Covid-19 has brought about significant disruptions to the global economy, and with it came changes to the job landscape.
While some industries saw a steep downturn, others witnessed phenomenal growth and some even had to ramp up operations. This led to some organisations retrenching heavily, while some increased their headcount to meet new business demands.
As organisations moved into remote working, there was also a rise in demand for staff equipped with digital skills, highlighting the fact that many businesses are now looking for professionals with diverse skill sets.
In line with this trend, many business and individuals have undergone reskilling or upskilling to keep up with the times.
In its latest report, LinkedIn has identified work trends that have emerged in Singapore, largely brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The 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, while also mapping out the skills that are on the rise for workers and organisations.
Here’s a look at what are the top 15 jobs that are on the rise for this year, and what skills are needed to succeed in these roles.
1. Healthcare/Medical Support
When the global pandemic hit, Singapore saw a greater demand for frontline healthcare professionals including doctors and nurses.
There was also a rise in demand for for care professionals with varying expertise, like social workers, laboratory technicians and mental health specialists.
Singapore’s healthcare system is well regarded internationally, distinguished by quality health services, infrastructure and sound policies.
As our society rapidly ages, more health and community care services will be needed, opening up more job opportunities.
Specific roles include: Medical Technologist, Pharmacy Technician, Radiology Technician, Medical Laboratory Technologist, Physical Therapist Assistant
Skills required include: Laboratory Skills, Pharmacy, Radiology, Medical Technology, Physical Therapy
2. Education
Education was one sector that was heavily disrupted by the lockdown.
With local schools and institutions closed for long periods of time, educators had to transition their methods of teaching and content onto digital platforms.
Singapore’s education system is lauded globally, and the sector has been quick to adapt to home-based learning.
Education Technology (EdTech) platforms and services have also been growing steadily due to the pandemic. This leads to a rise in opportunities to those who wish to go into the education sector.
Specific roles include: Mathematics Tutor, Academic Tutor, Education Professional, Instructional Design Specialist, Academic Administrator
Skills required include: Tutoring, Teaching, Curriculum Development, Instructional Design, Educational Leadership
3. Logistics & Supply Chain
In 2020, the e-commerce sector recorded 87 per cent growth and a 30 per cent rise in new online consumers.
As more Singaporeans had to stay home, many turned to e-commerce sites to meet their daily needs, even purchasing groceries online.
Many e-commerce firms around the world also saw a huge boom in sales, which led to the need to hire more logistics and supply chain experts, to ensure a seamless system from order to delivery.
Specific roles include: Supply Chain Assistant, Supply Chain Officer, Supply Chain Executive, Logistics Manager, Supply Chain Planning Manager
Skills required include: Warehouse Operations, Supply Chain Management, Logistics Management, Inventory Management, Supply Chain Management
4. Healthcare/Medical – Frontline
As the nation responded to the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for frontline workers rose with it.
Beyond the pandemic, these roles are likely to stay, especially since Singapore’s robust healthcare sector has continued to attract investments from around the world.
According to market insights firm Fitch Solutions, Singapore’s healthcare market is expected to double to US$67 billion (S$8911 billion) by 2029.
Specific roles include: Medical Officer, Registered Nurse, Nurse
Skills required include: Medicine, Healthcare, Nursing, Basic Life Support (BLS), Patient Safety
5. Social Media / Digital Marketing
In 2020, the ability for brands to reach out to customers online became even more important than ever. Although “digital transformation” has been a buzzword for the past few years, Covid-19 has sped up the process significantly.
To survive and thrive in the post-pandemic world, businesses have to constantly stay atop technological trends, or at least, move online.
Even firms that had a traditionally physical business model have found pivots into the online world. Therefore, it is important to hire the right talent to drive this online growth.
Specific roles include: Growth Manager, Social Media Coordinator, Chief Growth Officer, Social Media Strategist, Search Engine Optimisation Specialist
Skills required include: Digital Marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), Google Analytics, Keyword Research, Social Media Marketing
6. Finance
Singapore is well-known as a global financial hub given its strategic geographical location.
Furthermore, the growing startup scene in Singapore has led to an increase in venture capital activity.
These developments require a range of talent with skills in investor relations, wealth management, and taxation laws.
Specific roles include: Tax Officer, Investor Relations Manager, Venture Partner, Private Wealth Management Specialist, Treasurer
Skills required include: Investor Relations, Investments, Banking, Income Tax, Treasury
7. Specialised Engineering
Singapore is a global tech hub, home to the regional headquarters of 80 of the world’s top 100 global tech companies.
The country also has a robust startup scene, and many tech giants are steadily making their way to the city’s shores.
