Many industries have been affected by COVID-19 including tourism, F&B and retail. If yours has been hit, you might have had to job hunt for a new job all of a sudden or take on part-time work to tide you through this period. There’s the question of whether you […]
Many industries have been affected by COVID-19 including tourism, F&B and retail. If yours has been hit, you might have had to job hunt for a new job all of a sudden or take on part-time work to tide you through this period.
There’s the question of whether you should wait out the pandemic and hope that things return to normal, or take courses and upgrade your skills so that you can change industries or become more employable.
If you’ve made the decision to do so, your next question is what skills to acquire.
A recent survey conducted by NTUC LearningHub made some findings about the skills that employers are looking for. More specifically, more than 200 employers in Singapore were quizzed about the skills they considered most valuable in keeping their businesses viable during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are some takeaways that can guide you in your skills upgrading choices.
Information Communications Technology (ICT) skills are in-demand
The pandemic has shut down business premises and cut off customer flows as people stay home. For many businesses, that has meant turning to the internet in order to earn revenue. The demand for ICT skills has also evolved with new technologies. For instance, 3D printing has had an impact on the design process as well as supply chains.
So, it’s no surprise that 58% of the employers surveyed wanted to equip their workforce with more general tech-related skills.
The top digital skills identified by employers in the survey include digital marketing, project management, data analysis and basic IT support, in that order.
Now, that doesn’t mean that you should quit your job and start training to become a data analyst or developer (unless that’s what you really want to do). It does mean, however, that you should think about the tech skills that would be useful in your desired industry.
As the survey found, the top ICT skills coveted by employers vary according to industry. For instance, in the built environment industry (including construction and architecture), the top skill was project management. Data analysis was the top skill for employers in manufacturing, while employers in the lifestyle industry valued digital marketing the most.
Soft skills give you an edge
The pandemic is throwing lots of businesses into turmoil and requiring them to abruptly change up the way they do things. That could be why 65% employers identified soft skills as a top priority for their workforce, making this the most desired quality in the survey.
What are soft skills anyway?
Under the umbrella of soft skills, the top skill coveted by employers was “adaptability and resilience”, a clear indication that they’re looking for people who can comfortably run with and lead the changes necessitated by COVID-19, such as working from home and carrying out work efficiently.
Other sought after soft skills included teamwork and collaboration, innovation and effective communication.
It’s difficult to define and measure ‘soft skills’, but the survey findings seem to suggest that employers are now less keen to hire employees who are good at following orders but are unable to adapt to sudden changes.
So how do you ‘prove’ that you have good soft skills? Having a broad range of skill sets and work experience that emphasises teamwork and communication might now be a plus, even if not directly required by your job scope.
Any prior experience with remote working and leading digital teams is also going to be an advantage, as employers struggle with managing staff working from home.
If you’re looking for courses that can improve your soft skills, look out for those that improve communication and teamwork skills. If you’re at a more senior level, you’ll want to sharpen your leadership and management abilities.
More jobs to be created in tech sector
Lots of jobs are going to be lost as the pandemic runs its course, but the government is also scrambling to create new ones. So what are these new jobs going to be?
Unsurprisingly, tech is going to play a big role in the new employment market. In fact, the government intends to create 5,500 placements in tech-related jobs over the next two to three years through the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSa) and TeSa Mid-Career Advance Programme, which will place-and-train Singaporeans in tech-related jobs such as digital marketing and software engineering
