15 jobs on the rise in Singapore

LinkedIn has unveiled its list of top 15 jobs on the rise in Singapore, and the marketing and advertising industry are seemingly in high demand. Ranking number five is social media/digital marketing jobs. According to LinkedIn, the roles that are on the rise are social media coordinator, chief growth officer, social media strategist, growth manager, as well as search engine optimisation (SEO) specialist. For these positions, the skills required are in the aspects of digital marketing, SEO, Google analytics, keyword research, and social media marketing. 

This trend is unsurprising given the boom in digitalisation during the pandemic-hit year. LinkedIn also found that COVID-19 served to accelerate the use of technology amongst Singaporeans. Google's "Flight to digital" report showed that one in three (approximately 36%) of all digital service consumers are new to the service due to COVID-19. Furthermore, 94% of new digital service consumers intend to continue with the service post-pandemic. This has fueled a demand for talent skilled in logistics, warehousing and supply chain management, as companies strived to provide seamless service from point of sale to delivery, according to LinkedIn. 

Along with professionals with digital capabilities, companies are also looking for data science specialists, which ranked 11th position on LinkedIn's list of top 15 jobs on the rise. These specialists require skills such as machine learning, python (programming language), data science, and natural language processing. 

The search for employees with digital marketing capabilities is not new. Earlier in August 2020, the industry saw a high demand for campaign managers, digital marketing executives, digital marketing managers, digital marketing specialists, and account managers. According to a report by Kelly Services Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore, a campaign manager, which is the highest in demand, was seeing a pay range from SG$3,800 to SG$6,200. Meanwhile, digital marketing professionals see drastic difference based on the level of the position. While a digital marketing executive is earning SG$2,800 to SG$4,700, a digital marketing manager is earning SG$6,000 to SG$11,000. A digital marketing specialist in comparison is earning SG$4,500 to SG$6,000.

Besides future-proofing its businesses by entering the digital space, the year 2020 has also led brands to see the need for good customer experience to attract and retain consumers. This is reflected in LinkedIn's top 15 list, where jobs around customer service ranked eighth. These jobs include client service associate, client service analyst, customer care officer, and customer support specialist. For these jobs, the skills employers required are in client services, customer experience, customer support, customer relationship management, and also the Salesforce platform.

Additionally, creative capabilities are found to be on the rise in demand. Online content was listed as the 10th job scope on the rise, with jobs such as YouTube personalities, videographers, film producers, content coordinators, and video editors being sought after. The skillset in this rising industry include content strategy, Adobe premiere pro, video editing, and videography. According to LinkedIn, this comes as the company also saw consumers are reported by Google to be spending as much as an average of 4.5 hours online each day at the height of lockdown.

Here is the full list of LinkedIn's top 15 jobs on the rise:

1. Healthcare/medical (support)
2. Education  
3. Logistics and supply chain
4. Healthcare/medical (frontline)
5. Social media / digital marketing
6. Finance
7. Specialised engineering 
8. Customer service
9. Professional and personal coaches
10. Online content
11. Data science
12. Social worker
13. Mental health specialist
14. Business development and sales
15. Cyber security

Despite COVID-19, LinkedIn said that traditional roles such as finance, business development and customer service, have maintained their level of demand and even expanded in the number of roles, in some cases. For example, organisations that experienced a greater demand for their products and services have had to expand their business development and sales capabilities. Customer service professionals, too, have had to be multifaceted in responding to customer feedback, and proactively working with consumers to understand their changing or evolving needs.

The job search platform also noticed a rise in demand for online education and coaching, as well as a demand for educators with digital skills. This comes as education was one of the most disrupted sectors as most of the world went into lockdown and schools and institutions physically closed, and had to transition their methods of teaching and content onto digital platforms. 

Additionally, the year 2020 was also the year that saw many workers retrenched, and are looking to repurpose their existing skills set in new employment. As a result, LinkedIn saw a demand for coaches who were skilled in communication, career and life advice, indicated by a demand for communications and career coaches.

(Photo courtesy: 123RF)

Related Articles:
16 top voices on LinkedIn Singapore
LinkedIn: Empathy and diversity to form the crux of employer branding when hiring in 2021
LinkedIn: Top 10 SG startups you should keep your eye out for