The Singaporean finance and insurance sectors hired more employees in the second quarter of 2018, as the sectors drove the growth of the country’s economy.
That was the verdict of the Randstad Banking Market Outlook Q2 2018 report, which added that banks and insurers have focused on growing their frontline sales personnel, such as agents, as part of the expansion of their retail and wealth management businesses.
According to Randstad, competition is strong, especially in the bancassurance and investment product segments.
“While banks are driving towards digitisation to replace over-the-counter (OTC) service, the advisory business continues to rely on their sales force to help them attain market share,” the global HR services firm said in its report. Relationship managers are one of the most sought-after positions, with the financial advisory industry remaining strong despite massive advances in automation.
The high demand for finance professionals, however, does not mean that there is less focus on the quality of hires. Randstad noted that the talent selection process has become more stringent, and hiring managers have increased their recruitment budgets to make sure they bring in the best talent.
This means that prospective entrants to the finance and insurance industries must ensure that they have sufficient and up-to-date skills.
“Financial professionals with experience in regulatory reporting were highly sought-after in both project capacity and BAU reporting,” the report said.
