Nearly all local job seekers will leave Singapore to bag plum jobs overseas: survey

97% will consider leaving for career development.

An overwhelming majority or 97% of Singaporean job seekers will consider leaving Singapore to advance their careers, a poll by recruiting firm Hays revealed.

The survey showed that 85% of respondents would leave for better job opportunities, career development or exposure, while 12% would leave for lifestyle factors. Just 3% would not consider leaving Singapore to work overseas.

“The opportunity to gain highly valued international experience is the number one factor driving local talent overseas,” said Christine Wright, Managing Director of Hays in Asia.

She noted that employers increasingly value local talent with international experience and an international mindset. Candidates with overseas experience are even more highly valued than expatriates since they combine their Westernised way of thinking and experience of how business is done overseas with local cultural understanding.

“With an increasing number of MNCs establishing or expanding their regional offices here, demand for local talent with global business experience and acumen will only continue to increase,” she said.