Jobs on the Rise in Singapore 2021

COVID-19 brought significant disruption to the global economy, and with it, came permanent changes to the jobs landscape.

As a global hub for trade, travel and commerce, Singapore faced significant upheaval. Many industries suffered a sudden and steep downturn, while others had to ramp up operations, or adapt their business functions to respond to significant and sustained demand. The country delivered a widely-praised COVID-19 response and overall, saw accelerated investment and adoption of HealthTech and EdTech.¹

As we move forward into 2021, workers and organisations want to know: What trends have we seen emerge from 2020, what jobs are on the rise, and what skills are needed to succeed in these roles?

LinkedIn’s own unique dataset offers insights into these questions, and we have compiled them into a special edition of LinkedIn’s yearly Emerging Jobs Report, titled Jobs on the Rise. The report takes a close look at the rapidly-changing world we’re living in, as a result of COVID-19. In previous years, we have looked at changes in the jobs landscape over the past 5 years, but this year, our special Jobs on the Rise report compares the roles experiencing the highest growth between April and October 2020 against the same period in the year before. We also map out the skills that are on the rise for workers, and organisations.

One common and overarching trend we have noticed amongst almost all the roles on our list is that almost all may be conducted remotely. As a result, workers who are equipped with digital skills — even at a basic level — will have an edge in finding employment opportunities within these fields. Read on to discover four of the most pertinent trends that have emerged as a result of the events in 2020.

Learn more about the key trends from Singapore's Jobs on the Rise

Before COVID-19 hit, Singapore was already facing the pressure of an ageing population. This, coupled with the rise in medical tourism, saw significant investment in Singapore’s healthcare sector, from medical equipment and clinical research to more sophisticated care. However, when the global pandemic hit, we saw a greater demand for frontline healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses. We also saw a rise in demand for care professionals with varying expertise, like social workers, laboratory technicians and mental health specialists. As a whole, those working in the care industry will require a range of skills to succeed, from clinical and medical knowledge, to interpersonal and communication skills.

The Acceleration of Digital Transformation

Singapore has always been an advocate for digitalisation. Before COVID-19 hit, Singapore was already home to 80 of the world’s top 100 tech companies and in 2020 it raised US$3.7 billion in capital for tech startups. COVID-19 definitely accelerated the use of technology, even amongst those who were not previously inclined. Many Singaporeans turned to online platforms for their daily needs, like groceries and food. A research found that 1 in 3 (~36%) of all Southeast Asia consumers who are new to digital services picked them up due to COVID-19 and 94% of these new consumers intend to continue with the service post pandemic.¹ This has fueled a demand for talent skilled in logistics, warehousing and supply chain management, as companies strived to provide seamless service from point of sale to delivery.

Organisations, too, turned to digital and social media channels to engage with their consumers, as their traditional methods of face-to-face communication were disrupted. This likely drove the demand for professionals who were skilled in digital marketing and social media. Other organisations adapted and adopted new technologies to serve new and changing consumer needs, driving higher demand for engineering talent. And, to serve organisations’ needs around data and information, we saw a demand for workers proficient at data science and cyber security.

Developer and engineer roles have long been featured on Singapore’s emerging jobs lists, and we will likely see this trend continue. The country is a global tech hub - it’s home to the regional headquarters of 80 of the world's top 100 global tech companies.⁴ Meanwhile, its bubbling start up scene and fast growing video and online games market means there is a range of opportunities across sectors for engineering talent.

Industries and organisations within them will continue to adopt new technologies to serve new and changing consumer needs, driving higher demand for engineering talent. In Singapore, the video game sector is expected to grow by 7.9% by 2025, to be worth US$268 million with mobile games as the largest sector of the market.⁵

In spite of the effects of COVID-19, traditional roles within organisations — including finance, business development and customer service — have maintained their level of demand, and in some instances, even expanded in number of roles or functions. For example, organisations that have adapted and experienced a greater demand for their products and services have had to expand their business development and sales capabilities. Customer service professionals, too, have had to be multifaceted in responding to customer feedback, and proactively working with consumers to understand their changing or evolving needs.

During the global pandemic, the customer service industry had to adapt. The sector now serves various purposes, not only reacting to customer feedback, but also proactively working with consumers to understand their changing needs. As other sectors were negatively impacted by COVID-19, such as tourism and hospitality, we saw talent from these sectors pivot into the customer service industry, where they could repurpose soft skills like communication or interpersonal skills. Based on LinkedIn’s data, one of the top job transitions was from guest services associate to customer support specialist.

Education was one of the most disrupted sectors as most of the world went into lockdown. International students were no longer able to remain overseas, and most had to continue their semesters online. Local schools and institutions physically closed, and had to transition their methods of teaching and content onto digital platforms. This drove a demand for educators. 2020 was also the year we saw many workers retrenched, and looking to repurpose their existing skills set in new employment. As a result, we saw a demand for coaches who were skilled in communication, career and life advice.

While ongoing disruption and uncertainty is likely to continue in the new year, we hope this report shows there are still various opportunities for talent with a range of experience and skills. A lifelong learning mindset is crucial for professionals looking to develop themselves and adapt to the workforce of the future. Workers who are equipped with digital skills — even at a basic level — will have an edge in finding employment opportunities. From digital marketing, project management to software development and data analysis, there are a range of LinkedIn Learning courses that professionals can take up to venture into these skill sets.

For talent professionals, we hope these trends provide valuable insights in informing your workforce strategies for 2021 - whether you're recruiting for new roles, upskilling your workforce or helping your organisation pivot to meet the demands of today’s changing talent landscape.

Resources for recruiters, or organisations hiring for new talent:
1. Address current and future skill gaps using skills trends and competitive benchmarking with LinkedIn Talent Insights
2. LinkedIn’s Skills Assessment to identify talent with relevant skills
3. Connect employees to relevant, applicable skills through a learning experience that is personalised and social with LinkedIn Learning

Resources for professionals looking for employment, or to pivot in their careers:
1. LinkedIn’s Career Explorer tool, to help job seekers gain a new perspective on the skills they currently have and explore different or new career paths
2. Free learning paths released last year for in-demand jobs
3. LinkedIn Learning courses to help you secure a job (‘Expert Tips for Answering Common Interview Questions’, ‘How to Rock an Interview’, ‘Resume Makeover’, etc.)

"Jobs on the Rise" are defined as the career categories that have seen the highest year-over-year growth rates in hiring (as reflected in the April 2020 to October 2020 timeframe).

LinkedIn Economic Graph data scientists have looked at over 15,000 job titles to uncover the jobs that have grown the most, compared to 2019 levels.

Those titles were then grouped into overarching career trends that capture as many as 25 job titles within each category. Each trend summary calls out the largest job titles within that trend. Career trends are ranked using a combination of year-over-year growth rate combined with the raw size of the job demand.