Unilever beats out the banks as Singapore's best employer

When LinkedIn compiled a list of Singapore's top companies for career progression for the first time last year, the financial industry dominated, with nine out of 15 companies either banks, Big Four accounting firms, or insurance. At the time, LinkedIn analysts hypothesised that this could be because the financial industry was doing well enough despite the pandemic to invest more in people than the average.

This year, with the economy opening up, the list of workplaces good for career growth is looking considerably more diverse. Unilever - which already has a very positive employer brand worldwide and was number three on the 2021 list - is top. Banks and insurance take the next four places, with OCBC and Standard Chartered retaining their positions in the top five. After that, various other industries enter the mix, with Google parent Alphabet ranked six and medtech multinational Abbott seven, followed by global consultancy Accenture and consumer internet firm Sea.

As with last year, the 2022 list evaluates companies by seven elements of career progression: ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity, and spread of educational backgrounds. But where the top companies last year were characterised by flexibility, digital capabilities, and well-being, LinkedIn analysts say that the focus this year turns more to a combination of flexibility and upskilling, with significant emphasis on preparing employees for the future of work and the accompanying changes in organisational strategy.

For example, the list spotlights Unilever and DBS for implementing a permanent hybrid work model and redesigning office spaces to support that. All the financial industry firms on the list are notable for efforts to upskill large portions of their workforce.

The full ranking is as follows:

1.    Unilever
2.    Standard Chartered Bank 
3.    Prudential plc 
4.   OCBC Bank 
5.    DBS Bank 
6.    Alphabet Inc. 
7.    Abbott
8.    Accenture
9.    Sea 
10.  Grab 
11.  IBM 
12.  AIA
13. EY
14. Roche
15.  JPMorgan Chase & Co.