Singapore: Alternate Ways to Hire

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Sometimes hiring a full-time worker is not what your company needs, sometimes it is not what your company can afford at the moment. Developments in the business world coupled with the pandemic fast-tracking the pace of digitalization, technology has expanded many avenues of employment. Be it the avenues where employers look for candidates, or the avenues in which job seekers may seek employment. In this day and age, it’s no longer just posting in the newspaper or directly inviting candidates to show up in the office out of the blue. 

Different companies, different needs. So here are some hiring avenues that are available to companies within Singapore, and the differences it entails. 

Posting on job sites 

Employers and their HR teams can post on job sites or places like Linkedin in order to attract prospective employees. In the age of the internet, posting advertisements in the newspapers might not capture much attention from the right audiences. Reaching out on the internet – especially for jobs that require one to be tech-savvy – is the fastest and most efficient way to reach out to a wide range of audiences. However, the sheer amount of job search sites out there may make it difficult to cover all your bases when looking for the right candidate for the job. 

Through a third party 

Singapore has a wide plethora of recruitment agencies and staffing companies. They serve as the middleman between job seekers and employers. For employers wishing to save on recruitment costs, and depending on the size of a company, it may be more equitable to look for new employees through a third party instead. But what about higher level positions, such as executives and managers? Link Compliance’s recruitment solutions are more than capable of doing exactly that. Our connections with specific industries, IT, retail, biotech and finance allows us to be the first in the know whenever a capable talent is ready to look for their next employment. Our specialisation in these fields allow us to match the perfect higher-level candidates for your company’s needs — and we do it all for cheap too. 

Offshoring 

Somewhat related to hiring through a third party, employers can consider moving certain work offshore too, allowing even greater cost savings in terms of exchange rate differences, not needing to find an office space locally and more. Linkthecoder allows Singaporean firms to temporarily hire IT talents from Malaysia, our neighbour. This means little to no barrier in terms of communication and work culture, and much cost savings too. This particular versatile service can cater to short term projects such as any one-off website development, or a long-term relationship requiring the IT talent to aid in areas impacting business goals. 

Links to visit: 

Link Compliance – Recruitment Solutions 

Link the Coder – Hire IT Abroad Today 

Update to Retrenchment Policies in Singapore

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The Ministry of Manpower (MoM) Singapore has stated that employers in firms with more than 10 employees are required to notify MoM whenever an employee is retrenched. 

This would come into effect November 1 onwards. 

The policy in place before only required employers to notify MoM if five or more employees are entrenched within a six-month period (a retrenchment exercise) – now an employer is all it takes. 

The employer would be given five days to notify MoM via an online platform from the day in which the notice for retrenchment is given to the employee. Employers are to pay all salaries, including unused annual leave, notice pay, etc., to their employees on their last day of work. 

This is part of COVID-19 support measures pushed out by the government, such that the government and relevant offices would be able to step in to assist the affected employee to provide employment and job search support. 

However, one would have to take note that this is for retrenchment/termination, and not for “forced resignation”. 

As many have pointed out, some employers do resort to unscrupulous means such as making work life miserable for the employee in order to cause the employee to “voluntarily” resign instead of the employer having to terminate the employee. 

In Singapore, while there are no exact requirements in law, employers are generally advised to provide retrenchment benefits for employees, especially for those who served the company for more than two years. The employee may be eligible for two weeks to a month worth of salary per year of service, as per stated in the employment contract. Employees who serve below two years may be entitled to an ex-gratia payment, dependent on the goodwill of the employer. 

Resignations do not incur the same costs, as they are classified differently from retrenchments, hence the push from some employers for employees to “resign” instead. On the other hand, a termination also looks worse on record for the employee, even though it may unfortunately be a more common occurrence within COVID-19 times. 

Overall, it is advised that employers take careful considerations whenever they retrench an employee, or conduct a retrenchment exercise. Notifying the stakeholders early would aid affected employees in searching for employment elsewhere as soon as possible. Retrenching is a difficult topic to manage for both employers and employees, but it is only fair for employers to do their best in reducing the negative effects the employee may face. 

