Skilled talent crunch threatens Singapore’s booming finance sector

The sector won’t survive without talent imports.

Singapore is at the heart of a bustling Asian talent pool, but it needs to strike a fine balance between local and foreign hires if it is to maintain its economic growth.

However, Singapore’s booming finance sector is at risk since recent labour laws have added a layer of complexity by prioritising local talent over foreigners for middle-income jobs.

According to Hays, the country’s extremely low unemployment rate shows that there is a clear skills shortage in the main industries of finance, oil and gas, shipping logistics, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, and technology. 

The finance sector is particularly at risk. This sector is seeing 30% year-on-year growth in jobs, particularly as Singapore sheds its back-office image and begins to attract the front office and private banking work that was previously the preserve of countries such as Switzerland.

“With stiff competition from the growing economies around it, Singapore cannot afford to rest on its laurels. Its role as a local business hub depends on its global perspective, and unless it can resolve the tension between the local labour market and its need for outside labour, that role will be under threat,” said Chris Mead, Regional Director of Hays in Singapore.