Disclaimer: Except in any other case acknowledged, any opinions expressed beneath belong solely to the creator. Information sourced from RGF Skilled Recruitment Wage Watch 2025.
Despite current media experiences proclaiming the finish of job-hopping for larger pay, it seems that some industries are nonetheless prepared to supply a bonus to certified individuals simply to poach them away from opponents—a minimum of in Singapore, in response to the not too long ago launched RGF’s Wage Watch 2025 report (RGF is part of a significant Japanese HR tech holding, Recruit Group, which additionally owns corporations like Certainly or Glassdoor).
The corporate focuses on mid-to-senior-level recruitment throughout 4 main business teams: Industrial Manufacturing, Client Items & Retail, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Company Companies—and that is what we’ve got information for right here.
Unyielding demand for expertise
The explanation Singapore may be a little bit of an outlier, whereas different international locations report narrowing gaps between job-switchers and dependable workers, is the compressed nature of the city-state.
It’s tightly full of many worldwide corporations, that are going through native shortages of expertise, even when they may be laying individuals off in different areas.
In line with an earlier survey by ManpowerGroup, Singapore’s expertise scarcity is among the many worst on the planet, as reported by a staggering 83% of employers. Little over a decade in the past, it was simply 25%.
It shouldn’t be a shock, then, that employers try to lure good candidates from different corporations by providing them a considerable reward for switching jobs.
Right here’s the breakdown by business, as supplied by RGF:
| Trade | Wage improve for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Client Items & Retail | 12% to fifteen% |
| Company Companies | 12% |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | 12% to 18% |
| Industrial Manufacturing | 10% |
As at all times, the last word supply, after all, is determined by the job and talent set of the rent. Listed below are the sizzling jobs in every of those industries for 2025:
Sizzling jobs & abilities
Client Items & Retail
| Division | Positions | Firm | Expertise in Demand | Wage improve for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Enterprise Technique & Industrial | Director / Supervisor / Supervisor | All | Market Evaluation, Gross sales Methods, Negotiation and Aggressive Intelligence, Monetary Acumen, Market Data, Contract Administration | 10% to fifteen% |
| Advertising & Branding | Director / Supervisor / Supervisor | All | Digital Content material Advertising, Search Engine Optimisation (search engine optimization), Information Analytics and Interpretation, Digital Advertising, Analytics Metrics, Competitor Evaluation | 10% to fifteen% |
| Gross sales & Enterprise Growth | Head / Supervisor / Senior Supervisor / Supervisor | All | Gross sales Forecasting, Budgeting, Strategic Partnerships, search engine optimization, ECommerce, Networking | 10% to fifteen% |
Company Companies
| Division | Positions | Firm | Expertise in Demand | Wage improve for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Finance & Accounting | CFO | Massive Native / World MNC HQ | Strategic Monetary Planning, Regulatory Compliance and Danger Administration, Capital Elevating and M&A | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | Money Movement Administration, Know-how and Information Analytics, Price Administration and Effectivity | 8% to 12% |
| — | Director | All | Strategic Monetary Planning, Regulatory Compliance and Danger Administration, Information Analytics and Monetary Know-how | 10% to fifteen% |
| Human Sources | CHRO | World MNC | World Expertise Administration, Digital HR Transformation, Strategic Workforce Planning | 15% to twenty% |
| — | — | Change Administration, Worker Engagement and Retention, Labour Relations and Compliance | Change Administration, Worker Engagement and Retention, Labor Relations and Compliance | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | HR Generalist Expertise, Expertise Acquisition and Growth, Price Administration | 8% to 12% |
| — | Director | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Change Administration, Worker Engagement and Retention, Labour Relations and Compliance | 10% to fifteen% |
| Authorized & Compliance | Director | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Regulatory Compliance and Danger Administration, Company Governance, Information Privateness and Cybersecurity | 10% to fifteen% |
| Normal Affairs, Admin & Secretary | Director | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Organizational and Venture Administration, Communication Expertise, Know-how Proficiency | 10% to fifteen% |
Healthcare and Life Sciences
| Division | Positions | Firm | Expertise in Demand | Wage improve for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Manufacturing & Operations | Director/ Supervisor/ Non-management | Massive Native/ World MNC HQ | Course of Optimisation, Lean Manufacturing, Six Sigma, Venture Administration, QA / QC, Technical Background in Engineering and Scientific | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | Excessive-Efficiency Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Formulation, Analytical Chemistry, Course of Growth | 10% to 12% |
| High quality | Director / Supervisor / Supervisor | Massive Native / World MNC HQ | High quality Administration Techniques, Good Manufacturing Observe (GMP), Root Trigger Evaluation | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | High quality Auditing, SOP Growth, Provider Growth, Course of Enchancment | 8% to 12% |
| Advertising | Director / Supervisor / Non-management | Massive Native / World MNC HQ | Market Analysis, Strategic Advertising, Built-in Advertising, Advertising Technique Growth | 10% to fifteen% |
| — | — | SME | Digital Advertising, Social Media Advertising, New Enterprise Growth | 10% to 12% |
| Gross sales | Director / Supervisor / Non-management | All | Gross sales Administration, Gross sales Processes, Buyer Relationship Administration (CRM), Gross sales Forecasting Instruments | 10% to 12% |
Industrial Manufacturing
| Division | Positions | Firm | Expertise in Demand | Wage improve for exterior hires in 2025 |
| Manufacturing, Manufacturing & Operation | Supervisor/ Supervisor | All | Analytical Expertise, Technical Competency in Every Area of Manufacturing, Steady Enchancment | 10% to fifteen% |
| Gross sales | Gross sales Administration, a Mixture of technical data and gross sales | All | Gross sales Administration, Mixture of technical data and gross sales | 10% to fifteen% |
As you may see, there appears to be one thing for nearly everyone. These with onerous technical or scientific abilities, these with delicate abilities in HR, these in gross sales and advertising, these in senior positions and people exterior of administration, in each massive corporations and SMEs alike.
For those who command the fitting abilities and there’s a demonstrable scarcity for abilities such as you, you may count on an incentive to modify from just below 10% all the best way as much as 20% in essentially the most beneficiant corporations.
With salaries in Singapore rising, on common, by single digits every year, leaping the boat continues to be tempting.
And even for those who like your present office, it doesn’t harm to buy round and discover out what you may be actually value, earlier than coming again to your employer to barter a much bigger increase to remain slightly than depart. Good luck!
- Learn different articles we’ve written on job developments right here.
Featured picture: Rawpixel / depositphotos
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