Industry Insights

Discover the different industries you can join in the job market and explore the various opportunities within.

With accountancy and financial management qualifications, one can find work opportunities in a range oforganisations, varying from the ‘Big Four’ to smaller accountancy firms, as well as in corporations and the public sector. Being in the accountancy industry gives you a good perspective of how businesses and organisations are run, opening doors to start your own company in the future.

In recent years, businesses have started to use technology such as cloud accounting softwares and applications to increase efficiency for accounting and financial management. Accountingprofessionals are encouraged to upskilll constantly, picking up data analysis and mastering digital accounting. Accounting firms often offer a diversity ofservices, such as consulting, assurance, riskassessment, corporate recovery, tax, and forensic accounting, aside from the customaryaccounting and auditing services. Employers are constantly on the lookout for candidates with good analytical skills, attention to detail, and an ability to convey financial data clearly. Graduate accountants often join firms as trainees and will be required to take professional qualifications to enhance themselves. It is mandatory to go through the Singapore Qualification Programme (Singapore QP) in order to practise as a chartered accountant here.

Job areas include: • Assurance management • Auditing • Financial consulting • Risk assessment • Tax consulting

Skills required: • Numerical skills • Commercial awareness • Strategic planning skills • Analytical skills • Decision-making skills • Good communication skills Job hunting tips:

Get licensed, stay on top of your game in terms of accounting skills and network extensively in this professional circle.

Specialisingin differentareasofbankingand finance(e.g. asset management, hedge funds, private banking and equity, risk management, venture capital, corporate restructuring), employers such as retail banks and investment firms, offer a diverse range of roles for graduate hires. The competition is tough forthe bankingand finance sector in Singapore, as a regional and global hub for investment and finance. Improve your opportunities of securing a job in this sector by seeking out internships during your university days to gain relevant work experience and build your knowledge and networks.

Employers appreciate candidates who excel in problemsolving and have excellent organisational and team management skills. You should also make it a point to read financial business news regularly to update yourself on any changes in the industry. While numerical and business degrees are preferred by employers, it is not a necessary requirement.

Job areas include: • Business/Commercial banking • Consumer/Personal banking • Corporate finance • Foreign exchange trading • Investment banking • Marketing and communication • Operations and technology • Private banking • Private equity • Risk management • Treasury • Wealth management

Job hunting tips:

Score an internship and ace it! Networking is crucial in banking and investment. Research potential employers and send in your applications early.

Skills required • Numerical and analysis skills • Resilience, ability to work under pressue • Excellent communication skills • Strong understanding of financial markets • Decision-making skills

Graduates looking to break into this sector can choose from different areas ofexpertise ranging from human resource, integrated solutions, management, and strategy advisory work. They are also able to specialise in a particular sector, such as HR, IT, or finance, with finance consulting being the most popular choice among graduates. Many employers offer graduate specialist programmes, where you’ll be assigned to work in teams with a mentor. You’ll also be involved in projects and experience the day-today business to help you pick up skills on the job. There are numerous perks to working in this industry, such as a variety in job roles and travelling opportunities, but be prepared to work in a high pressure environment. As most roles in this field will require you to interact with clients, having good communication skills is absolutely essential. Strong organisational and problem-solving abilities, as well as the capability to work effectively in teams, are also crucial skills, especially when you feel the crunch with impending project deadlines. You may also need professional certifications and licences to practise in certain fields, so do your research and consult the relevant parties to help you plan your career pathway.

Job areas include: • Human resources • Integrated solutions • Management • Strategy advisory • Finance consulting

Skills required: • Commercial awareness • Numerical and analytical skills • Excellent interpersonal and communication skills • Persuasion skills • Teamwork and self-motivation Job hunting tips:

Consulting is one of the quickest developing corporate careers, requiring driven personalities and self-starters with nimble minds. Make sure you ace the case study interview.

Despite the long hours and the need to juggle multiple responsibilities, a career in education is highly rewarding as it gives you the satisfaction of helping to prepare future generations to achieve their aspirations. Major employers include the Ministry ofEducation (MOE), public and private institutions, and tuition centres. Besides becoming a teacher, you may also consider roles such as a career counsellor, an educational psychologist, or corporate and administrative roles in the ministry. Upon graduating with at least a bachelor’s degree, those aspiring to teach with the MOE will need to obtain a postgraduate diploma in education at the National Institute of Education. Graduates from all disciplines are welcome to apply.

Job areas include: • Early childhood education • Primary education • Secondary education • Tertiary education • Teaching English as a Foreign Language • Education psychology • Education assessment • Career counselling

Skills required: • Passion and belief in education • Effective interpersonal and communication skills • Organisational and time management skills

Job hunting tips:

Gain some teaching experience as a tutor, volunteer teacher or substitute teacher prior to applying if you can. Experience is not necessary but highly valued as it allows you to be exposed to different student behaviours, cultivating your own teaching style in the classroom.

