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My staff are very loyal because I treated them well during the bad times, so they remember
also i try to hire mostly hardworking PRCs, and not job-hoppers
hopefully i can get some more quota to meet expanding business needs
i am very thankful to my wonderful PRC staff
Analysts see tightening job market amid strong economic growth
By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 14 July 2010 1905 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
Office workers in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Amid latest signs of strong economic recovery, the labour market too is tightening with some sectors facing staff shortages.
But analysts said uncertainty in the global market is moderating the level of salary increases companies are willing to pay.
Growth in the biomedical, life-sciences, and financial sectors have been resurgent in recent months.
So too the services sector, thanks to the integrated resorts and upcoming Youth Olympic Games.
But there are now signs of a shortage of manpower, especially for service staff.
Mark Sparrow, managing director, Kelly Services Singapore, said: "Interestingly, when you've got all those projects coming live at the same time, it's going to put a strain on the economy and on the labour economy trying to find very similar types of staff.
“So I don't want to sensationalise it, but it could turn into a bloodbath when it comes to people trying to find the best talent there in the marketplace."
The buoyant market has prompted more to switch jobs.
But those who expect higher pay may be disappointed.
Mr Sparrow said: "Many of the hiring managers still have, psychologically, a salary that's pitched at 2009 rates, versus what the candidates might think is the future for them now.
“We're only six months out of a pretty depressing time so I think organisations have been burnt, I think they don't want to sprint into creating a spiralling salary cycle.
“And also, if they've taken a lesson out of the previous boom period, it's not to over-expose yourself."
Peter Haglund, country manager, Manpower Staffing Services, said: "We haven't seen yet, a very significant increase in salaries. We've seen some occasions where there's retention strategy of offering a bit more when people choose to resign, but on a general perspective we haven't seen that it has increased."
However, not all agree.
Neil Dyball, manager (Financial & Risk, Financial Services division), Robert Walters said his firm is seeing general salary increments "of around 10 to 15 per cent".
Talent retention packages have translated to higher pay of around the same range and counter-offers can top 35 per cent in some cases.
Mr Dyball added that the rush to fill headcount has taken his firm by surprise.
He said: "During our 13-year presence in Singapore, Robert Walters has yet to experience such an increase in demand for local and international talent across all industries as we witnessed in Q1 & Q2 this year (2010)."
He added that the majority of his firm's business in the last three months centred on the hiring of mid-senior executives across IT, Sales and Marketing, Human Resource and Finance.
Turbulence in the global markets has led the government to caution slower growth ahead.
That uncertainty has also spilled over into the hiring market.
Mr Haglund "There are some challenges in Europe and some people talk about overheating in China. You could see companies tend to go into contract labour, rather than taking on permanent headcount."
Observers said while growth in the last few months has been broad-based, some have been left out.
One group is low-skilled workers, whose wages have not gone up significantly.
Madam Halimah Yacob, Deputy Secretary-General of the NTUC said this is a long-standing problem that the unions are working to address.
She said: "The challenge is not only to ensure strong growth but growth of good-paying jobs and making sure that we continue to press on strongly with job redesign which is absolutely crucial coupled with skills upgrading.
“Otherwise jobs with good pay will continue to elude our low-income workers and they will not benefit as much from our growth."
The government has estimated that the number of foreign workers could go up by about 100,000 more this year.
In response, Madam Halimah said this does not represent a change in the "fundamental policy", where two-thirds of the labour force is Singaporean.
She said: "During the recession, many of the companies, when the work permits of their foreign workers expired, they did not renew them. In some cases they didn't even wait for the permits to expire, they just sent them back.
“That means by itself the numbers would have gone down quite significantly."
Madam Halimah said she does not expect this to impact local workers by much because there are high-paying, high value-added jobs available for locals.
And she added that the NTUC's aim is to ensure that workers are given enough training so that they can move into these sectors.
Small businesses have also been slow to see the benefits of growth.
Madam Halimah said these include neighbourhood retailers as well as suppliers to bigger businesses.
