According to the latest Monster Employment Index, Singapore’s Banking and Financial Services Industry (BFSI) saw an 11% hike in online hiring activity this year, the steepest recorded growth in Southeast Asia.
Singapore led the regional pack with the Philippine BFSI recording an increase of 8%, and Malaysia trailing third at 1%.
While the hiring outlook in this industry remains dim – domestic demand for finance roles recorded a 2% decline in June – Sanjay Modi, Monster.com’s APAC and Middle East managing director, commented that it may see a turnaround thanks to a recent shift into more tech-driven practices.
“We’ve seen strong traction within the Banking sectors, specifically around the technological domain, as companies begin to recognise the importance of the collaboration between both functions,” he said.
Modi noted that this shift has not only affected the BFSI sector, but has also resulted in a growth in hiring in the IT sectors. Software, Hardware and Telecom professionals were the most in demand this year with a recorded growth of 13%, making it the only sector reporting a double-digit annual growth.
“Disruption in financial tech will continue to create demand for new roles which did not exist previously, such as UX/UI designers, digital data analysts and positions in data theft & protection,” he said.
This all represents a national move to turn Singapore into what the government calls a “Smart Nation”. Just this month, global professional services firm
Deloitte launched its first
Future of Work Center of Excellence in Singapore. This follows Byte Academy’s
FinTech Skills Centre, launched at the end of last year.
According to Modi, these are only the beginning. “In addition to the government’s efforts to turn Singapore into a Smart Nation, Siemens’ have also recently announced plans to continue to boost the nation’s technology infrastructure, which could also help to sustain hiring growth numbers within certain industries in the months ahead,” he said.
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Byte Academy opens first centre in Singapore
Deloitte to launch state-of-the-art work forecasting center in Singapore
