Higher wages, spiffy outfits fail to shift locals' mindset against F&B, retail jobs

Singapore

HIGHER wages, medical insurance, a robust commission structure and even new "designer" staff uniforms - these are some of the carrots the food and beverage (F&B) and retail sectors are offering to local workers amid cuts to the services sector's foreign worker quotas.

But it remains an uphill task to fill job vacancies, as local interest in these sectors continues to wane.

According to mobile jobs portal FastJobs, there has been a shrinking proportion of local applicants for F&B and retail openings on its platform.

This is despite a 24 per cent year-on-year increase in overall local applicants.

In 2016, Singaporeans made up 73 per cent of all F&B job applicants on FastJobs, compared to just 62 per cent this year. Similarly, 75 pe…