References: 

https://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/retrenchment/responsible-retrenchment

Hong Kong Open to Tech Talents

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As part of China’s Greater Bay Area, alongside with other regions such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau, Hong Kong is certainly stepping up in terms of tech prospects. Despite being known as more of a finance hub, Hong Kong’s development in the tech industry — FinTech in particular — should not be overlooked. In fact, as of 2021, there are 568 FinTech companies in Hong Kong. 

Hence, this forms the reason why Hong Kong is actively recruiting tech talents across the world, through the Technology Talent Admission Scheme (TechTAS). This scheme allows companies to employ tech talents across the sea, going beyond borders to find the best tech talents suited for the company. Hong Kong employers would need to apply for a quota, and once allotted that quota, overseas tech talents can find themselves employed in Hong Kong faster than ever. To find out the full details of this scheme, do visit the link below.  

This scheme is particularly targeted towards tech talents engaging in the conducting of R&D in the areas of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cybersecurity, data analytics, financial technologies, material science, robotics, 5G communications, digital entertainment, green technology, integrated circuit design, Internet-of-Things or microelectronics. 

Though China may be making strong developments in tech, Hong Kong’s business friendly environment as well as general proficiency in English makes her an attractive prospect for overseas tech talents. The government’s heavy investment in FinTech as well as the more B2B approach of tech research also sets Hong Kong apart from major developments in the Greater Bay Area, also hosting equally formidable tech companies. Other recent developments such as reclaiming the position of host city for well-known tech conference – Rise – indicates that there is a bright and attractive future for tech talents waiting in Hong Kong. 

Links and references: 

https://www.itc.gov.hk/en/fund_app/techtas/about_techtas.html

https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/02/tech/hong-kong-rise-2022-malaysia-intl-hnk/index.html

Hong Kong’s Economy Improving, But Has Yet to Return to Pre-COVID-19 Levels

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Despite improvements in various sectors, Hong Kong’s bustling economy has yet to make a complete recovery from the covid-19 pandemic, said Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan Mo-po. 

According to reports from the government, the rate of unemployment has fallen from 7.2% at the start of the year to 5% as of August. The rate of underemployment has also fallen from 4% at the start of the year to 2.4% as of August. 

Different sectors of the economy are recovering at their own paces too. The rate of unemployment in hospitality and retail related industries has fallen from the peak of 11% at the start of the year to 7.2%. Other sectors such as the construction industry, the arts, entertainment and recreation are also showing clear signs of improvement. 

Still, as compared to the pre-COVID level of 5.2%, the rate of unemployment in retail and hospitality are 2% higher. 

There is hope that with the issuance of consumer vouchers, domestic spending on goods would increase and boost the economy. The economy is indeed slowly, but certainly recovering. However, all of these would be for naught if the country and her residents do not comply with Covid-19 measures. The Financial Secretary also called for cooperation by beseeching Hong Kong residents to go for vaccination, as protection against COVID-19 solidifies the foundation for the economy to make a full recovery, back to the way it once was or even better. 
 

Article referenced: 

http://news.cctv.com/2021/08/22/ARTIbOS5rJ71nP5XUY3jYkR7210822.shtml  

Going Robotic in China – What Does It Mean for Employment?

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Robots have always been envisioned as an inseparable part of human lives, especially in far-fetched science fiction in societies hundreds or even thousands of years ahead of us. However, there have already been worries that robots will replace jobs once occupied by actual living humans. Already, we can see factories utilizing giant sophisticated machines to automate production and repetitive tasks. 

This spells a different tune for China, where heavy reliance on cheap human labor once gave it a huge advantage, now seeing a decline. Compared to other countries like Vietnam where workers are paid a net salary of 206USD/month and Malaysia where workers are paid a net salary of 538USD/month, China’s labor costs for workers have risen to 635USD/month — meaning, it is losing its competitive edge in labor costs, which is expected as even the country’s poorest regions are catching up with the rest of the country, development-wise.  