Employment in this industry is not closed off to nonmedical graduates. While most medical careers will require specialist knowledge and training, applicants from other degree backgrounds can also explore a number of careeroptionssuch ashealthcareoperationsand management, medical and pharmaceutical sales and marketing, medical product management, and healthcare informatics. Depending on your role in the industry, you may need to be prepared for long hours and heavy workloads. However, those workingin administrative orresearch roles typicallyhave regular hours.

Whichever role that you take on in this industry, it’s vital that you have a passion for serving and helping those in need, and are dedicated to your tasks. Being meticulous and patient are important traits as well.

Graduates keen on a career in this sector can consider applying to public and private healthcare providers, biomedical firms, research consortia, or local healthcare startups that focus on specialised products (e.g. hospital management software, medical robotics). You can also opt for a position with non-profit organisations such as Mercy Relief or the Mercy Corps.

Job areas include: • Clinical medicine • Allied health (e.g. nutrition and therapy) • Laboratory • Healthcare regulations • Manufacturing and supply • Quality management • Research and development • Sales and marketing

Skills required: • Resilience • Communication skills • Organisational skills • Teamwork • Excellent grasp of technical knowledge

Job hunting tips:

Experiencein thefield will show you if you are suited for a role in healthcare, which is why placements and internships are important. It takes time to build up your knowledge and skills in this sector, as with obtaining the necessary qualifications.

Home to two integrated resorts – Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, the hospitality and tourism industry in Singapore has experienced steady growth, even in the midst of economic downturns. Singapore, as a popular stopover location, also offers ample career opportunities for graduates, ranging from hotel management, leisure, and events management. The sector also requires manpower for support functions such as IT, marketing and HR. Working in hospitalityand tourism requires much patience, energy and emotional intelligence. Shift hours and irregular hours during the seasonal peak periods are common. Most graduate employees start out from the bottom or through graduate programmes, obtaining training and professional qualifications on the job.

Job areas include: • Food and beverage industry • Hotels and resorts • Leisure and recreation management • Meetings, incentives, conferences, and events (MICE) • Spa and wellness management • Tourism and attractions

Skills required: • Client-facing skills • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills • Organisational skills • Teamwork • Problem-solving ability

Job hunting tips:

Demonstrate a passion for the hospitality and tourism sector to show that you have the drive to go the extra mile.

Singapore is a global IThub with many technology firms establishing theiroffices here. Given the pervasiveness of technology today, the expertise of IT professionals is not only needed in the tech sector, but also in the nonIT industries as well (e.g. finance, health, media, and legal services).

Among some of the more popular roles that graduate candidates can consider include technology consulting, systems analysis, network engineering, software testing, and technical sales. Graduates without an IT educational background can take up technical modules in school or obtain professional technical qualifications part-time as they work. A common way into the IT sector is through graduate programmes, especially if you’re applying to major organisations, although many smaller employers prefer to hire directly.

Employers greatly appreciate candidates with good problem-solving and time management abilities as these are vital to helping them meet project deadlines as well as good interpersonal and communication skills due to the team-based nature of this sector.

Job areas include: • Application development • Cloud innovation • Data analytics • E-commerce • Information security • Infrastructure • Project management • Systems administration

Skills required: • Adaptability • Commercial awareness • Technical skills • Problem-solving ability • Time management skills • Communication skills • Organisational skills • Teamwork

Job hunting tips:

IT employers often stick to conventional recruitment methods such as job postings, campus events and recruitment fairs. Prepare digital copies of your necessary documents and materials for your online application.

Upon obtaining your law degree, you’ll have to first undergo a training period — lasting between six months to a year— before you can go through the bar examinations and practise as a lawyer. In large law firms, there can be graduate trainee programmes with opportunities for you to be rotated across different departments, while smaller firms allow you to engage in a wider range of work once you hit the ground running.

Law graduates can also consider roles such as an in-house legal advisor for commercial organisations, advising them on various legal strategies.

Employers in the legal industry are also in need of support staff members for the finance, HR, and even IT departments. Depending on your role, your working hours can differ immensely.

As a graduate lawyer, you may be faced with long and intensive hours at work, but job flexibility may increase with career progression. Legal advisors to commercial organisations, on the other hand, have a less hectic schedule. A second-upper class law degree is generallyrequired to find workin local law firms and employers also lookout forcandidates with attention to detail and excellent problem-solving abilities.

Job areas include: • Arbitration and dispute resolution • Civil litigation • Conveyancing • Corporate and commercial • Criminal • Intellectual property

Skills required: • Analytical skills • Communication skills • The ability to work under pressure • To be highly committed • Good networking ability

Job hunting tips:

Consider taking up paralegal jobs as a student to meet contacts and form networks. You can also intern or volunteer with an NGO or political organisation to get more exposure if you are interested in these aspects of the profession.

