6 August 2015

Digitisation drives job demand in Singapore: Robert Walters

Source: Robert Walters. Click on the
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Robert Walters, the international recruitment consultancy, has found that recruitment in Q2'15 was led by digitisation in Singapore. The findings were part of its Asia Job Index* for Q2 2015.

Said Toby Fowlston, Managing Director, Robert Walters Southeast Asia: "The annual dip in job advertising this quarter did not come as a surprise. What we have seen is a softening in the investment banking market, which has resulted in some banks downsizing and off-shoring to cheaper locations."

Fowlston added that the atmosphere in industries such as marketing and IT remains positive. "Due to the surge in e-commerce and mobile applications, candidates with the relevant skill sets are seeing multiple job opportunities. Hence, senior decision makers need to be more involved in the recruitment process to ensure they make swift assessments to secure the best professionals. Singapore remains the gateway to businesses in Southeast Asia due to its sound infrastructure and will continue to attract multinationals in the commerce industry.”

The key findings of the report for Singapore include:

· More companies have started to increase their investment in digital technology in a bid to stay connected with their clients. As a result, IT job advertisement volumes saw a 10% year-on-year increase with the corresponding demand for skilled IT professionals.

· The growth in the digital space has also increased job advertising by 3% annually for marketing professionals. Talent with sound online experience in e-commerce, social media and consumer media consumption were specifically sought after.

· The decline in investment banking activity has also affected traditionally strong sectors such as accounting and finance as well as legal and compliance. These industries saw a weaker quarter compared to 2014 as seen by the 7% and 8% dip in annual job advertising.

Interested?

View more findings from the Robert Walters Asia Job Index Q2 2015

Read the WorkSmart Asia blog post about Robert Walters' views on contracting

*Asia Job Index tracks job advertising volumes for professional positions across the leading job boards and national newspapers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.