In fact, robots have been found to be cheaper than employing actual humans. Chinese manufacturers are bemoaning that it has become more expensive to hire than ever, with an example of Guangdong’s manufacturing workers seeing an increase in net salary by 5.8% from 2013 to 2014, an increase of 8.3% from 2014 to 2015, and so on and so forth. In 2014 to 2015, the number of employments in Guangdong’s manufacturing industry had dropped by 6.3%. 

As for actual robot usage rates, Guangdong had reported that 10% of the studied corporations utilized robots, and 40% are using automated machines (a slightly different organism from robots). Industry-wise, manufacture of machine parts, manufacture of electronic devices and manufacture of metals have the higher rates of robot usage. In Hubei, front line factory workers faced the highest unemployment rates, while technical design workers saw an increase in employment rate. 

So, what does all these numbers ultimately come down to? The researchers asserted within the study, that a loss in labor cost competitiveness doesn’t necessarily mean that China would lose out in manufacturing, as the country already has a well-established industry chain of production. However, the reality that robots are replacing employment is closer than ever; or rather, it is already here. 

As seen from the example of Hubei, people possessing technical skills in building and designing robots would likely gain an advantage in employment and are in fact more irreplaceable than ever. Not just robots, but tech talents in general can only see a brighter and brighter future ahead — provided that they keep themselves updated on the latest skill sets and technologies, of course. People possessing soft skills, such as communication skills are less likely to lose their jobs to robots and automation too, which is why job positions in levels such as managers will never find themselves extinct. 

China’s case of slowly losing labor costs competitiveness is inevitable, but at the same time, it opens doors to tech talents. As suggested by a researcher from Stanford University, China’s manufacturing industry should look towards developing their technologies instead of heavily relying on cheap labor to save costs. 

Articles referenced: 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jun/26/jobs-future-automation-robots-skills-creative-health

https://new.qq.com/omn/20210826/20210826A09WWJ00.html

Malaysians More Productive in 2021 Q2 & Increased Employment Opportunities

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Despite the covid-19 pandemic, Malaysians have proved themselves to be resilient and the labor force saw an increase of productivity. Labor productivity is measured in value added per employment, and a report has detailed that a turnaround to 13.6% has occurred. 
 

An explanation given was that the increase in productivity is due to the comparison from the lower base registered a year ago, when it was in the negatives, a figure of around -16.1%. Unemployment has also improved by 2.2%, an impressive feat for a country still fighting against the pandemic and going through political upheaval as of current. 

Meanwhile, a small improvement in unemployment isn’t enough, as the authorities clearly have more ambitious goals. The Social Security Organization (Socso) will organize the International Public Employment Forum 2021 (IPEF 2021) in September, consisting of three programs — all free of charge, open to all — aiming to assist more unemployed persons to land themselves a job.  
 

One such program would be the Career Fair, held from September 7 to September 9, where more than 20,000 jobs from 126 employers would be up for the offering. This event is expected to draw large crowds, especially in the uncertain future of covid-19. 

Alternatively, one does not necessarily need to wait till such events are held in order to find job opportunities at their doorsteps; why fight the crowd when a few clicks online in the right places can land you your very next dream job? Link Compliance also offers job search services, especially if your talents are the perfect match for the industry. Remote-working arrangements are perfectly welcome too. Do check out Link Compliance’s career page to find out more today. 

Articles referenced: 

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/08/18/statistics-dept-malaysias-labour-productivity-in-q2-2021-turned-around-to-1/1998608

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/08/26/international-public-employment-forum-2021-to-help-revive-countrys-labour-s/2000730

Increased Youth Unemployment Rate in China

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Prospects are not looking too good for freshly graduated youths in China; 16.2% of the people aged between 16 and 24 were reported unemployed in July against 15.4% in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.  

