Tech Roles Dominate Singapore Job Outlook in Finance

Technology continues to play a dominant role in the development of financial services in Singapore with related functions accounting for more than a quarter of job opportunities in the sector. Technology will continue to lead hiring demand in 2021, according to the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), with 1,700 hiring opportunities such opportunities within the financial sector.

This accounts for more than a quarter of the total 6,500 newly created positions for the year by financial institutions.

Technology has become central to how financial services are produced, distributed, and consumed, said MAS managing director Ravi Menon in a published statement. The Singapore financial sector has harnessed technology across a wide range of functions – from risk management, business analytics to customer service.

Within the fintech job market, software engineers were the highly demanded role by employers. Net job growth for software engineers in 2019 was 200, 10 times more than UI or UX designers. These jobs require strong programming skills and in-depth business domain and system knowledge, Menon said, noting that local citizens landed less than one-fifth of such jobs. There are not enough Singaporeans applying for these jobs in the first place, let alone qualifying for them.

Despite the tech focus, non-tech roles remained in demand especially in areas like relationship management, product sales, compliance, and risk management.

Relationship managers are will account for 1,300 jobs or 28 percent of hiring

Menon noted that demand will be underpinned by wealth management growth, highlighting expansion plans by major banks like Citi and DBS.

Overall, the financial sector posted net job growth of 2,200 in 2020 compared to a 180,000 net loss in the broader economy.

MAS expects momentum to continue with the sector expected to add 2,500 to 3,500 tech jobs each year over the medium term.

The size of the tech workforce within the sector is estimated to be 25,000, a 30 percent increase compared to 2014.