Pandemic-hit tourism, lifestyle firms in Singapore still hiring for in-demand digital skills

THOUGH the pandemic has hit the tourism and lifestyle services sector hard, companies are still hiring for in-demand digital roles, with new training programmes to cater to demand for such skills.

Even while encouraging firms to pivot and transform, the hope is that they will remain within the sector and retain their core competencies for the eventual recovery, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng at the Singapore Zoo on Wednesday morning.

While the reopening of borders and recovery of travel and tourism are not simply up to Singapore, the Republic has been in talks with other countries and the recently announced vaccinated travel lanes are a start, he added.

Dr Tan was speaking at the release of the 24th Jobs Situation Report by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). The report focuses on the tourism and lifestyle services sector, which includes food and beverage services as well as retail.

Since January 2020, 18 more Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) have been launched for the sector, in addition to the existing five. These aim to equip workers with the skills to adopt new technology, as well as digital and technical skills for in-demand roles such as digital strategists and digital marketing executives.

From January 2020 to mid-August 2021, more than 3,100 workers from over 200 companies enrolled in CCPs for the sector, compared to nearly 110 workers from around 40 firms in 2019.

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Another 1,400 workers will undergo the CCPs from now till December 2022.

Among the 18 new CCPs is the CCP for Digital Marketing Tourism Professionals, to be launched in September. This is an enhanced version of the Digital Marketing Place-and-Train Programme launched in March 2020 by WSG and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

To meet increased demand for digital marketing skills, the upcoming CCP includes new modules such as optimising sales conversion techniques and maintaining after-sales customer relationships through digital channels.

Though hit by the pandemic, the tourism and lifestyle services sector is still hiring for digital roles, with close to 100 vacancies on jobs portal MyCareersFuture.

Mid-career jobseekers could also consider CCPs in areas where companies are still hiring, said WSG and MOM. These are the CCP for Housekeeping Specialist, CCP for Restaurant Manager (Value Chain Management), and CCP for Professional Executives (Retail Track).

With the eventual recovery of travel in mind, the STB has run overseas campaigns to ensure that Singapore remains a desired destination for inbound tourists, said Jeannie Lim, assistant chief executive of STB's policy and planning group.

Firms that have pivoted still look forward to the return of travel, she said. She cited the examples of a MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) firm that pivoted to digital events but expects demand for physical events to return; and a tour agency that repurposed its vehicle fleet for parcel delivery and has developed a logistics arm, but intends to retain its tourism business too.