37% of employers in S'pore struggle to fill job positions

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

1 in 4 firms want to hire

THE economy may be slowing as projected but jobseekers in the coming months can draw hope from a new employment survey of 700 Singapore companies.

It shows 25 per cent plan to hire more workers while only three per cent intend to cut their headcount in the last quarter of this year.

So overall, the net employment outlook is a seasonally adjusted 23 per cent, according to findings of a quarterly survey released on Monday by Manpower Staffing Services, the Singapore office of global human resources consultancy Manpower Inc.

This is an improvement on the 15 per cent reported for the final quarter of 2009, reflecting the improved hiring sentiments in the wake of the rebound in Singapore's economy. However, when compared to other Asia-Pacific countries, the optimism of Singapore bosses rank behind those of China (47 per cent), Taiwan (40 per cent), and India (38 per cent).

In all, Manpower polled 62,000 employers in 36 countries and territories.

For Singapore, it surveyed 699 companies in seven industry sectors. Of these, 7 out of 10 companies plan to maintain their staff strength, with two per cent saying they are unsure.

- The Straits Times

Mindef has 2,000 posts to fill

THE Defence Ministry has 2,000 military and administrative positions to fill in the next few months.
It is casting the net wider and targeting school leavers and mid-career workers.

Mindef employs over 30,000 uniformed and non-uniformed personnel, excluding enlisted National Servicemen.

- The Straits Times

Ministry of Health to step up hiring drive

THE Health Ministry will speed up its recruitment plans to help provide jobs to those who may be retrenched in the recession, said Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan on Tuesday.

It is now looking to fill 4,500 positions in the public health sector over the next two years.

These jobs range from health-care professionals like nurses and pharmacists, to administrative staff like counter staff and telephone operators.

Initially, the plan was to to hire a total of 6,200 people over the next five years, Mr Khaw said.

But in light of the economic downturn, the ministry has 'decided to bring forward this plan as fast as what the labour market can support', he said.

It will also be increasing the number of training grants it is giving to people who are making a mid-career switch to become nurses, physiotherapists or occupational therapists, as well as the number of scholarships for allied health professions.

Apart from expanding job and training opportunities, the ministry has also raised the budget for Medifund, the pool of money that can be drawn on to help the needy pay for their medical bills, to $74 million this year. This is an an increase of almost 50 per cent from the amount allocated last year.

It will also launch other measures to help Singaporeans cope with the recession, if necessary. For example, it is now looking at how rules on the use of compulsory medical savings Medisave may be relaxed further to help reduce patients' out-of-pocket expenses.

- The Straits Times