Search the Community

Hi all, I've been a member of MCF for donkey years, since 2002. I've enjoyed the sharings, the joustings & of course the BBQs! Today, I am career job search & attraction specialist. But this thread is not to advertise my organization. The job market is not looking very friendly. I am here to help provide some inputs in any career related questions you might have. I'll try to answer (Along with others I'm sure) as best as I can if I know. Some Background 25 years corporate experience of which 15 years as a recruiting leader. I've led regional/ international in-house recruiting teams for household brands along with several years working in agencies. I've recruited thousands, interviewed tens of thousands and seen probably close to a hundred thousands CVs in that time. From receptionists to CxOs. So, let me know how I can help. Happy to... Cheers

https://content.mycareersfuture.gov.sg/singapore-employment-salary-2023-outlook-industries/ Our job market may look healthy, but there are headwinds on the horizon for Singaporean employees and jobseekers. Without sugar-coating it, there are three significant headwinds affecting Singapore’s job market outlook. The global economic downturn where the cyclical changes will reduce employment opportunities. The ongoing pandemic crisis is still uncertain in its trajectory and may linger on for some time. Technological disruptions, particularly digitalisation, will continue to induce structural changes that make jobs and skills redundant. That said, it’s not entirely all doom and gloom for local employees and jobseekers, though there are indicators that Singapore’s labour market is slowing down with economic growth numbers. According to figures released by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in November 2022, Singapore’s economic growth is expected to slow to 0.5 to 2.5% in 2023, due to global uncertainties, down from the projected 3.5% growth in 2022. Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower revealed in an October 2022 report: “In the coming months, a deteriorating global economic environment, higher global inflation, as well as geopolitical tensions could affect the labour market outlook. “Some unevenness in employment growth may emerge across sectors”, they elaborated. On the numbers front, there was a “slight uptick” in unemployment rates, and a rise in retrenchments, though both remained on par with pre-Covid levels. What’s the big picture that affects Singapore’s job market outlook? Arturo Bris, Professor of Finance and Director of the IMD World Competitiveness Centre Switzerland, shared his take with Workipedia by MyCareersFuture: “From the economic standpoint, there are two main uncertainties. “The first one is the global economic crisis caused by the invasion of Ukraine and the disruption of global supply chains. “Its effects on inflation and growth are heard everywhere, including Singapore. As an economy that relies on foreign trade, it is extremely sensitive. “The second uncertainty pertains to China and the negative worrying signals from the Asian giant. In particular, there are concerns about the growth prospects of China and its preference to grow its domestic market instead of relying on neighbouring countries.” Which Singapore hiring industries could see headwinds in 2023? In fact, according to a Business Times report, Maybank analyst Chua Hak Bin noted that many sectors, such as hospitality, construction and healthcare, are still experiencing acute labour shortages. For Singaporean workers, recent employment number gains came from industries such as information and communications, professional services, and financial services. However, the MOM report states that administrative and support services saw a sustained decline, “partly reflecting the gradual scale-back of Covid-related occupations”. MTI also reported that weaker economic sentiments would weigh on the growth of outward-oriented sectors in Singapore, such as our electronics and chemicals clusters. That said, the ministry expects that Singapore’s strong recovery in air travel and international visitor arrivals will continue to benefit sectors related to aviation and tourism. This includes air transport, arts, entertainment and recreation, and consumer-facing sectors like food and beverage services. Lifting of travel restrictions in Singapore and the region has also boosted the recovery of the professional services sector. Professor Lawrence Loh, from NUS Business Schools’ Department of Strategy and Policy, said to Workipedia by MyCareersFuture: “In view of the international economic outlook, particular industries in Singapore like manufacturing and financial services will be significantly challenged due to weaker demands in 2023. “While industries affected by the pandemic such as aviation and travel have been recovering, these have to be continually on the alert for any unexpected new twist in the situation. “Moving into next year, as always, technology will almost always have impacts on organisational structures and products, as well as individual jobs and skills.” “This will happen across a broad spectrum of industries, particularly those that are manually driven such as retail, hospitality and even financial services.” What about 2023 salaries, then? 2023 looks to be a mixed bag when it comes to salaries, according to Mercer’s recently released Total Renumeration Survey (TRS). The flagship annual compensation and benefits benchmarking study identifies key remuneration trends and predictions for hiring and pay for 2023. Over 1000 Singapore-based companies participated in this year’s survey. While local employers anticipate salary increases in 2023 to surpass pre-pandemic levels, inflation is also depressing sentiment, with more than half of the companies in Singapore (54%) adopting a wait-and-see approach to their salary budgets. “Employers remain cautious about bumping up wages to match inflation,” said Mansi Sabharwal, Reward Products Leader at Mercer Singapore. “And many are turning to less permanent solutions such as benchmarking competition to stay competitive in the market (70%), focusing on total rewards communication (69%) and increasing wages of lower-income employees (55%).” Some other key findings from Mercer’s report on salaries revealed which industries could have the highest salary increments as below: Logistics: (4.4%) Banking and Finance (4.27%) Tech (4.06%) Real Estate (3.25%) The aerospace industry is also forecasted to see improvement, with salary increments expected to rise from 3.09% to 3.52% in 2023, given global travel continues to gain momentum in the aftermath of Covid-19. Working in an industry that might slow down? Here’s some advice Associate Prof. Trevor Yu, from the College of Business’ (Nanyang Business School) Division of Leadership, Management & Organisation, shared the below advice: Take a proactive look at your current skill set and project what areas you need to develop and upskill in the next few years. Consider also whether it is time to explore other options in faster-growing sectors like those listed above and what steps are needed to reskill for possible career changes and transitions. Finally, how much meaning do you derive from your current job role? Do you feel engaged both physically and psychologically? What steps can you take to craft or negotiate a better situation at work so that you can give the best that your talent can offer? Prof. Loh concludes: “There are two perennial challenges for jobs – creations and displacements – both of which will be critically influenced by the job market headwinds. “For organisations, especially those more vulnerable to the headwinds, continued transformation is the way forward – it is key to constantly adapt, innovate and strive for resilience. “As such, no skill will remain relevant forever – in fact, the shelf life for skills is getting shorter and shorter. “For workers at all levels, capability development is the surest solution – it is imperative to always upskill and reskill!”

