Demand for technical and healthcare jobs on the rise in Singapore

They can command annual salaries of up to $250,000, depending on the role.

Candidates with skills in healthcare, e-commerce, and other technical roles are on the rise despite the overall slowdown of hiring activities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, according to RGF International Recruitment’s latest Salary Watch report on Singapore.

Demand for healthcare talent has shot up in Singapore as the expansion of medical facilities led to the need for additional medical personnel. Medical directors can command an annual salary of up to $250,000 a year, whilst R&D Managers can earn up to $140,000 annually in Singapore.

In terms of technical roles, the survey found that smart manufacturing application engineers can command up to $60,000 annually at an MNC, whilst business intelligence directors and cybersecurity directors can earn up to $350,000 and $420,000 annually, respectively.

The above also applies to the e-commerce industry, where the adoption of digital tools, such as chatbots and automation technologies, are driving up the demand for high-skilled roles that include digitalisation managers as well as marketing and brand supervisors at MNCs. These roles are able to bring in annual salaries of up to $252,000 and $168,000, respectively.

This report is based on responses and research of more than 200,000 candidates, obtained between February 2019 and February 2020.

James Miles, Managing Director, RGF Executive Search Singapore, said although research was ahead of the impact made by pandemic, salaries for highly specialised and in-demand roles will continue to remain high due to the lingering effects of the talent shortage.

“The closure of non-essential services has caused a dip in Singapore’s economic forecast, which in turn has also translated into a slowdown in the hiring landscape—at least for the time being,” said Miles, noting that the government’s support will help these companies bounce back.

“In the meantime, industries such as healthcare and technology continue to experience ramped up hiring, as the demand for these services increases in order to help businesses and the community cope with the impact of the pandemic,” he added.