There are a couple of factors that led to this rise in youth unemployment rate. Firstly, a recent crackdown on for-profit tuition (a $100bn industry in China) which bans companies from making profit on subjects in the national curriculum, also an industry where up to 17% of freshly minted graduates head to after university, means that a significant portion of youths will find themselves unable to secure a job after graduation. Disasters such as the on-going covid-19 crisis which affects the economy and the country as a whole, as well as floods in Henan further impedes job-seeking and employment. A record high of 9 million youths set to graduate from university in 2021 also skews the data ever more so, hence compounded with all the factors above, makes for some grim numbers in youth unemployment rate. 

That is not to say that there are no measures taken or help given to assist youths in their hunt for a job. In 2020, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has put in place 5 measures to assist graduating youths, and it is plausible that these measures will remain in place in order to manage this issue. The five measures include following up with students to personally assist in their search for a job, expanding the avenues into new job roles by encouraging smaller companies to open up to graduates, increasing the frequency of hiring events, encouraging entrepreneurship and additional financial support in relation to it, and lastly additional skills training if needed for particular roles. 

It is always important to have fresh blood in a company, as young people’s familiarity with technology would prove to be of great convenience in this digital age, and greater capacity for learning of new knowledge all make them valuable assets with great potential. Employers hiring in China should consider youths too. 

References: 

https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/national-bureau-of-statistics-report-says-unemployment-rate-among-chinese-youth-increased20210820000948/

https://www.ft.com/content/d2a6fab8-2cf7-49f4-9027-ee18a064715f

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3145275/china-jobs-market-remains-top-priority-record-number

China’s New Law Governing Personal Data and Its Relation to Employment

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Personal data is valuable, depending on who you ask. While ordinary people fill in particulars on social media such as their age, gender, and employment status without a second thought, marketers and advertisers would happily pay a high price for the sale of such information to them — and companies who own this information are more than happy to “sell” them. China’s tech giants, such as Alibaba, have benefitted from the wealth of personal data they have access to. Increasingly invasive collection of personal data, illegal sale of personal data and other malicious practices has seen a worrying rise, with businesses requiring information such as personal identification number, marital status and other unnecessary details for something as simple as registering a membership card for a particular store. With that, as of today, Beijing has passed the bill for Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), which starts from November 1st 2021, partially in hopes of regulating the amount of power various tech giants hold, as well as protecting the interests of the common people. 
 

The PIPL will be the first comprehensive set of laws of regulations governing the collection and usage of personal data in China. This will ban various predatory practices, such as “Big Data Swindling”, which causes old customers to face exorbitant prices for a product or a service compared to new customers. Applications would not be allowed to automatically assume that the consumer has opted for personalized advertising as default, or at the very least, they will have to provide short and obvious avenues to disable such personalization. Individual consent would be required for usage and collection of information such as biological data, financial accounts and more. In terms of employment, this greatly reduces the room for exploitation in areas such as job-search; imagine a job-seeker innocently searching for a job on a website which utilizes the power of AI and personal data — what they do not know is that the website has already gained access to information that suggests that the job-seeker is in dire straits, financially speaking, and is desperate for a job. Or that the job-seeker is a green youth, fresh out of university and in need of employment. The AI thus pushes lower paying, potentially predatory jobs that offer less benefits, in hope that someone would be desperate enough to take it up, instead of more high paying jobs. Of course, this article is not an accusation that this is happening, but merely pointing out the room for exploitation excessive usage of personal data can lead to. The point is, increased regulation on personal data benefits all by ensuring fairer chances and more equality, extending to areas of employment. 
 

Similar to other regions like Hong Kong and Singapore, with their own laws governing personal data in place, employers and headhunters hence would have to be more careful when collecting and using data for recruitment and management of employees. Employers could look at practices in place in these areas for references to measures that could be taken in order to safeguard employee and potential candidates’ personal data, or perhaps consult our legal advisory in handling these issues. 

