SINGAPORE - A manpower survey released today has revealed that 37 per cent of employers in Singapore struggle to fill job positions; compared to the global average of 34 per cent.

ManpowerGroup's seventh annual Talent Shortage Survey found that the jobs Singapore employers have most difficulty filling are production operators, accounting and finance staff and engineers.

For another consecutive year, engineers and sales representatives have stayed on the top ten chart as the most difficult roles to fill.

Common reasons cited by Singapore employers are the lack of available applicants (38 per cent) and lack of technical competencies (14 per cent).

When asked what strategies employers were pursuing to overcome their difficulties filling positions, the most common responses were to partner with educational institutions to align with talent needs, focus more on improving pipelines and providing additional training and development to existing staff to fill vacancies.

ManpowerGroup warned that if employers resign themselves to their inability to source for the skilled talent they need to grow their businesses, it will threaten to derail business plans for years to come.

Jobs most in demand in 2012 Click on thumbnail to view