The personal details of some 40,000 job applicants have been leaked online, following a cyber attack on an employment agency here. Protemps Employment Services, which has an office at Paya Lebar Square, had its entire server swiped and deleted earlier this month. The personal details of about 40,000 people who submitted job applications to the company have since been uploaded online. The details include scans of their identity cards or passports, their phone numbers, salaries, jobs and home addresses. Most of the job seekers appeared to be Singaporean. The hackers, known as Desorden Group, said they were behind the attack on Oct 4, boasting about their heist on hacking forums on Oct 7. They made a video showing the stolen files and databases, with a message to Protemps, saying they had stolen all the files from the server and had wiped it clean. It also came with a warning for Protemps to "think carefully". The video is believed to have been sent to Protemps along with a ransom note. On Oct 14, Desorden Group uploaded the entire database online, making it accessible for the price of €2.10 (S$3.30). https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/spore-employment-agency-hacked-ic-scans-and-salaries-of-40000-job-seekershttps://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/spore-employment-agency-hacked-ic-scans-and-salaries-of-40000-job-seekers 😱😱😱

https://www.straitstimes.com/tech/pilot-scheme-to-facilitate-hiring-of-foreign-talent-in-tech-firms?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=STFB&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1564531412

anyone set to benefit ? Enhancements made to Employment Act will see more workers protected

Dear Folks, Got a question. I have recently been offered a position but as usual, need to clear the the pre-employment checkups. I would like to know how stringent are these checkups usually? I have been experiencing heel pain for quite sometime (recently), have not seen a doctor but someone told me it might be gout (hearsay). In the event if I really have gout (or even mild-high blood pressure), will it affect my chance of employment? I am getting rather paranoid as age is not on my side already

what is what now?? do also die, dun do also die! [:(]

Dear Sir/Mdm I see no thread regarding in this and to know MCF members better, I created a poll and please vote accurately and confidentially, do not shout here what you have chosen. The point of this thread to understand the current situation of MCF economic and employment rate. Thank You Regards Kamli Bro

This study I think very representative of the employment situation here in singapore.. http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/worki...-make-ends-meet All the scholars should read this..

as in topic . Anyone knows the meaning ?>

I was reading about part time emplyment on MOM website. it seems like we have to pay part time workers paid sick leave, holiday, OT etc? All the while i tot part timer got work then got pay, no work no pay and pay is calcualated per hourly. simple as that? Are they entitled to CPF?

