SINGAPORE: The total share of job vacancies for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) rose from 48.5 per cent in 2017 to 53 per cent in 2018, latest data from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) showed on Tuesday (Mar 19).
This reflects an increase in vacancies in PMET-dominated industries such as professional services, financial and insurance services, and information and communications (ICT), MOM said in its report, after it surveyed 15,900 establishments.
Forty-two per cent of the 63,300 job vacancies in 2018 were newly created positions arising from business formation and expansion, it added, with the majority of job vacancies in 2018 commonly from the community, social and personal services, manufacturing, as well as ICT industries.
Over the last five years, ICT roles that had significant growth were chief information officers, database designers and administrators, information technology security specialists, and network and communications managers.
In finance, marketing and business development, the most sought after roles were commercial and marketing sales executives, business development managers, financial or investment advisers and sales and marketing managers.
Top ten job vacancies for professionals, managers, executives and technicians. (Table: MOM)
There is also an emerging demand for analytical positions in regulatory and risk assessment as well as market research, MOM’s report said.
More employers also looked beyond academic qualifications when hiring PMETs, the report added. The proportion of PMET vacancies where academic qualification was not a main consideration increased from 42 per cent in 2017 to 52 per cent in 2018.
For instance, employers placed stronger emphasis on skills or relevant work experience for positions including software, web and multimedia developers, system analysts and commercial and marketing sales executives, the report said.
However, 21 per cent of PMET job vacancies remain unfilled for six months or more in 2018, according to MOM’s report, with employers indicating lack of candidates with necessary specialised skills (54.9 per cent) or work experience (31.8 per cent) among top reasons.
Top ten job vacancies with significant growth for professionals, managers, executives and technicians. (Graphic: MOM)
DECLINE IN VACANCIES FOR SOME NON-PMET JOBS
Non-PMET positions remain harder to fill, MOM’s report said, with 49 per cent of non-PMET jobs unfilled for at least six months. Employers indicated reasons such as unattractive pay (47.2 per cent ) and physically strenuous job nature (52.8 per cent).
Vacancies for non-PMET positions such as cleaners, shop sales assistants and security guards have also declined, the report said.
“In particular, the share of vacancies for shop sales assistants was nearly halved from five years ago, as the retail industry continues to evolve in the face of changing consumer preferences and competition,” the report said.
Meanwhile, vacancies for healthcare assistants such as therapy aides increased over the past five years, with employers prepared to pay at least S$1,400 in 2018, more than S$1,200 two years ago.
“As companies reinvent and build digital capabilities, new jobs in demand in
technical and analytical fields have emerged,” MOM said in the report.
“When hiring, employers are also looking beyond academic qualifications to consider a wider pool of candidates with relevant skills or working experience.
“For non-PMET job openings which tend to be harder to fill, employers are encouraged to improve job quality through job redesign and salary review to make them more
attractive to locals.”
