For many young Singaporeans entering the workforce today, finding a full-time permanent job feels harder than it did just a few years ago.
Recent employment data suggests that this is not merely a perception. According to Singapore’s latest Graduate Employment Survey, only 74.4% of fresh graduates secured full-time permanent employment within six months of graduation in 2025, down from 79.4% in 2024.
Whenever discussions about jobs arise today, artificial intelligence (AI) is often identified as the main culprit. While there is certainly some truth to this and many companies are investing heavily in AI tools to automate routine tasks and improve productivity, AI may only be part of the story.
Concurrently, the traditional model of hiring a full-time employee for every business function is evolving. New work arrangements, particularly fractional hiring and offshore hiring, are giving employers more options than ever before.
While these arrangements can help businesses remain competitive, they may also be changing the number and types of opportunities available to young workers entering the job market.
The Rise Of Fractional Work
One trend that has quietly gained momentum in recent years is fractional work.
A fractional employee is typically an experienced professional who works part-time across multiple companies rather than being employed full-time by a single organisation. Examples include fractional Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs), HR leaders, legal advisors and technology specialists.
For startups and SMEs, this arrangement can make a lot of sense.
Imagine a young startup that needs strategic marketing expertise. Ten years ago, it may have hired a full-time marketing manager or engaged a marketing agency that, in turn, employed several staff members. Today, that same company may simply hire a fractional CMO for two days a week.
The startup gets access to senior expertise without paying a full-time salary. The fractional executive earns income from several companies simultaneously.
Traditionally, fractional work has been more common for senior or specialist hires, where companies need experienced support but cannot justify a full-time role. However, this model is gradually moving into more junior or mid-level functions as well, particularly for roles where the work can be clearly scoped and delivered remotely.
For example, instead of hiring a full-time marketing executive, content writer, or social media manager, a company may engage someone on a fractional basis for a few days a week. This means that some roles, which used to be entry-level full-time jobs, may increasingly be carved up into smaller, part-time arrangements.
Offshore Hiring Is Expanding The Talent Pool Beyond Singapore
Another major shift has been the rise of offshore hiring.
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that many white-collar jobs can be performed remotely. Once companies realised that employees did not always need to be physically present in the office, geographic boundaries became less important.
Today, a Singapore company looking for a digital marketer, software developer or customer service representative, all of which are entry-level jobs, may not necessarily limit its search to Singapore. Instead, it can hire a full-time remote employee based in Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia or India.
From the employer’s perspective, this significantly expands the available talent pool.
For example, a company with a budget of S$3,000 per month may face a choice between hiring a fresh graduate in Singapore with limited experience or an experienced professional elsewhere in Asia who can work remotely for a similar or even lower cost.
This does not mean Singapore workers are being replaced wholesale. Local employees still have clear advantages when it comes to understanding the local market, navigating regulations, building relationships and meeting clients face-to-face. But these advantages are strongest when workers are physically present and visible to their teams, clients and business partners. For workers already working remotely, this may weaken one of their key advantages over offshore hires.
AI Is Not The Only Force Reshaping The Job Market
It is tempting to blame AI whenever employment opportunities become more challenging. But focusing solely on AI risks misses the bigger picture.
The reality is that businesses today have more ways to access talent than ever before. They can choose to automate certain tasks using AI or hire fractional specialists at a fraction (pun intended) of the cost of full-time employees. If more manpower is required, they can also recruit remote workers from overseas markets.
The challenge for Gen Z workers is that they are entering the workforce at a time when the traditional career model is becoming less dominant. While the traditional full-time, permanent job is unlikely to disappear, it is increasingly just one of many ways companies access talent. The assumption that every company will maintain large teams of full-time employees may no longer hold true in many industries.
Fractional hiring, offshore recruitment and remote work will mean the future workforce is going to be much more flexible than before. Whether we like it or not, this appears to be the direction the future of work is moving.
Read Also: High Pay But At What Cost? Why Singapore Workers Are Among Asia’s Most Unhappy
Photo Credit: DollarsAndSense/Soh Qi Hang