Hi all, I would like to know if anyone of you all seen this maid employment: Upview, recently? The shop at Bukit Timah had closed down, and had informed me that Hougang branch is operating. When ask my relative to go down and look for it today, (since he is staying opposite), happened to find out that the shop is no longer there and a hair salon had taken over the premises. I just wondering if anyone seen this maid agency in these few weeks.

True or CSB? i wonder why his ICT is so long STOMPer Edwin said that his company sent him a one month notice (letter of termination of contract) on June 2012, which meant that he would lose his job one day before he went for his NS In-Camp training. Said the STOMPer: "I am a normal Singaporean, just like you guys. "I was excited to serve my first ICT (one month), but I received a letter of termination from my company (one month notice) in June, which ended one day before my ICT. "I went for job interviews but they did not get back to me, maybe due to the fact they have to wait two months, which is after my one month ICT, to hire me. "I notified my company immediately after I received the notice. "How is it fair to terminate me when I always go the extra mile to serve the customer better? "Now I

[extract] The UK

I have a question regarding breaking the offer of overseas employment. A friend of mine was recently offered a position in the US. He has signed on the offer letter in Sept and is scheduled to start work sometime in Jan/Feb next year. The company is now processing the VISA and has engaged agents to make arrangements for his relocation. For family reasons, he may not be able to join the company, but he has already signed on the offer letter and arrangements for relocation is already in progress. In such a case, how much money does he need to compensate that company? Does anyone has a rough idea? Thanks.

My longest time spent on the same job was 7yrs++, learned the most during the time. Shortest is less than 2 months (2 such jobs/situations).... realised within the 1st week of work I shouldnt be wasting time with the job. Another 2-month stint was planned as a stepping stone to the next job. Next job's boss knew previous job's boss well wont take staff from him. I had to use the stepping-stone method to overcome this.

Like Holland should Singapore mandate that people who come and live here should know and pass a test about Singapore culture? I see many PRC ordering food but unsure of local slang got the wrong thing and argue with the shop owner saying that our mandarin is not up to standard!?

Hi all, Does pre-employment checkup include blood test? What is the standard items for such check under the labour rules if applicable. Assume Employer paid for it. What if the employee has already done a check, what is the validity period of such check? Please advise me. Thank you very much. Regards,

Quite stunned to see this clause with i sign on my letter of offer today. Pre Employment Screening (PES) The Company may withdraw this offer or terminate your employment with 1 month's notice if you failed to pass the screening process or reference check including verification of employment history, financial standing and receipt of all originals of your qualifications. Was inform by my new company that i need to pass this (PES) before i can start work. Any bros encounter this kind of "strange" clause??

Not sure if any bros have had this experience before. Say, if a company is known to delay salary and/or CPF payments, can employees agree with the employer, so that the employer puts a pre-set banker's guarantee in the employee's favour? ie: if the employer defaults payment on either salary or CPF, the employee can claim stake on the banker's guarantee. well, i know people are gonna say: don't work for him anymore,.but let's just THEORETICALLY say that you must continue working for this employer. so please DON'T list quitting/leaving/striking as an option. ideas/thoughts/comments?

Asking this on behalf of a friend. 1. My friend tendered her resignation recently. She is currently serving her one month notice, but her new company requested her to start earlier. 2. She approach the director and requested for early release + compensate the company. 3. Director refused her request and insisted that she should serve her full one month. 4. In the appointment letter, it is stated that "Early release is subjected to management approval". Does the director has the rights to stop my friend from leaving earlier? Isn't that equate to SLAVERY? Anyone can advice me?

I think we shld have a employment forum, since most of the ppl here are working, and also can suggest some tips for job-seeker or grad.