Why Businesses In Singapore Should Hire For Potential, Rather Than To Plug And Play

Photo by Van Tay Media on Unsplash

In an ideal world, a new hire would be fully-qualified, with a perfectly-aligned CV and be able to hit the ground running when they start their new job. This is a hiring strategy that recruiters refer to as “plug and play”.

But Singapore is currently experiencing its most acute talent shortage in 15 years, with many roles sitting vacant for months at a time.

The Minister of Manpower recently addressed the issue saying instead of looking for candidates to simply “plug and play”, employers who are hiring should be thinking about who has the potential to thrive in the role with a little training.

Over the past few years, the Ministry has launched a number of initiatives to encourage employers to up-skill and re-skill Singaporean jobseekers. The Enhanced Hiring Incentive launched in 2021 encourages hiring and upskilling workers over the age of 40, while Skills Future SG - Workforce Singapore (SSG-WSG) focuses on people looking to make a mid-career switch.

Employers can sign up with these programmes before they start the hiring process to find out which training courses are available and relevant to their industry. Many of the courses are almost fully subsidised, and companies that retrain and upskill people who have been out of work for more than six months will also receive salary support for that employee while they are in training.

The training and salary incentives mean that when they’re interviewing candidates, recruiters and employers can focus their questions around the individual’s willingness to learn. Softer skills that aren’t as easy to teach, like problem solving and customer service, would be weighted higher than technical skills like proficiency in a software programme, which a course could teach in a matter of weeks.

The government’s incentives to hire for potential means that from a recruiter’s point of view, there is an opportunity to pitch candidates who are a great personality and culture match for a client, even if they’re lacking a few technical skills. 

Recruiters can explain that the time it takes to train someone up is offset by the fact that it can take months for a company to find the perfect hire (and in this tight candidate market, they might not find them). Training employees is also a great retention strategy, as employees show more loyalty to a company that has invested in them.

So perhaps you’re looking for someone to help with your business administration. You interview someone over the age of 40 who has a great customer-facing presence but lacks Excel and basic filing skills. If the candidate demonstrates a keenness to learn, you could sign them up for relevant business administrative training through the SSG-WSG, and they would join your team with fresh skills and a keenness to continue to develop their skills. 

An exception to this is contracting. Employers can expect a highly-skilled contractor to parachute into a company and "hit the ground running" faster than a permanent employee. Contractors tend to be subject matter specialists hired to join a special project or take over for an employee on leave for maternity or sabbatical.

As a result, contractors may cost the employer more in terms of wages than a permanent employee, with the return being that they shouldn’t need any training in order to get started, quickly.

If you have a little bit of time up your sleeve and are willing to invest in training someone up for a role, there are a number of career conversion programs available, with sponsorship available for employers who are dedicated to upskilling Singaporeans.

Hiring for potential helps businesses grow, improves retention and can be a cost effective solution thanks to the salary support through the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI). And from a bigger picture stand-point, it also helps ease the squeeze on talent, while opening the doors to an exciting new future for many Singaporean jobseekers.

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If you need help finding great talent in Singapore and would like assistance navigating the workplace training initiatives, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team at Accela Talent.