Pandemic digital boom: Some tech firms hiring boldly to capture growth

Singapore

SOME tech companies are still hiring boldly as they move to capture growth in online verticals that are flourishing as a result of a digital boom amid the pandemic, even as a majority of their peers trudge on in the fight for survival.

E-commerce firm Shopee, for one, is on the hunt for around 270 staff, while US tech giant Amazon plans to hire more than 200 more staff in Singapore. The hiring sprees bring some respite to the labour markets as shutdowns that were imposed to contain the outbreak have threatened mass redundancies across many sectors.

Last Thursday, the Manpower Ministry announced that more than 4,600 jobs, as well as 860 traineeship and attachment opportunities, have opened up under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills scheme. These opportunities are offered by 1,600 startups under the jobs package.

The ministry defines startups as companies that have been incorporated for less than five years, with more than 50 per cent individual shareholding and with at least one employee. This could also include smaller businesses in traditional sectors without any tech components, and are sans venture capital backing.

Social networking site LinkedIn has also listed over 2,800 openings for tech jobs in Singapore (although this might not be fully reflective of the number of positions available here), of which the majority are full-time positions.

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The bulk of firms hiring are those that have seen growth during this period of accelerated digitalisation - such as firms in e-commerce, online education or food delivery.

A small proportion also includes firms which, a few months ago, had laid off a significant proportion of their staff as part of cost cutting measures.

Elena Chow, founder of talent solutions consultancy ConnectOne, told The Business Times (BT) that this could be the result of a pivot in the tech firm's business plans, which then translates into changing talent needs.

"Pivots like these (which could go both ways) are very common in tech companies," Ms Chow added.

Firms will acquire new talent for new initiatives and let go of those whose skills are no longer needed, said Adrian Choo, CEO of HR consultancy Career Agility International. "Startups will need to be all the more nimble and responsive, since survival depends on speed of adaptability."

Layoffs will still be a regular fixture as companies keep tweaking their business models to fit the market, he added.

Several tech firms that BT spoke to said that they were looking to move fast in order to capture growth from a world moving increasingly online, or prepare for a post-pandemic recovery.

"No one can predict when recovery will be," said Ms Chow. "However, if startups have a clear roadmap and most importantly, enough cash, they should prepare now and take pole position when the economy opens up."

Currently, software developers and data engineers are particularly sought after across all companies, while internships or contract roles - such as the 100 place-and-train positions offered by Google under Skills Ignition SG - also contribute to some of the positions listed.

Many of these positions listed are entry-level or middle management positions. Co-founder of tech career platform Nodeflair Adrian Goh told BT that this could possibly be because companies are more cautious during this time, and are also trying to preserve cash.

The continued hiring contrasts with a dramatic slowdown in many other industries. According to the Ministry of Manpower, total employment in the second quarter had fallen by 121,800 - the biggest quarterly fall on record, as the Covid-19 pandemic took a toll on the labour market.

Career portal JobStreet.com saw job postings in the aerospace sector collapse 95 per cent from January to March, while postings in beauty and fitness fell 92 per cent. Industries such as retail, food and beverage and event management also saw postings tumble around 80 per cent over the same period, said JobStreet.

The significant reduction in openings means those looking to start new careers as well as recently displaced candidates in these industries now have to vie for a much smaller pool of jobs. The same industries that saw the largest drop in job postings also saw a surge in applications on the portal of up to 81 per cent, which hints at a huge displacement of workers in those sectors.

The tech sector too, despite considerable demand driven by the local government and institutions, is not immune. According to recruitment firm Randstad, there is still a significant overall drop in the number of tech jobs available - down 25 per cent year-to-date from the year earlier - as companies put hiring on hold due to effects from the global pandemic.

It also saw an approximately 20 per cent increase in applicants for tech-related jobs year-on-year, said Daljit Sall, senior director of information technology at Randstad Singapore. "This can be attributed to more people entering the job market and an increasing number of people who are re-skilling to get in tech roles."

However, industry watchers said that the structural unemployment the tech sector faces now is likely to be only temporary. They concur that those in this sector with highly developed tech skills, such as developers or software engineers, would have no problem picking up another job in the same field, considering that their skills are largely transferable and still very much in demand.

Ms Chow of ConnectOne added: "Aside from tech skills, the pace and ambiguity in a startup exposes one to problem-solving, adaptability, creativity, flexibility, grit and resilience . . . Besides startups, large corporates also need talent with these skills more than ever. It can only mean that individuals who have worked in a startup will be in demand across industries and stages of a company."

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