Nurses, sales assistants toughest vacancies to fill by locals: MOM statistics

Nurses, sales assistants toughest vacancies to fill by locals: MOM statistics

Registered nurse was identified as the top PMET position to fill, while shop sales assistants took the position for non-PMET occupations, according to latest data from the Manpower Ministry.

SINGAPORE: The number of job vacancies rose to 67,400 as of September 2014 - an 8.9 per cent increase from 61,900 in 2013. Registered nurses and shop sales assistants were the toughest positions to fill by locals, according to latest data released by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) on Tuesday (Jan 27).

Of the vacancies, service and sales workers were in keen demand, representing 25 per cent of total vacancies, or 15,330 specifically. The positions included shop sales assistants, security guards and waiters, according to the press release.

In September 2014 itself, four in five of all vacancies were from the services industry. The bulk of vacancies came from community, social and personal services, healthcare and tertiary institutes, it added.

HARD TO HIRE LOCALS FOR SOME JOBS

In terms of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), the data showed that registered nurse was in top spot for occupations hard to fill by locals. There were 720 vacancies as at September, with the top reason cited being too much competition from other employers.

Enrolled/assistant nurse - with 650 vacancies - and software, web and multimedia developer were in second and third spot respectively. Major reasons for these positions being difficult to fill were unattractive pay, a preference for a shorter work week and a reluctance to do shift work for the former, and lacking necessary work experience for the latter, according to the data.

As for non-PMET positions, shop sales assistants, security guards and waiters were the top three occupations that were hard to fill by locals, MOM stated.

A human resource expert said companies need to offer more competitive pay packages to attract and retain local employees.

Mr Ian Grundy, marketing and communications head for Asia at Adecco, said: “Some companies are struggling to fill vacancies because they are not paying a competitive salary. In a tight labour market like Singapore, you have got to be paying a competitive salary, you have got to be giving good bonus, and you have got to be giving good vacation allowance.

“This is because job seekers have got lots of choice, and if a company is not giving them something that is really attractive, they are going to go somewhere else. And what is happening from that as a result is that we are seeing a lot of jobs left open over a long period time."

The proportion of vacancies unfilled for at least six months (41 per cent) and those hard to fill by locals (67 per cent) were broadly unchanged from a year ago, as the labour market remained tight, the ministry added.  Mr Grundy expects job vacancies to continue to rise this year.

- CNA/kk/ms


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