A manpower survey released today has revealed that 37 per cent of employers in Singapore struggle to fill job positions; compared to the global average of 34 per cent.
ManpowerGroup's seventh annual Talent Shortage Survey found that the jobs Singapore employers have most difficulty filling are production operators, accounting and finance staff and engineers.
For another consecutive year, engineers and sales representatives have stayed on the top ten chart as the most difficult roles to fill.
Common reasons cited by Singapore employers are the lack of available applicants (38 per cent) and lack of technical competencies (14 per cent).
When asked what strategies employers were pursuing to overcome their difficulties filling positions, the most common responses were to partner with educational institutions to align with talent needs, focus more on improving pipelines and providing additional training and development to existing staff to fill vacancies.
ManpowerGroup warned that if employers resign themselves to their inability to source for the skilled talent they need to grow their businesses, it will threaten to derail business plans for years to come.
"Alarmingly, employers are less concerned about the impact talent shortages are having on clients and investors, with 21 per cent of employers indicating that there is a high impact while 44 per cent indicate a medium impact on stakeholders," said Linda Teo, Country Manager of Manpower Singapore.
"Employers may not think leaving important positions unfilled is a problem now, but they will in years to come when it will be too late," she added.
She said access to talent is a key competitive differentiator and companies which succeed in this will be those that employ a comprehensive workforce strategy closely aligned with business strategy.
"A successful workforce strategy will identify and solve current talent acquisition challenges, anticipate future challenges and put in place solutions to address them effectively," she advised companies.
She dished out some tips for human resource personnel, such as to hire workers who are teachable, utilising strategic migration, employing flexible workers, engaging in hyperspecialisation, and recruiting within untapped pools of talent like women and youth.
Globally, employers having the most difficulty finding the right people to fill jobs are those in Japan, which topped the survey at 81 per cent.
Australia placed fourth, with 50 per cent of employers reporting talent shortages, followed by those in India and New Zealand, which tied in sixth place at 48 per cent.
Taiwan came close behind in the top 10, with 47 per cent reporting talent shortages.
- AsiaOne
