Internships thrive in Singapore’s creative fields, while HR and real estate lag behind

SINGAPORE: In spite of the thriving internship market in the city-state, the real estate, human resources, and administrative segments are attracting less intern talent, according to the latest data from job platform Indeed, published by HRD Asia.

A recent report from Indeed also disclosed that although Singapore’s internship job postings have doubled between March 2022 and March 2025, HR was reported to have only 9% of all postings containing internship-associated keywords. The administrative and real estate sectors lagged further with only 8% and 7%, respectively.

Internship has boomed, on the other hand, in creative industries. Over the past year alone, internship openings in marketing soared by 22%, trailed by media and the arts, each with a 17% upsurge.

According to Rohan Sylvester, Indeed’s Talent Strategy Advisor, this movement emphasises a wide-ranging change in how industries are developing.

“Interns bring relevant skills, creativity, and out-of-the-box thinking, which are critical ingredients to fueling innovation,” said Sylvester. “For employers, internships offer a resource-efficient way to inject and test bold ideas while building a pipeline of future talent,” he added.

Soft skills take centre stage

Indeed’s examination of internship job postings shows that communication abilities are still the most desired quality, present in 30% of listings. Technical aptitude is also vital, with expertise in Microsoft Office (15%), logical skills (9%), finance (6%), Python (6%), writing (5.2%), and project management (5%) in high demand.

As businesses invest in digital revolution and client engagement, the importance of T-shaped skills has grown, that is, a blend of deep know-how in one competency and extensive capabilities across others.

Sylvester recommends that students and fresh graduates make the most of the internship boom as a launching pad for advancing these skillsets.

He further noted that automating routine tasks gives interns the freedom to focus on creativity and adaptability—skills that are vital for seizing new opportunities. “While technical expertise remains essential, those who can seamlessly blend hard and soft skills will lead the next generation of workplace talent,” he further said.

In a Reddit post asking if an internship race is worth it, a user almost summed up other netizens’ responses:

“If you want to have a good starting career, yes….If you don’t care and are happy with below-average jobs, then no. That’s the difference between being ‘competitive’ and not…..Because that’s the ‘standard’ in the current job market. Fresh graduates with internships are typically the minimum requirement now. It proves they can work.”