‘IT & Digital’, ‘Business Operations’, and ‘Sales’ Are The Top Functions Companies Are Looking to Augment in a Post-Pandemic Environment

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 6 January 2021
– Despite two in five (61%) employers expressing a pessimistic
outlook towards the current job market, 56% indicate that they have been
recently hiring or intending to hire new talent to meet their current business
goals. In particular, the top three functions employers have been hiring or
intending to hire for are ‘IT & Digital’ (45%), ‘Business Operations’ (39%)
and ‘Sales’ (29%).

These
are some of the key findings from NTUC
LearningHub‘s (NTUC LHUB) recently launched survey in The New Normal of
Sector Skills report. Gathering the perspectives of 367 business leaders
(senior managers or directors and above) and 567 full-time employees working in
Singapore, the report aimed to uncover the shifts in dynamic of training and
employment opportunities across six major industry clusters.

When
asked about their recruitment endeavours, seven in ten (72%) employers say that
it has been challenging to fill roles due to shortage of talent with the
required skill set. This was most apparent in those in the built environment
(77%), manufacturing (76%) and essential domestic services (75%) industry
clusters.

In
addition, to plug skills gaps, employers say they have been upskilling
employees with complementary skill sets (55%), reskilling employees (40%) to
take on newly created roles, and proactively attracting local talents (40%) to
join their workforce.

On the
other hand, when asked about the functions which employees are looking to move
to in order to secure a stable job and career, ‘leadership & management’
(39%), ‘business operations’ (32%) and ‘administrative’ (30%) emerged as the
top three functions.

Moreover,
two in three (66%) employees feel the need to upgrade their skills to move to
another industry that may be more resilient. About one third (31%) of the
respondents are open to moving into the healthcare industry, while 23% are open
to moving to biopharmaceuticals manufacturing and 21% are open to moving to infocomm
technology. Among this group of respondents, employees from the built
environment and trade & connectivity industry clusters feel the strongest
need to move to another industry. 

Commenting
on the findings, NTUC LHUB’s Chairman, Eugene Wong, says, “Digital adoption and
business transformation will continue to accelerate across industries,
prompting employers to actively re-assess the talent pool they need in order to
navigate the new economy.”

“In the
new world order where new information and technologies are being fielded at an
exponential rate, employers must lead their companies in upskilling or
reskilling to learn in-demand competencies that help companies navigate a
COVID-19 economy. It is heartening that more employers now see the value in
upskilling and reskilling their employees, and many are also ramping up their
efforts to attract our local talent pool. This signifies a bright spot for
individuals who are reassessing their career paths, and they can leverage
upskilling and reskilling resources to capture opportunities in these areas.”

To download The New Normal of Sector Skill report, visit https://www.ntuclearninghub.com/sector-skills-report-2020