Employment Pass (EP) sentiment and the Singapore Procurement job market in 2020

As a consequence of the Covid19 pandemic, some minor restrictions have been implemented in Singapore with respect to the issuance of employment passes. As the matter is causing concern amongst the business sector, we felt it would be helpful to provide our clients with more detailed information on the topic from our perspective– with particular focus on the procurement market.

It is our observation that whilst employment passes are still being awarded, there tends to be more scrutiny and validation around the issuance of an EP. These circumstances dictate that prior to an employment pass being awarded to an overseas applicant, an exhaustive search of the local talent market must have been undertaken. This is in essence a good thing, as it is ensuring that employment of current Singapore citizens and permanent residents are given priority, thereby supporting the local economy. As a licensed employment agency, to comply with this policy, we are required to report search statistics to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) on a quarterly basis.

Generally speaking, it is becoming rarer for businesses to hire externally from overseas, as there is typically a pool of skilled candidates available in most cases who are already working in Singapore. For that reason, individuals that are obtaining employment passes are most often already in Singapore with another company. The only circumstances that could reasonably provide an exception in this respect are when there is a very specific skill set required for a particular role, a senior hire, or in cases where individuals are relocating to Singapore as part of an internal move within their current organisation.

If a company performs an exhaustive search of the local talent market in Singapore and is unable to find a suitable candidate, then it is increasingly occurring that the role is relocated overseas – this is particularly the case, in respect to other regional growth hubs such as KL, or Bangkok, where generally it can be easier to obtain an employment pass for overseas nationals and there is a growing pool of local talent with regional and global experience. There is also an increasing pool of talent prepared to move to these locations, particularly if the move involves attractive career development. The inherent risk here is that the Singapore market will start to lose jobs overseas.

Our observations at Connexus are that we have found that oftentimes when companies have relocated a position away from Singapore to other cities in the region, this has not always been at a lower total cost to the business – despite perceptions to the contrary. The reason for this is due to rapid salary growth in the emerging markets, as well as weak and often recessionary salary growth in Singapore - driven by an uptick in unemployment, meaning that there is a surplus of both locals and overseas nationals in the employment market, which creates downward pressure on wages.

Advice for employers

Our experience at Connexus is that in practice, it is quite rare to be unable to source talent locally when aiming to fill key procurement roles in Singapore. There is a lot of debate around skills shortages and whilst it's true with the dynamic nature of business in Singapore right now, there is no shortage of very good general procurement talent with a desire to upskill that are available. It is never impossible to hire in the instance of being flexible around specific skills required, and there are relevant procurement professionals either available or passively considering opportunities.

To successfully tap into the passive talent market, which is by its nature a much larger talent pool, it is of great help to engage the expertise of specialist talent attraction specialists such as Connexus Global. The depth of our experience and market penetration, data-driven approach and focus on excellence, combined to ensure that our clients in the Procurement sector have an optimal chance of attracting the talent they require for their business to thrive.

 Advice for job seekers

The overarching challenge in the market for job seekers currently is that there are fewer positions available and a significantly increased number of candidates applying for roles, leading to increased competition.

At Connexus our advice is to plan for the medium to long term, with a focus on personal skill development and training which will increase your perceived attractiveness to future employers, in effect future-proofing your career. It is also worthwhile understanding the key functions of your current role and how they pertain to enabling you to compete for relevant positions as they arise in the current and future markets. 

Being flexible and realistic in terms of your expectations for a prospective role will greatly increase the number of opportunities available, as well as the likelihood that your candidacy will be strongly considered. Similarly, prioritizing opportunities that offer training and development in ‘new age’ skill areas, will work out better in the long term, as opposed to taking a short-sighted view of opportunities which may offer a salary increase, but little else besides.

Our Consultants recommend being passively active in the job market, as it is very rare that the best job will come to you when you are actively looking and need a new role, particularly in Singapore where position tenures and procurement organization cycles tend to be shorter than elsewhere.

Ben McDonald

Director, Procurement & Supply Chain Practice – Asia Pacific

An executive recruiter for the Procurement and Supply Chain market with 15 years’ experience working across the Asia Pacific region from Australia and Singapore.

Ben is based in Singapore; he is Practice Lead for Procurement and Supply Chain functions at Conexus Global where he partners with multinational companies to grow their human capital capabilities across the value chain in the Asia Pacific.  

E: ben.mcdonald@connexus-global.com

T: +65 9807 3174