Employment within Singapore's fintech industry appears strong, with hiring expected to increase substantially over the coming 12 to 36 months.
Employment within Singapore’s fintech industry appears strong, with 42 percent of respondent firms reporting 30 or more employees, and a further 31 percent having between 11 to 30 employees. This is based on the joint survey 2019 by Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and PwC Singapore.
At the same time, demand for talent over the next 12-36 months is strong, with 94 percent of survey participants reporting intentions to expand their current workforce within the next 12 months and 28 percent of respondents expecting to double their headcount within the next 36 months.
«As a leading regional financial center and home to 40 percent of FinTech firms in ASEAN, job prospects in FinTech remain strong in the coming years with demand coming from both local firms and international firms that use Singapore as their gateway into ASEAN regions,» said Chia Hock Lai, President of SFA in a media statement on Monday.
Scope For Growth
Talent shortages appeared to be minimal across the industry, with 59 percent of respondents reporting no talent shortfall and only 21 percent of participants reporting a talent shortfall of 0 -25 percent across the 13 unique roles highlighted in the survey.
«We see great optimism and scope for growth in the coming years but in order to sustain this growth, we will need to have the right talent. With the rising demand for talent, it is unsustainable for FinTechs to solely count on bringing in foreign talent. It’s very important for Singapore to continue to train and equip our workforce with the right skills and mindset that will help the industry thrive in long run,» said Wong Wanyi, Partner specializing in fintech at PwC Singapore.
Job Opportunities In The Space
«One common reservation has been a lack of understanding of firms and job opportunities in Singapore’s FinTech industry, which we hope that this report will help address, and encourage more individuals to consider jobs in this space,» said Lydia Wee, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Banking & Finance with regards to survey.
Based on survey responses, the average FinTech firm in Singapore employs 10.8 employees with the largest components being in Software and Application Development, and Sales, Marketing and Business Development, having 43 percent and 22 percent respectively. Extrapolating survey results and applying industry estimates of 600 - 900 FinTech firms operating in Singapore, the industry as a whole employs roughly 6,500-10,000 employees in total.
