Hospitality and support services still in demand

Were you retrenched, and still looking for a job? Why not try being in the service and hospitality sector?

Find out more from below news...

-----

Labour report
Hot spots for jobs

Leong Wee Keat
weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

TAKING care of guests and diners is not exactly the kind of job to get Singaporeans reaching for their resumes, but the hotel and restaurant sector looks set to be one of the bright spots for recruitment in the downturn.

And this goes for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) as well — the category of workers for whom recruitment dropped the most between October and December last year.

Hiring for hotels and restaurants was the highest among 11 sectors during the last three months of last year, according to a Ministry of Manpower (MOM) report.

The sector’s turnover rate was also the highest, with a resignation rate of 3.9 per cent, although turnover slowed down to 3.3 per cent in the last quarter.

Restaurant Association of Singapore president Ang Kiam Meng said restaurant employers are keen to hire in good and bad times, as they always face a lack of manpower. “I think people are getting into this industry out of no choice ... When times are good, (most) change to a higher pay or a job with better working conditions,” he told 938Live.

Another bright spot for job seekers: Administrative and support services. Recruitment for this sector — which includes employment activities, travel agencies and human resources — stood at 4.7 per cent last year. In a human resources update this week, recruitment agency Robert Walters said the sector “has seen an increase in the number of contract or project related positions”.

“Prior to the financial downturn, a majority of these positions were converted to permanent. However, this has become less common in view of current market conditions,” the report noted.

Robert Walters added that government ministries and statutory boards — which have seen a brain-drain of HR professionals to the private sector over the last two years — are seeing “a surge in job applications as candidates seek a more stable environment”.

The MOM report, Labour Turnover Time Series, which tracks recruitment and resignation over the last seven years, also shows fewer workers being hired. Recruitment in the final quarter last year fell to rates not seen since the days of Sars in 2003.

Human Resource and staffing solutions company Adecco noted that the Singapore job seeker is now “prepared to go that extra length to find the right position”.

“The half-hearted job seeker is something from the past,” said Adecco Southeast Asia regional director Lynne Ng. “The Singapore job seeker of today is focused, well researched and most definitely investing in their future. They understand the current job market situation and for the most part are aware of the work options open to them.”

From TODAY, News
Thursday, 02-April-2009