Singapore jobseekers prefer government posts over finance jobs: survey

MAS and the STB were identified as the most attractive employers.

Jobseekers in Singapore have expressed greater preference to work for the government and education/training industries over the lucrative banking, finance and investment business, according to a survey from online employment website CareerBuilder.

Once the top industry for fresh graduates, finance fell to fifth place even as banks are aggressively hiring tech talent for their digital plans.

In terms of specific employers, young professionals identified the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) as their leading choices. For those seeking to work for the private sector, tech giant Google held on the top spot for the fourth year in a row.

“Organisations who make the conscious effort to understand the attitudes of their employees, so that in turn they are able to cultivate a workplace culture and develop an appealing employer brand, will have an advantage in attracting and retaining talent in the long run," Premlesh Machama, APAC Region President of CareerBuilder Singapore said in a statement.

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The survey also noted a growing interest from Singaporeans to work for startup companies. The number of respondents who indicated their willingness to work in such set-ups steadily rose from 59% in 2016, 68% in 2017 and 69% in 2018 as they hail the availability of learning opportunities and exposure to a wide spectrum of job roles in startup environments that may not be necessarily available in a strict corporate settings.

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Fresh graduates are also setting their expectations lower in line with the slowing economy as their salary expectations fell largely in the $2,500-$2,999 range compared to the $3,00-$3,500 in 2017. This year’s fresh graduates are also in it for the long run as half (55.1%) expect to change jobs no more than twice in the next ten years.

The Employer of Choice Survey 2018 was conducted between May to October 2018, amongst over 3,000 working adults as well as tertiary undergraduates, aged 16 years and above.