Industries and organisations within them will continue to adopt new technologies to serve new and changing consumer needs, driving higher demand for engineering talent
Specific roles include: Game Developer, Backend Developer, Product Support Engineer, Software Engineering Specialist, Infrastructure Engineer
Skills required include: Go (Programming Language), Software Development, Game Development, Infrastructure, JavaScript
8. Customer Service
All businesses have customers that they need to serve, and the pandemic has forced a re-thinking of what customer care means.
Covid-19 has overwhelmed lives and livelihoods around the globe, bringing about pervasive uncertainty, and a sustained attention to health.
This has also led to a different way in which customers interact with businesses and vice versa. Thus, companies have to understand consumer trends and patterns that will endure in the long term.
Furthermore, as customer service transitioned online, one of the top job changes was from guest services associate to customer support specialist, according to LinkedIn.
Specific roles include: Client Service Associate, Client Service Analyst, Customer Care Officer, Customer Support Specialist
Skills required include: Client Services, Customer Experience, Customer Support, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Salesforce
9. Professional and Personal Coaches
As many people faced unemployment uncertainty, “upskilling” and “reskilling” became the buzzwords of 2020.
According to LinkedIn data, people working in industries impacted by Covid-19 were most likely to apply for new roles in different sectors.
Since many people were looking at career switches, the demand for professional and personal coaches rose as well.
Specific roles include: Life Coach, Communication Coach, Career Coordinator, Leadership Coach
Skills required include: Facilitation, Personal Development, Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Life Coaching
10. Online Content
According to LinkedIn, during the height of the circuit breaker, Singaporeans were spending on average 4.5 hours online each day for personal use.
As people spend more and more time online, the demand for content is bound to increase as well. This fuels the demand for online content creators, from YouTubers to film producers.
Specific roles include: Youtuber, Videographer, Film Producer, Content Coordinator, Video Editor
Skills required include: Content Strategy, Adobe Premiere Pro, Video Editing, Videography, Video Editing
11. Data Science
The sheer amount of data that organisations are able to collect brings with it the potential to unlock new solutions and products
However, the data needs to be processed, visualised and analysed, such that organisations can realise its potential.
According to LinkedIn, data science roles exist across a range of functions — from collecting data and maintaining storage systems, to analysing the insights and forecasting emerging risks and opportunities.
Specific roles include: Data Science Specialist
Skills required include: Machine Learning, Python (Programming Language), Data Science, Natural Language Processing (NLP)
12. Social Worker
During the circuit breaker, it became evident that certain groups of Singaporean communities were in need of external help.
For example, elderly folk who lived alone and were unable to receive family members as guests had to accept help from community and social groups instead.
Specific roles include: Medical Social Worker, Social Worker
Skills required include: Medical Social Work, Case Management, Social Services, Social Work, Individual Counselling
13. Mental Health Specialist
The importance of mental health became even more poignant as the onset of Covid-19 and remote working challenged existing social and behavioural norms.
Along with the health impacts of the disease, COVID-19 has led to self and social isolation, alongside other mental health impacts such as anxiety and depression.
Demand for health support services has increased exponentially as a result.
Specific roles include: Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist
Skills required include: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Psychotherapy, Clinical Psychology, Psychological Assessment, Mental Health
14. Business Development and Sales
Identifying new opportunities and understanding the evolving needs of clients is key to any organisation’s growth and success.
This is especially so in the time of accelerated digital transformation, and in the case of organisations that have seen explosive growth due to the pandemic.
Specific roles include: Business Development Associate
Skills required include: Business Development, Market Research, Sales, Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
15. Cyber Security
Cyber security has been a key topic in Singapore throughout the past few years, as both the government and enterprises invest heavily in private data.
Furthermore, the rise in data breaches and cyber security attacks has made it even more important to hire the right talent in the field.
Specific roles include: Cyber Security Analyst
Skills required include: Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Information Security, Cybersecurity, Network Security, Machine Learning
Capitalise On Opportunities Available
Even though the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are forecasted to last for an even longer time, this list shows that there are still many opportunities available.
This is especially so for workers with digital skills, as the trends have heavily pointed towards the online world.
It is thus important to keep one’s skills upgraded, to ensure that one is prepared for such drastic changes in the economy and job market.
Furthermore, in 2020, the government launched the SGUnited Skills programme, a full-time training programme ranging from six to 12 months.
The training courses are designed in partnership with the industry to help trainees acquire industry-relevant skills that can improve their employability.
Course fees are also heavily subsidies, with trainees receiving a training allowance of S$1,200 per month for the duration of the programme.
These are just some opportunities that Singaporeans can make use of to ensure that they are adequately prepared for career switches and new jobs.
Featured Image Credit: New Fortune Times
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