She added: "It takes some time for the trickle-down effect, for them to enjoy stronger growth." - CNA/vm
also i try to hire mostly hardworking PRCs, and not job-hoppers
hopefully i can get some more quota to meet expanding business needs
i am very thankful to my wonderful PRC staff
Analysts see tightening job market amid strong economic growth
By Hoe Yeen Nie | Posted: 14 July 2010 1905 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
Office workers in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Amid latest signs of strong economic recovery, the labour market too is tightening with some sectors facing staff shortages.
But analysts said uncertainty in the global market is moderating the level of salary increases companies are willing to pay.
Growth in the biomedical, life-sciences, and financial sectors have been resurgent in recent months.
So too the services sector, thanks to the integrated resorts and upcoming Youth Olympic Games.
But there are now signs of a shortage of manpower, especially for service staff.
Mark Sparrow, managing director, Kelly Services Singapore, said: "Interestingly, when you've got all those projects coming live at the same time, it's going to put a strain on the economy and on the labour economy trying to find very similar types of staff.
“So I don't want to sensationalise it, but it could turn into a bloodbath when it comes to people trying to find the best talent there in the marketplace."
The buoyant market has prompted more to switch jobs.
But those who expect higher pay may be disappointed.
Mr Sparrow said: "Many of the hiring managers still have, psychologically, a salary that's pitched at 2009 rates, versus what the candidates might think is the future for them now.
“We're only six months out of a pretty depressing time so I think organisations have been burnt, I think they don't want to sprint into creating a spiralling salary cycle.
“And also, if they've taken a lesson out of the previous boom period, it's not to over-expose yourself."
Peter Haglund, country manager, Manpower Staffing Services, said: "We haven't seen yet, a very significant increase in salaries. We've seen some occasions where there's retention strategy of offering a bit more when people choose to resign, but on a general perspective we haven't seen that it has increased."
However, not all agree.
Neil Dyball, manager (Financial & Risk, Financial Services division), Robert Walters said his firm is seeing general salary increments "of around 10 to 15 per cent".
Talent retention packages have translated to higher pay of around the same range and counter-offers can top 35 per cent in some cases.
Mr Dyball added that the rush to fill headcount has taken his firm by surprise.
He said: "During our 13-year presence in Singapore, Robert Walters has yet to experience such an increase in demand for local and international talent across all industries as we witnessed in Q1 & Q2 this year (2010)."
He added that the majority of his firm's business in the last three months centred on the hiring of mid-senior executives across IT, Sales and Marketing, Human Resource and Finance.
Turbulence in the global markets has led the government to caution slower growth ahead.
That uncertainty has also spilled over into the hiring market.
Mr Haglund "There are some challenges in Europe and some people talk about overheating in China. You could see companies tend to go into contract labour, rather than taking on permanent headcount."
Observers said while growth in the last few months has been broad-based, some have been left out.
One group is low-skilled workers, whose wages have not gone up significantly.
Madam Halimah Yacob, Deputy Secretary-General of the NTUC said this is a long-standing problem that the unions are working to address.
She said: "The challenge is not only to ensure strong growth but growth of good-paying jobs and making sure that we continue to press on strongly with job redesign which is absolutely crucial coupled with skills upgrading.
“Otherwise jobs with good pay will continue to elude our low-income workers and they will not benefit as much from our growth."
The government has estimated that the number of foreign workers could go up by about 100,000 more this year.
In response, Madam Halimah said this does not represent a change in the "fundamental policy", where two-thirds of the labour force is Singaporean.
She said: "During the recession, many of the companies, when the work permits of their foreign workers expired, they did not renew them. In some cases they didn't even wait for the permits to expire, they just sent them back.
“That means by itself the numbers would have gone down quite significantly."
Madam Halimah said she does not expect this to impact local workers by much because there are high-paying, high value-added jobs available for locals.
And she added that the NTUC's aim is to ensure that workers are given enough training so that they can move into these sectors.
Small businesses have also been slow to see the benefits of growth.
Madam Halimah said these include neighbourhood retailers as well as suppliers to bigger businesses.
She added: "It takes some time for the trickle-down effect, for them to enjoy stronger growth." - CNA/vm
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