Singapore job market to witness higher talent demand in the space of digitization, innovation, and R&D, this year. Job mobility and salary increments are expected across different fields, majorly in research and development, technology, and the healthcare sector.  New skilled professionals can expect an average increase of 15% in their salaries, making them the highest projected earning functions. Credit can be given to the rapid technological advancement and the boost in the Information technology industry including cyber-security, deep technology, e-commerce, data science, and Service-as-a-Solution (SaaS). A ballpark figure estimated by Microsoft shows that there are going to be over 149 million technology, cyber-security, data analytics, trust, and software development-related jobs by the end of 2025.

Key learnings from RGF International Recruitment’s Salary Watch 2021:

The Salary Watch, Singapore is conducted annually to understand the salary fashion and inclination across all industries and jobs. The report inculcates salary data collected from around 20,000 employees in Singapore.

• It is observed that in order to curb the challenges posed in the wake of the pandemic and to cater to increasing customer demands and preferences, the technology and digitalization sector will continue to be career hotspots.
• As businesses grow, job mobility can be observed in the digital sector and research and development functions. There is an increased demand for skilled workforce in the said sectors leading to more competition and thus high salary increment is expected. A similar trend is observed in the medical and healthcare sector.
• The anticipated job and salary mobility for universal trends such as technology, digitalization, innovation, and health care remain to be priority areas for investments across various industries.

As the pandemic continues to pose economic challenges, talent in artificial intelligence, data science, analytics, cybersecurity, e-commerce, deep web, research, and development are expected to see a spike in demand in the forthcoming years. This trend comes with the realization that these roles will define new ways of working in a highly competitive and digitally connected workspace.

Technology and digitalization, cloud-based solutions, and the IT industry are anticipated to be the core of the business transformations throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

“While there have been many commendable efforts made by the Singapore government to bridge these skill gaps in the workforce, experienced senior talent, in particular, remains very hard to find. Employers hiring in these areas must be prepared, not only in terms of increasing compensation, but elevating their employer value proposition and speeding up their hiring process to beat the competition. This comes alongside the need for sustained efforts to upskill and prepare existing workforces to future-proof their business against skill shortages, as well as continuous upgrading of technical infrastructure to not only improve functionality but attract top talent”, said Mike Wilkshire, Managing Director, RGF Singapore.

Likewise, the medical and life sciences industry is anticipated to have an equal impact when considering job, skill demand, and salary increments in Singapore. There is an estimated demand for tech-savvy, highly skilled individuals in Research and development as well as the healthcare industry in Singapore. Such demands and prospects are expected to rise in the coming years.