SINGAPORE – Individuals can now better understand job trends using a new online platform launched on Nov 17 by SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG).

This is the first time the agency has made available the online data used in its analyses of the job market.

From the new Jobs Skills Dashboard (go.gov.sg/sdfe-dashboard), the public can see the number and type of industries hiring specific job roles and the top hiring industries based on the number of job postings.

It will also list top companies from different industries that are hiring for job roles an individual is interested in, and the common skills listed in relevant job postings. This will allow job seekers to see if they have the skills that employers are looking for, and plan how to upgrade their skills.

The dashboard will also filter by salary range for the job roles, to give job seekers a better idea of whether the job’s salary range meets their expectations.

The data was collected from 4.9 million online job postings from the third quarter of 2022 to the second quarter of 2023, and it will continue to be updated quarterly. It includes both public- and private-sector jobs.

Ms Jaya Dass, managing director for permanent recruitment at Randstad Asia-Pacific, said the information in the dashboard would be useful for workers who have been retrenched or out of work due to a skills gap, as it allows them to search for jobs with a clear understanding of the labour demand and supply in the market.

She added: “From the platform, they will understand the skills employers are looking for and develop a much more targeted and beneficial upskilling self-learning programme.”

However, skills and salary matching criteria are often more nuanced based on industry and company requirements, and the maturity of the individual’s capabilities, she said.

This is especially true for skilled and experienced individuals who are already working in high-demand jobs and are more specific in their job requirements and salary expectations, she noted.

SSG’s annual Skills Demand for the Future Economy report released on Nov 17 also encourages workers to consider a “multi-step approach” to finding jobs, which is to take up adjacent job roles as a stepping stone to the ones they hope to eventually land.

The report, which was launched by Minister of State for Education and Manpower Gan Siow Huang, highlighted six job roles that accounted for 74 per cent of job postings from 2019 to 2022. These are enrolled nurses, courseware developers, data analysts, security engineers, process engineers and business development managers.

The report said that these job roles were said to be better suited for those who want to make a career transition, compared with other roles. This is because the six roles offer more entry-level positions and require technical skills that are easier to attain. There is also room for career progression through these roles and opportunities to diversify job tasks.

Ms Gan said that SSG has been working with training providers to ramp up the number of career transition programmes to support mid-career workers to join sectors with good hiring opportunities. To date, there are about 180 SkillsFuture Career Transition Programmes across all sectors, including the care, digital and green economies, she added.

Randstad’s Ms Jaya said that with new and emerging jobs in fields such as artificial intelligence and sustainability, employers are becoming more open to hiring candidates with transferable skills, as opposed to typically focusing on qualifications and direct experience.

“We are also observing younger generations of management leaders developing a stronger preference for transferable skills and adaptability when hiring,” she added.