References: 

http://www.npc.gov.cn/npc/c30834/202010/569490b5b76a49c292e64c416da8c994.shtml 

https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1708579473848438549&wfr=spider&for=pc

http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2021-08/17/c_1127768239.htm 

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/20/china-passes-key-data-protection-law-as-regulatory-scrutiny-increases.html

Singapore: Relaxation in Foreign Worker Hiring Rules

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As a small country scarce in resources — in all senses of the word— Singapore relies heavily on manpower and a smart economy for the country to function. Unfortunately, as with the common trend in many developed countries, Singapore also faces low birth rates, so low that it is insufficient to replace the ageing population. In lieu of that, nearly half of Singapore’s population is made up of foreigners, with people engaging in sort of work, such as expats occupying executive positions, or laborers working away at construction sites. Naturally, in order to protect local interests and livelihoods, the Singaporean government has put in place laws that limit the number of certain work permits that are given out to foreign labor, as well as adjusting the quota according to the needs of the economy and the general circumstances.

With that being said, Singapore has temporarily relaxed foreign hiring rules, in particular for foreign workers in the construction, marine shipyard and process (CMP) sectors, in a move to ease the labor crunch Singapore is facing currently. Instead of immediately being repatriated upon the termination of their labor contracts, experienced workers are now given the allowance of up to 30 days to find a new job under a different company. Other restrictions such as validity of work-passes, requirements placed on the minimum portion of higher skilled foreign workers under a company, and skipping of Stay Home Notice periods for talents arriving from certain countries are all moves made to retain foreign labor to the greatest extent possible under Singapore laws.

All of the above applies to the CMP sector. For foreign workers, or expatriates, the situation in Singapore remains grim. According to a Ministry of Manpower data, the number of employment passes (only issued to professional roles paying above 4500 SGD) issued in 2020 fell by 8.6% from the previous years, and with the country intermittently tightening pandemic measures, relaxation of hiring laws may not fall upon expatriates and foreign highly paid professionals yet.

Article referenced:

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-to-temporarily-relax-foreign-worker-hiring-rules-mom

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-29/singapore-s-angst-over-expats-forces-simmering-political-debate

Malaysia: a Hidden Gem for Tech Talents

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Despite recent developments such as worsening of the covid-19 situation, Malaysia still remains a land ripe with opportunities, if one knows where to look. In the case of graduating students, they find themselves in a dilemma: how should they find a job? Covid-19 has already ravaged the economy ever since 2020, and compared to the last quarter of 2019, under-employment rate actually rose by 35.8%, too many brilliant talents are going to waste before the very eyes. Youth unemployment rate has also risen to 12%, nearly 5 times worse than the middle-age category. The epidemic has also resulted in many job roles unfulfilled, the importance of jobs that offer remote working as well as working from home arrangements are also increased. Thus, even in their job search, they would likely pay attention to jobs offering work from home arrangements too.

Hailing from universities such as the University of Malaya and the National University of Malaysia, which offer courses that cover tech-related courses such as engineering, information technology and AI technology, these graduates are tech talents ready to be hired by the workforce, all thanks to foundations laid out by the Malaysian government in digitalization, in preparation for the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”. Yet, a tough labor market and a subsequent surge in difficulty in gaining employment are causing these talents to go to waste, hence turning them into “hidden gems”. Not only do they have the skills, a lifetime of growing up in a multilingual environment has enabled Malaysians to master two or even more languages, depending on their ethnicities and upbringing. Malaysian Chinese also have access to one of the most complete Chinese-medium education beyond China, allowing them to have mastery over the language. They are thus ideal candidates for companies who may be working and interacting heavily with Chinese clients. Pro-Bumiputera policies have also encouraged them to expand their horizons in terms of job search, with many Malaysian Chinese gaining employment across the border, in Singapore. Overall, Malaysia provides a rich pool of tech talents, ready and looking for employment.

However, in lieu of policies and restrictions on the number of foreign workers allowed in the workplace, especially in Singapore, how should one get around to hiring Malaysian talents? Link Compliance’s PEO (Professional Employment Organization) services may be what you’re looking for. We can serve as the EoR (Employer on Record), allowing clients to hire across borders, stretching the potential of remote-working to the fullest. The tech crunch in Singapore also means that tech talents in Malaysia are a viable alternative, in terms of reduced cultural and language differences too. So what are you waiting for? Consider hiring tech talents from Malaysia, dust off the hidden gems, and kill two birds with one stone today.