Demand heats up for candidates in Singapore's life sciences sector: report

DEMAND for regulatory affairs as well as sales and marketing professionals in Singapore's life sciences sector is on the rise as international pharmaceutical companies continue to base their regional head offices here, according to the latest Hays Quarterly Report.

"We're seeing major consolidation activity in the life sciences sector globally with mergers and acquisitions and joint ventures beginning to impact the Asian recruitment market," said Lynne Roeder, managing director of Hays in Singapore.

"But at the same time we're seeing a shortage of local candidates, which is leading to a rising number of senior vacancies across many pharmaceutical and device organisations. A number of candidates have left the industry, which is creating higher demand for the professionals who remain. This is most notable in regulatory, medical and compliance functions."

According to Ms Roeder, the recent pre-election hold on foreign employment pass applications has also stoked stiff competition for experienced candidates across all positions.

"The hold on foreign employment pass applications has led to employers competing for a finite pool of local candidates," she noted.

Of the different roles, there is high demand for candidates in regulatory affairs. Ms Roeder added: "Given Singapore's position as a regional hub for most multinational organisations, the greatest demand is for regulatory affairs professionals with strong leadership skills and wide geographic submission experience."

Other candidates in high demand include manufacturing professionals with biologics expertise and marketing professionals with strong scientific communication experience.