mile delivery. Yet these roles are different to how they looked a decade ago and continue to change, requiring new skills and training.
“The increasing prevalence of e-commerce in Singapore has driven up demand for drivers and customer service professionals to address companies’ rapidly growing logistics and last-mile delivery needs,” added Ms Teo. “Companies providing on-demand transportation and delivery services such as Grab and foodpanda further contributed to the demand.”
Nearly one-third of Singapore employers say the main reason they cannot fill roles is because candidates lack the necessary experience. Another 27 percent say applicants expect higher pay than offered while 22 percent say it is a lack of applicants. As companies digitalize, automate and transform, finding candidates with the right blend of technical skills and human strengths is more important than ever – yet 13% of employers say applicants lack either the hard skills or human strengths they need.
APAC: The Asia Pacific region is suffering the most acutely from talent shortages, with five of the top 10 worst affected markets in the survey: Japan (89%), Taiwan (78%), Hong Kong (76%), Singapore (56%) and India (56%). In Japan, the number of employers reporting difficulty continues to grow, currently standing at 89% - the highest reported globally.
With global talent shortage reaching a 12-year high at 45% and record talent shortages around the world, employers have to move beyond hiring talents wholesale. Employers around the globe are tackling talent shortages by upskilling their own workforce, adjusting credential requirements and recruiting from less conventional talent pools, such as mature workers.
"Employers cannot find the people they need with the right blend of technical skills and human strengths,” said Ms Teo. “It's time for a new approach to attract, recruit and retain talent. Employers need to buy skills where necessary, borrow from external sources and help people with adjacent skills bridge from one role to another. We need to value potential over performance. Above all, we need to be builders of talent, rather than consumers of work to create a workforce with the skills companies and individuals need to thrive today and tomorrow."
ManpowerGroup calls for new solutions to the growing talent problem: Build, Buy, Borrow, Bridge.
BUILD. Invest in learning and development to grow the talent pipeline and upskill the existing and potential workforce.
BUY. In a tight labor market, go to the external market to find the best talent that cannot be build in-house in the timeframe required to fill immediate openings.
BORROW. Cultivate communities of talent inside and outside the organization including part-time, freelance, contract and temporary workers to complement existing workforce.
BRIDGE. Help people move on and move up to new roles inside or outside the organization.
For more details on the talent shortages around the world, including an interactive data explorer tool, visit www.manpowergroup.com.sg/talent-shortage-2018.
About ManpowerGroup Singapore
Established in 1996 in Singapore, ManpowerGroup works with a range of manufacturing, resources, mining, transport and logistics, government, blue chip investment and retail banks, IT vendors and outsourcers, telecoms service providers and infrastructure, utilities and engineering services companies. In Singapore, the ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup® Solutions, Manpower®, Experis®, and Right Management®. More information on ManpowerGroup Singapore is available at: www.manpowergroup.com.sg
About ManpowerGroup
ManpowerGroup® (NYSE: MAN), the leading global workforce solutions company, helps organizations transform in a fast-changing world of work by sourcing, assessing, developing and managing the talent that enables them to win. We develop innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations every year, providing them with skilled talent while finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills. Our expert family of brands – Manpower®, Experis®, Right Management® and ManpowerGroup® Solutions – creates substantially more value for candidates and clients across 80 countries and territories and has done so for over 70 years. In 2019, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies for the tenth year and one of Fortune's Most Admired Companies for the seventeenth year, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup is powering the future of work: www.manpowergroup.com
