Lack of skills, global leadership exposure seen as barriers for senior-level hires

45% of employers cite skill gaps, 43% cite lack of global leadership exposure.

Lack of specialized skills and exposure to regional and global leadership remain major barriers to hiring Singaporeans and Permanent Residents (PRs) for senior-level roles, according to AmCham.

In its survey, AmCham reported nearly half of employers identified a lack of specialised skills as the top obstacle, whilst 43% pointed to limited exposure to regional and global leadership as a key challenge.

However, Manpower noted that these gaps have significantly decreased over the past two years, particularly exposure to overseas markets and regional or global operations.

Employers also identified a lack of necessary work experience (26%) and intense competition from other candidates (22%) as significant barriers to hiring.

For mid-to-senior roles, employers identified adaptability to new challenges (40%), creativity and critical thinking (37%) as the top challenges when recruiting Singaporeans and PRs.

Meanwhile, the gap in technical skills and job-specific knowledge has decreased significantly—by 30% since 2022—but it remains one of the top three challenges.

On the other hand, employers cited sales, marketing, and tech/IT positions as the most difficult roles to fill locally for Singaporeans and PRs.

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