2019 Quarter 1 Top 10 Employment Market Trends in

Steady Hiring in Compliance, Risk and Cyber–Security: Greater hiring demand in banking is coming from the compliance, risk management, and cyber-security departments in major financial institutions. IT security also remains a high priority, and IT Security Analysts through to CISO and Director level IT security professionals are in demand.

Contingent Workforce Growth: A leading trend in the past few years has been the growth in demand for contracting professionals especially within the Banking and Technology sectors, and we expect contingent hiring to remain strong this year. However, whilst organisations continue to hire contingent workers and with the overall market still ‘growing’, we have noted a slight slowdown at the start of the year in the demand and volume of hires in banks as they take a slightly more conservative approach.

Data Science Hiring: Surges in recruitment within the data science area are likely to continue throughout 2019. Hiring for data science professionals across all industries will likely be a common theme this year.

FinTech ‘Booming’: We have seen an increased demand within this sector during the past 12 months and we expect this upward trend to continue. The world of FinTech is rapidly evolving and if it isn’t the hottest sector in Singapore right now, then it’s close! It is interesting to note that whilst the number of Blockchain roles in the market continues to increase, the volatility and uncertainty surrounding the Cryptocurrency markets has meant that demand and hiring into this area have dropped recently. However, the sheer number of FinTech events held in Singapore indicates that there are considerable financial investment and a high level of interest from both the private and government sectors.

Innovation Roles Increasing: Roles focusing purely on driving innovation are increasing. These professionals identify future demands of consumers, spot trends and drive technological developments to enable companies to stay at the forefront of their industries, with many banks and financial services now building out their own innovation ‘hubs’ or ‘teams’. We have also seen an increase in their utilisation to facilitate hiring through events such as Hackathons.

Big Data Specialists, Cyber & Disruptive Technology Skillsets in Demand: There is a consistent increase in the number of data analytics roles in the market. ETL (Extract Transfer Load) experience, Python, R, and SAS are all in-demand skillsets. Additionally, the demand for cloud computing, mobile, and digital technology experts continue to be high. Cyber-security also remains a sought-after skillset with IT security being a high priority for many companies. IT Security Analysts through to CISO and Director level IT security professionals are in demand.

Demand for Finance & Accounting Professionals Remain Steady: Singapore remains a leading Asian financial hub. Therefore, demand for finance & accounting professionals with strong accounting and/or financial analytical skills, coupled with excellent business acumen has remained steady in 2019 and we expect this to continue in the next 12 months.

Marketing Roles are Evolving: The role of marketing within an organisation has evolved. High on an employer’s priority list are digital marketers, product managers (banking), data analytics specialists, e-commerce managers, and SEO/SEM experts. Specialist customer experience (CX) professionals are also in demand. Many of these roles now require specific niche technical skillsets that are difficult to find and are highly sought-after.

Startup Hiring Evolving: The startup ecosystem has grown dramatically in recent years in Singapore. Hiring demand from startups have been focused mainly on tech talent but more recently, we have seen a greater demand from startups for sales, marketing and finance professionals as they evolve into revenue-generating businesses.

Tech Talent still in Demand: Demand for top tech talent remains high, especially for Software Engineers. We expect this demand to continue, with knowledge of iOS, Android, C++, and Java etc. skillsets to be highly sought-after in 2019.

If you are looking for a new role in 2019, do get in touch to find out about the latest exciting opportunities Ambition is currently working on.

For employers with talented individuals working in these positions, our advice is that it is critical to have retention strategies in place to avoid attrition as highly qualified individuals with these skillsets will be in demand in 2019.