Manufacturing, logisticsand supplychain isan essential part of many industries, especially in the fast-moving consumer goods and retail sectors. Manufacturing involves turning raw materials into products through valueadding, where engineering graduates would be responsible for the safe and efficientplanning, managementand maintenance of production methods and processes. In logisticsand supplychain, Standard OperatingProcedures (SOPs) are developed for the prompt delivery of goods and services. Graduates in this industry use logistical software and tools to oversee the inventory, distribution of goods and services, and cost management. Recommendations are made to improve productivity and efficiency. The logistics and supply chain area of work typically welcomes applicants from all disciplines, and major organisationsmayeven provide managementtrainingschemes to prepare their graduate employees for the job. These often include a series ofjob rotations so that they are able to better appreciate the processes that affect an organisation. However, those who are interested in manufacturing may need a relevant engineering degree and technical skills required for the role.

Job areas include: • Operations manager • Assembly engineer • Customs management • E-commerce • Freight/Global forwarding • Logistics • Supply chain management and service • Supply optimisation • Transport management • Warehousing

Skills required: • Planning skills • Teamwork skills • Organisational skills • Leadership skills • Problem-solving ability • Attention to detail Job hunting tips:

Graduates hired in the sector are strong in planning and people skills, and have technical expertise in project and logistics management.

The media industry is immensely vibrant due to its relevance to all businesses. Graduates typically find theircallingacross platforms ofoutreach, such as print, online and broadcast, where they can work in areas such as brand management, public relations, copywriting, database management and analysis, as well as market research and sales promotion. Other than traditional areas of work in this industry such as journalism, events and marketing, graduates need to be well-versed in social media management as well, adapting to ongoing communication trends. Despite the breadth of the industry, vacancies are limited, and getting into the industry entails some competition. While large organisations do run graduate schemes, most graduate applicants will likely have to apply directly for entry level jobs.

Job areas include: • Advertising • Copywriting • Digital/Web marketing • Events management • Film/Stage production • Graphic design • Journalism • Media purchasing • Public relations • Social media management

Skills required: • Creativity • Teamwork skills • Strong analytical skills • Tenacity and resourcefulness • Data management

Job hunting tips:

A solid portfolio can greatly increase yo u r c h a n c e s of a successful a p p l i c a t i o n . Networking is immensely important and may help you find a way into the industry. For this reason, it’s a good idea to start taking up part-time work and internships even as a student in order to build your connections and portfolio.

Graduates keen on helping the community can find their calling in non-governmental and non-profit organisations. With around 140 international not-forprofit organisations having set up base in Singapore, catering to a variety of social, humanitarian, and environmental issues, there are plenty of options for graduate employees. Depending on the area of expertise and the role that you apply for, there may be a need for specialist knowledge and skill sets, if there are any certification criteria for instance. Whatever your role is, employers in this sector look for a few definite traits: passion and commitment to the cause. While salaried positions in this sector tend to be on the lower scale compared to the corporate sector, employees working with NGOs and non-profits derive their motivation from the satisfaction that they gain from serving and helping people.

Job areas include: • Community relations • Environment • Services (children, youth, family, elderly, special needs, healthcare) • Social work • Volunteer development

Skills required: • Problem-solving ability • Organisation skills • Communication skills • Technical skills (depending on the role)

Job hunting tips:

Employers in this sector look for candidates who are able to demonstrate their commitment to the cause and contribution to the organisation.

The public sector is Singapore’s largest employer, consisting different ministries, statutory boards, and a variety of organisations such as the Public Service Division, the Singapore Armed Forces, and the Home Team. Engaged in public service, employees in this sector often find their roles to be a satisfying and fulfilling one. Depending on the role and ministry that you are hired into, your job scope and the skill sets required may vary. In general, though, all public sector employees must possess a passion to serve the community, good teamwork and communication skills, as well as the maturity in drawing up and executing national policies. As a public sectoremployee, you will benefit from frequent training for upskilling and job security, and may be offered flexible working hours should the need arise. However, do be prepared for longer working hours during peak periods, such as before project deadlines and launches of new initiatives. Many graduate employees enter the public sector through graduate programmes organised by the individual bodies, but departments and organisations also hire graduates directly. Do make it a habit to check in with the ministries that you’re interested in for new positions available.

Job areas include: • Government agencies • Ministries • Statutory boards • Uniformed groups

Skills required: • Communication skills • Organisational skills • Teamwork • Good interpersonal skills

Job hunting tips:

Do your research thoroughly as this sector offers a wide range of positions. Find and identify the fields of work which interest you. Be prepared for a series of interviews and assessments, which may include a psychometric test.

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