SINGAPORE: The hiring landscape for senior-level positions in Singapore continues to face significant challenges, particularly in securing local talent for these roles.
According to the latest survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (AmCham) that the Singapore Business Review published, a lack of specialized skills and insufficient exposure to regional and global leadership remain the two primary obstacles for employers when considering Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) for senior-level jobs.
Specialized skills -top hiring hurdle
AmCham’s survey reveals that nearly half of employers (48%) highlighted the lack of specialized skills as the most significant barrier to hiring local candidates for senior roles.
With industries evolving rapidly, the demand for highly specialized skills has never increased.
However, the local talent pool struggles to meet these requirements, resulting in a reliance on foreign talent to fill senior positions.
Insufficient exposure to regional, global leadership
Following closely behind, 43% of employers cited insufficient exposure to regional and global leadership as another key challenge.
As businesses continue to expand across borders, senior leaders must often have a strong understanding of international markets and the ability to manage complex, diverse teams.
Employers are finding that many local candidates, while competent in local markets, lack the experience or exposure to handle leadership roles at a regional or global scale.
Despite these ongoing challenges, there are signs of improvement. According to Manpower, the gaps in specialized skills and exposure to international operations have significantly decreased over the past two years.
In particular, local candidates are now gaining more exposure to overseas markets, regional operations, and global leadership experiences.
This shift is encouraging, as it suggests that the workforce is evolving to better meet the demands of senior-level positions.
Other barriers to hiring
In addition to the lack of specialized skills and global exposure, employers also identified several other barriers to hiring local talent.
A lack of necessary work experience was cited by 26% of employers as a key challenge, with candidates often falling short of the experience required for senior roles.
Intense competition for talent from local and international candidates also adds pressure, with 22% of employers flagging this as a major concern.
For mid-to-senior roles, employers pointed to adaptability to new challenges (40%) and creativity and critical thinking (37%) as significant challenges when recruiting Singaporeans and PRs.
As businesses face an ever-changing market landscape, the ability to pivot and think outside the box is becoming increasingly important.
One of the more positive trends highlighted in the survey is the reduction in the gap related to technical skills and job-specific knowledge.
Since 2022, this gap has decreased by 30%. Despite this improvement, it remains one of the top three challenges employers face when hiring locally.
Technical expertise continues to be in high demand, and while progress is being made, more efforts are needed to close this gap further.
Employers also singled out specific roles, proving to be the most difficult to fill locally.
Sales, marketing, and tech/IT positions are the most challenging, with businesses often struggling to find candidates with the right mix of skills and experience.
As digital transformation accelerates, the demand for tech-savvy professionals will only increase, making these roles particularly hard to fill with local talent.
Need for continuous development
While challenges remain in hiring Singaporeans and PRs for senior-level roles, positive trends are emerging, particularly in terms of technical skills and exposure to regional and global markets.
Employers and employees must continue to focus on skill development, emphasising adaptability, creativity, and leadership capabilities, to meet the evolving needs of a globalized business environment.