Forty per cent of all Singapore businesses have experienced talent shortages in 2015. This number has climbed sharply from a low of 10% in 2014.
Run by ManpowerGroup, the
2015 Talent Shortage Survey surveyed 41,700 employers worldwide (234 of whom were in Singapore) and discovered that 38% on average globally found it difficult to recruit staff. This shows that in Singapore’s current tight workforce, employers are slightly worse off than their counterparts in most other countries.
Within the Asia-Pacific region, the average was much higher at 48% since a number of other countries saw more severe talent shortages than Singapore. Japan’s employers faced the highest level of difficulties with 83% saying they had trouble finding the right staff while businesses in Hong Kong and Taiwan also experienced similar problems.
Linda Teo, ManpowerGroup’s Singapore country manager, attributed the talent shortage to “widespread restructuring that is sending tremors across sectors, with shocks being added from a tightening labour market”.
The effects of these talent shortages were of concern to 52% of local employers as they may have a high impact on client relations.
Despite the current situation, Teo said that employers were failing to implement strategies to tackle these shortages and stay ahead of the competition. She said mere recruitment and placement of new staff wasn’t enough. “Employers need to encourage a learning culture among their employees and to get them to chart their own careers.”
Thinking outside the box and tapping into other pools of potential staff, such as youth, students and older workers, could also prove beneficial, she advised.
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