The future is bright for Singaporean IT workers looking to benefit from the flexibility that contract work can bring to professionals in the workplace
Singaporean IT workers enjoy flexibility, diversity and richer skills from contract work
- 94% of Singaporean CIOs are planning to increase their temporary IT headcount in their company by an average of 17% over the next 12 months.
- Demand for contract IT workers is strongest within IT security (44%), database management (44%) and software/application development (32%).
- The main drivers behind hiring temporary professionals: increased flexibility (57%), challenges finding the requisite skills on a permanent basis (56%) and cost efficiency (49%).
The future is bright for Singaporean IT workers looking to benefit from the flexibility that contract work can bring to professionals in the workplace. New independent research commissioned by specialised recruiter Robert Half shows the majority (94%) of Singaporean CIOs are planning to increase their contract IT headcount by an average of 17% over the next 12 months, highlighting potential new employment possibilities for contract IT professionals in Singapore.
The functional areas where contract IT workers are most in demand are IT security and database management (44%), software/application development (32%), technical support and operations (24%) and business analysis (23%).
Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Managing Director at Robert Half Singapore said: “The dynamic of the Asian workplace is changing. Singaporean IT leaders are increasingly realising the benefits of flexible staffing. By balancing staff headcount with a dynamic mix of permanent and temporary IT professionals, companies cannot only maintain business continuity and manage new projects, this approach is also beneficial to optimise cost efficiencies and fill essential skills gaps as it gives employers access to a much larger pool of IT talent.”
“This increased flexibility, based on the right mix of skillsets to meet strategic and operational requirements, gives companies access to the skills they require throughout the year based on their organisation's needs, making contract IT workers an indispensable part of the technology workforce in Singapore.”
The benefits of temporary staffing for companies
The increased flexibility offered by hiring temporary professionals without putting pressure on staff headcount is the primary driver for more than half (57%) of CIOs who are adding to their temporary staff headcount, closely followed by challenges relating to sourcing candidates with the required IT skillsets on a permanent basis (56%). Another prime motivator is cost-efficiency (49%) – indicating financial motivators are a key incentive behind hiring temporary staff. More than one in three (37%) say the hiring process of contract workers is faster, and 24% refer to a lack of financial resources to hire permanent employees as being a main driver for hiring more temporary IT staff.
“Despite the changing face of the modern workplace, some IT professionals may be hesitant in accepting contract work due to perceived uncertainties in relation to job security. Yet the benefits of temporary work often outweigh any potential downfalls, as many employers use temporary contracts as a way of trialling workers before offering permanent employment. Furthermore, contract workers not only enjoy more flexibility in their career, they generally also work for many different organisations, thereby gaining a broad portfolio of experience and skills as they expose themselves to multiple projects and job functions,” concluded Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard.
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About the research
The annual study is developed by Robert Half and conducted in June-July 2017 by an independent research company, surveying 75 CIOs/CTOs in Singapore. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management and trends in the workplace.
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