High demand for roles linked to digital technologies: MOM

IT and multimedia development roles remained highly sought after, said MOM. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Roles relating to digital technologies saw strong, growing demand in Singapore last year, according to a survey of employers conducted between last November and this January by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).

Announcing the results on Friday (April 1), MOM said information technology and multimedia development roles remained highly sought after - among professional, managerial, executive and technician (PMET) roles - as digital technologies play a pivotal part in today's economy.

Software, web and multimedia developers ranked second among jobs with the most vacancies available, at more than 1,600.

Systems analysts ranked fourth, while vacancies for network, communications and infrastructure managers saw robust growth of over 20 per cent compared with openings reported between 2016 and 2021.

"These vacancies typically require the incumbent to possess knowledge of programming languages... and common software development processes to understand, design, monitor and improve technical systems," said MOM.

Employers were willing to offer higher pay to fill these positions, such as a minimum wage of $5,000 for developers.

Engineering professionals and technicians were also highly in demand, with vacancies for electronics engineers ranking seventh and civil engineering technicians, 14th.

Rounding off sectors with strong showings are " a stable and large pool" of job openings for business development and sales, such as commercial and marketing sales executives (1st) and business development managers (6th).

Among non-PMET job openings, construction labourers were most in demand in 2021, as border restrictions placed on migrant worker inflows resulted in increased manpower shortages, said MOM, adding that the manufacturing sector was affected likewise.

It added: "The rise in e-commerce has led to a nascent demand for transport-related occupations, such as heavy truck and lorry drivers (8th), car, van and light goods vehicle drivers (11th), and transport clerks (37th)."

In tandem, the salaries offered for driver-related occupations increased in 2021, it said. For instance, the minimum salary employers were willing to offer for heavy truck and lorry drivers rose from $2,000 to $2,300 over the year.

Commenting on the findings of MOM's annual job vacancies survey to reporters, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said: "For PMET roles that were more difficult to fill, companies share this was mainly due to a shortage of candidates with the necessary skill sets and work experience, and competition from prospective employers."

He added: " I would exhort all employers to try to accord more resources to do this in terms of upskilling, and for prospective employers to adopt a 'plug-train-play' mindset when hiring through the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme as well as the Career Conversion Programme."

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