Times are tough and many are willing to do whatever it takes to get a new gig
Over three in five jobseekers in Singapore are willing to undergo retraining to land a new job. Unlike in other countries, age isn’t as much a barrier in going through a reskilling exercise. The recent study found that silver workers aged 61 and above are the most willing group of professionals to retrain. Overall, about one in three professionals here are willing to do it ‘should the need arises’.
Interestingly, the group that’s least willing to go through retraining are early career professionals in their 20s. Regardless, only two percent of workers said they’re completely against retraining of any sort when applying for a different job.
In the past year, workers have been taking steps to upgrade their skills. Just under half (46%) of workers said that they’ve spent at least a few weeks per year or more learning, while 47% said they’ve spent a few days or hours a year doing so. The most popular modes of workplace learning were:
- On-the-job training (85%)
- Online educational institutions (51%)
- Self-study (46%)
The increased desire to upskill could be due to the high levels of economic uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. It could also be due to the accelerated digitalisation of almost every sector, which has led to growing concerns around automation. Jobstreet found that since the crisis, 61% of workers have become more concerned that they’d be replaced by technology. Increased concern is especially common among people who work at financial institutions, telecommunications or insurance companies.
The global study was conducted in partnership with SEEK Asia, Boston Consulting Group and The Network and had a total of 6,280 respondents in Singapore.
