SINGAPORE, 29 SEPTEMBER 2009—The executive recruitment consultancy Robert Walters released some key findings relating to the acceptance of contract work by jobseeking professionals from its Employee Insights Survey (EIS) on Monday (September 28). According to the survey: more than a third of Singapore candidates (31 per cent) said they would choose "a premium salary" as the key motivator for taking on a contract role; a quarter of them (25 per cent) will consider contracting if there are lack of permanent job options; and, 21 per cent see contracting as a means of getting "their foot into an industry/company that they really want to work for."
The EIS was conducted via email and asked 3,2000 professional candidates in Singapore (which made up 30.89 per cent of the total number of survey respondents), Malaysia (8.84 per cent), Hong Kong (21.06 per cent), China (29.84 per cent) and Thailand (3.05 per cent), a broad set of questions about how they see their jobs and career prospects. Respondents to the survey came from various sectors ranging from financial services to logistics. The industries represented most heavily in the survey were IT and technology (20.39 per cent of the total number of respondents), sales, marketing and communications (16.52 per cent), and banking (13.42 per cent).
Managing director of Robert Walters Singapore, Andrea Ross, noted that there has been a change in local attitudes toward contract work. "With the market being fairly turbulent, we are starting to see more Singaporeans being more open to contract roles," she said. "It is a refreshing change to see candidates taking on such contract assignments after retrenchment or switching from one contract to the other. Contracting can add great value to a contractor's CV as it helps to broaden their work experience, as well as build their skills, knowledge and expertise in various domain areas, as they are constantly being exposed to different organisations and functions."
Ross also expects this uptrend in contract work to continue. "We do envisage the steady increase of contract roles especially on the non-IT contract side well into 2010 due to a number of offshoring projects, particularly within financial services," she said.
Regional Picture
Highlights of the EIS results from elsewhere across the region include the following.
Percentage of respondents in Hong Kong who hope to find a new job in the next three months: 49. The corresponding figure for all five countries: 42.25.
Percentage of those in China who expect to receive more bonus this year than last: 40. All five countries: 25.24.
Percentage of those in Hong Kong who think they will not receive any bonus for 2009: 37. All five countries: 24.84.
Percentage of Malaysian candidates who expect more than a 20 per cent increase in salary when moving to a new job: 35. All five countries: 26.44.
Percentage of those in Thailand who think it is important to change jobs only after five years or more: 30. All five countries: 25.91.
Percentage of all respondents who said there was no change in their salaries in 2009: 52 per cent. All five countries: 51.95.
