The contracting market in Singapore is set for impressive growth this quarter, according to recruitment experts Hays.
The Hays Quarterly Report tracks hiring trends in Singapore and reveals that the already strong demand for temporary staff will reach new heights over April to June.
“Economic conditions means companies are very focused on costs and are looking for maximum flexibility in the way they manage their workforce,” explains Lynne Roeder, Managing Director for Hays in Singapore.
“This is particularly true in large MNCs especially in financial services back fill roles as staff move on after collecting their annual bonuses,” she says.
Another reason for the upsurge in contracting is with bonuses and job security no longer guaranteed in Singapore, this has made some candidates cautious about moving employers’ thus making it very hard for employers to attract talent to certain roles. As a result, some employers are using contract roles as a way of bringing on high quality talent in a relatively tight market.
For many active candidates in the Singapore job market, a large majority actually prefer the contracting field. “The higher rates offered by contracting in addition to the professional challenge that is offered by moving from one project to another instead of riding the usual ebbs and flow of a permanent role helps to keep their skills at the cutting edge” explains Lynne.
“Candidates interviewing for temporary and contract roles should note that employers will be expecting them to showcase their soft skills,” Lynne says.
“Soft skills in particular demand include strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively as part of a team but also assertiveness. We advise candidates to prepare thoroughly for interviews if they want to maximise their ability to land the best roles.”
Contracting is also being used to meet candidate demand for a number of lower level IT roles and junior marketing roles.
To read the full Hays Quarterly Report, please visit https://www.hays.com.sg/report/index.htm
Hays is located in Singapore at Level 27, UOB Plaza 2, 80 Raffles Place, Singapore.
Hays, the world’s leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people.
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About Hays
Hays plc (the “Group”) is a leading global professional recruiting group. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Asia Pacific and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe and Latin America. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 30 June 2016 the Group employed 9,214 staff operating from 252 offices in 33 countries across 20 specialisms. For the year ended 30 June 2016:
– the Group reported net fees of £810.3 million and operating profit (pre-exceptional items) of £181 million;
– the Group placed around 67,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 220,000 people into temporary assignments;
– 22% of Group net fees were generated in Asia Pacific, 45% in Continental Europe & RoW (CERoW) and 33% in the United Kingdom & Ireland;
– the temporary placement business represented 58% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 42% of net fees;
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE, the UK and the USA.