Large firms still hiring graduate trainees amid virus-fuelled uncertainty

WHERE are the jobs? That's the million-dollar question for job-seekers in a market rocked by pandemic-fuelled uncertainty.

"Most companies are trying their best to support usual employment, but the struggle is real," said Fang Eu-Lin, leader of PwC's Academy in Singapore, a skills development platform.

Still, information technology and healthcare positions are in demand, while large local companies confirmed with The Business Times that they are going ahead with in-house management associate programmes.

For instance, a spokesperson for Temasek's Mapletree said that, as the group expands, the management is "confident that Mapletree will be able to offer more opportunities to develop young talents in-house".

Mapletree plans to bring on board 10 fresh graduates for its associate scheme this year, up from four in 2019, while developer CapitaLand is also taking on 10 candidates for this year's graduate development programme - similar to previous intakes.

DBS is keeping up with entry-level recruitment this year: The local lender will focus on experienced postgraduates for the management associate programme, while hiring fresh graduates for graduate associate programmes, a spokesperson told BT.

Over at Singtel, about 60 management associates who were signed on in January are expected to join in July. Singtel plans to continue with the scheme in 2021, and applications will open in August, the company added.

"We remain committed to investing in young talent for the long term," said Aileen Tan, the telco's group chief human resources officer. She also noted that this year's cohort is 30 per cent larger than in the year prior, as "there is an increasing demand for talents to fill critical roles in new growth areas that Singtel has identified, such as the Internet of Things, analytics and cloud".

"Covid-19 has certainly pushed companies to pivot more quickly to adopting digital more widely," remarked PwC's Ms Fang. "Fresh graduates and existing employees should continue to develop the mindset and the skills to adopt digital solutions."

Said RGF Talent Solutions Singapore managing director James Miles: "Companies that are still hiring cover much of the technology landscape, particularly in the e-commerce sector, as well as the healthcare industry, which is generally seen as recession-proof."

In fact, hiring is up by 6 per cent on year for front-line health roles, like those in hospitals, according to recruitment platform LinkedIn. Job portal Indeed named scientific research and electrical engineering as some better-performing industries.

True, there has been chatter about final-year students having their job offers yanked as the economy falters. But Ms Fang told BT: "I am confident that organisations who have already offered placements to graduating students in the prior months will honour their arrangements."

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