Pandemic boosts demand for healthcare jobs: report

Government helps ease locals and newly graduates into employment.

Employment demand in the healthcare sector continues to rise, according to the 15th Job Situation Report by the government.

At the end of November, 6,700 jobs for mid-career job seekers and fresh graduates remain open.

“The COVID-19 pandemic created temporary manpower needs for a variety of roles, such as swabbers and swab assistants to support increased testing operations. Care ambassadors were also needed to augment hospital nurses as they were redirected from their original duties to care for COVID-19 patients,” the report said.

Around 4,000 job openings consist of long-term roles with 30% in healthcare professional and executive roles such as nurses, allied health professionals, and finance and human resources executives, whilst 70% are in healthcare support and administrative support roles such as healthcare assistants, therapy assistants, and patient service associates.

“More than 80% of these jobs are offered by public healthcare clusters such as SingHealth, NUS Health System and the National Healthcare Group (NHG), as well as community care organisations like Ren Ci, Vanguard Healthcare and St Luke’s Eldercare,” said Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo.

The remaining 20% are offered by the private sector.

Short-term healthcare jobs

The vast majority of job placements consist of short-term jobs such as swabbers and swab assistants to support COVID-related operations, as well as care ambassadors and patient concierge with public healthcare institutions and community care organisations.

Out of 8,340 of jobseekers placed into jobs, company-hosted traineeships and attachments, as well as enrolled in training places, 71% of them were short-term.

Around 70% of the workforce is made up of healthcare professionals such as doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and allied health professionals, whilst the remaining 30% comprises support care, administrative, and ancillary workers.

Government boosts local employment in healthcare

The government is implementing several strategies to help boost local employment.

“When we look at the significant manpower needs in healthcare, it is clear that we need a holistic approach to help locals enter and thrive in the healthcare sector,” Teo said.

One of the government's main focuses is encouraging employment for fresh graduates and mid-career individuals.

“First, we try to ensure that we have a pipeline of young locals that can take up a career in healthcare. In terms of ensuring pre-employment readiness, we have made significant progress. The intake for nursing alone increased significantly, from 1,500 in 2014 to 2,200 in 2019,” Teo said.

Job seekers who are interested in switching careers to the healthcare industry are encouraged through the career conversion programmes.

Around 1,900 individuals have switched careers to the healthcare sector through these programs, and the government is planning to open up training capacity of 900 places over the next three years to cater to the demand in healthcare.

“The key is to get the word out on the opportunities available, and this year, Workforce Singapore has stepped up on outreach activities. Compared to the same period last year, we have seen at least 50% more intensive outreach efforts and more assistance provided to jobseekers,” Teo said.