Singapore Leaps to Top 10 Global Work Destinations List for the First Time Ever

COVID-19 is a key factor that has changed employees’ views on workforce mobility

• Four Asia-Pacific
  countries made the list in 2020, suggesting that employees now consider a
  country’s COVID-19 management success as a criterion for relocation
• 44% of Singaporeans are
  willing to work abroad, a sharp drop compared with 79% back in 2014
• Australia, China, Taiwan
  and New Zealand are the top overseas destinations that Singaporeans want to
  work in

  

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 22 March 2021 – COVID-19 is one of the key factors that has drastically changed the way talent
think about their work and mobility preferences. This is the conclusion drawn
from the 2021 “Decoding Global Talent” report, which examines how the pandemic
has impacted global attitudes and preferences towards working abroad. The
report also finds that Singapore has leapt from the 24th position back in 2014
to become the 8th most attractive country that employees would be willing to relocate
to.

 

A partnership between SEEK
Asia, The Network and Boston Consulting Group, the report is one of the world’s
largest survey on workforce mobility, involving 208,807 respondents across 190
countries. Matching over 15 million jobseekers with reputable employers across
seven countries, SEEK Asia has the strongest presence in Asia’s online
employment marketplace. It aims to empower hiring decision makers by offering
the right expertise and tools to help them land the best candidates. The deep
and timely insights from the Decoding Global Talent 2021 report will help
companies to strategize their hiring plans in a challenging climate as well as
allow candidates to understand key movements in the employment market.

 

COVID-19 has changed views on workforce
mobility

When it comes to employee
relocation, several Asia-Pacific countries, such as Singapore and New Zealand,
have become the preferred choices of talent in 2020. In 2014, just one Asia-Pacific
country — Australia — was in the top 10. The 2020 list now sees a total of four
Asia-Pacific countries. This is likely due to the countries’ management of
COVID-19, which have largely registered low mortality rates and kept infection
cases in check.

 

“Since Q4 2020, we observed an
average of 28% growth in job openings compared to the peak of COVID in Q2 of
2020 across the seven countries that we operate in – Hong Kong, Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. Currently, there are more
than 208,000 jobs available in our database, signaling an encouraging recovery
for Asia-Pacific countries,” says Peter Bithos, CEO of SEEK Asia.

 

“COVID-19 has engendered a new
kind of mobility — virtual mobility,” he adds. “According to the report, 57 per
cent of respondents now say they are willing to work remotely for an employer
that does not have a physical presence in their home countries, a level that is
higher than the proportion who are open to physical relocation. Not only that,
about 62 per cent of candidates who have a master’s degree are also open to
virtual work. For hirers who are struggling to fill job openings, the time is
ripe to warm up to the option of offering virtual employment, so as to attract
competent and suitable talent.”

 

Singapore’s competitiveness a
selling point for talent 

Beyond commendable COVID-19
preparedness and response, Singapore has always been an appealing work
destination for global talent. Other than robust international trade and
investment, her digital infrastructure, national stability and culture of
innovation also inspire confidence. The top 10 countries from where PMETs,
specifically in the digital field, would like to come to Singapore to work
include China (5^th), Qatar (6^th), United Arab Emirates (8^th)
and Switzerland (10^th). These talent enjoy a high quality of life,
and Singapore’s standard of living and working matches their home countries’.

 

Singaporeans’ willingness to
work abroad has dropped

As the world is still in the
throes of a pandemic, fewer Singaporeans are expressing a desire to seek
overseas job opportunities. Back in 2014, 79 per cent of the Singaporean
respondents involved in the survey then wished to work overseas. This number
has dropped to 44 per cent in 2020. Australia remains the top destination where
Singaporeans would like to work in. Australia is known for her work-life
balance and multicultural society, which are likely the main factors that draw
Singaporeans to the country.

 

The United States and United
Kingdom were in second and third positions in 2014; now China and Taiwan have
replaced the two countries respectively. New Zealand takes fourth place. The
data suggests that Singaporeans are more willing to work in countries that have
emerged as role models where COVID-19 management is concerned.