The Ministry of Manpower started releasing its regular Jobs Situation Report once again in 2021, having stopped over a month ago in December. This time – the 17th edition – focused on the Food Services sector.
In a past article on the Jobs Situation Report, we noted that the Food Services sector had the second-highest openings among all sectors in Singapore. As at October 2020, the Food Services sector had 11,300 available openings.
In this article, we cover 4 more things we learned about Food Services sector from the latest Jobs Situation Report (17th Edition).
#1 Food Services Sector Was The Top Hiring Sector Under The Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) Scheme
The Food Services sector hired the greatest number of jobseekers in the first month that the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) scheme was introduced – in September 2020.
Read Also: Guide To Understanding The Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) For Companies Hiring Local Workers
A total of 7,700 locals were hired into the Food Services sector, more than half of the 14,000 hires made under the JGI scheme within the top 5 sectors, and more than 15% of the total 50,000 hired.
From the chart below, we can also see that the other top-hiring sectors were the Wholesale Trade, Professional Services, Construction and Education sectors.
#2 Median Salary Range For Those In Food Services Sector Ranged From $1,750 To $5,500
The median wage offered in the Food Services sector was also quite varied, depending on the job scope.
Waiters were being hired at a median salary of $1,750, while cooks and managers were offered a salary around the $2,700-mark. Sales, marketing and business development managers – seemingly because their roles entailed bringing in revenue – were offered a median salary of $5,500.
This not necessarily a bad or surprising thing as those being paid the lowest amounts had low barriers to entering the sector. This mainly constituted older workers, students looking for part-time work and even care-givers looking for flexible work arrangements. As seen in the chart above, more than 50% of those hired were “Mature Hires”, which means they were aged 40 and above.
Read Also: Part-Time Employment Regulations: 10 Things To Know When Hiring A Part-Timer
#3 More than 1,100 Food Services Workers From 33 Companies Upskilled As At December 2020
Many companies in the Food Services sector were backfilling roles due to the Circuit Breaker earlier in 2020. At the same time, the report also stated that there were companies using this opportunity to digitalise, innovate and diversify into new revenue streams.
This was helped by the Job Redesign Reskill Programme for Food Services Industry, which had already benefitted more than 1,100 workers from 33 companies by December 2020. This better-equipped both companies and employees to tackle the post COVID economy.
Some examples cited in the report include equipping staff with digital skills and analytics skills. This helped digitalise labour-centric tasks such as order-taking and payment processing, and raised productivity. It also paved the way for employees from the sector to launch proactive marketing activities and to improve customer satisfaction.
Read Also: 10 Ways COVID-19 Impacted Singapore Workers: MOM Labour Force In Singapore Advance Release 2020
#4 The Government Will Launch A New Scheme Targeted At The Food Services Sector In Q1 2021
In the report, it was also mentioned that a new Job Redesign Reskill Programme for Food Services Assistants will be launched in Q1 2021. This is meant to redesign non-PMET roles such as service ambassadors and kitchen technicians. 400 workers are expected to benefit from this.
There are also other programmes such as the Professional Conversion Programme for Food Services Executives, company-hosted traineeships and attachments and training courses that both companies as well as existing and potential employees can tap on to progress in the Food Services sector.
Companies in the Food Services sector can also tap on other schemes that the government has introduced/expanded, including the Digital Resilience Bonus (DRB).
Read Also: Guide To Applying For The Digital Resilience Bonus (DRB) For F&B And Retail Companies
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