Singapore salary insights 2022 for 5 sectors: ICT, banking & finance, manufacturing, and more

A cloud engineer in the ICT sector, with three to five years of credentials, could earn a monthly salary in the range of S$5,000 to S$7,000, while a relationship manager in the banking & finance sector can expect between S$3,000 to S$6,000 a month.

Singapore's job market is expected to see strong manpower demand, according to employment agency Achieve Group's report, Staffing & Salary Insights 2022. This trend will particularly be present in the information & communications technology (ICT), banking & finance, manufacturing, and professional services sectors. Thus, new job opportunities, more job creations, and higher wage growth can be expected throughout the year.

Continue below to find sector-specific market trends, as well as expected salaries across these sectors in Singapore in 2022.

Deep-dive: Information & Communications

Based on the report, Singapore’s digital economy is expected to grow this year with an increasing number of jobs and training opportunities in the ICT sector. This is because companies across sectors have "embraced a digital shift during the pandemic", and they are "likely to accelerate their digital transformation". On that note, its analysis highlighted that the top three most in-demand roles by employers are: cloud engineer, full stack developer, and network engineer.

The trio is then followed by:

• System engineer;
• Presales engineer;
• Service delivery manager;
• Project manager;
• Cyber security engineer;
• System analyst;
• Data engineer;
• Data scientist;
• Automation tester;
• Business analyst, and
• Program manager.

Further, it was revealed that the average salary offered across sectors for new hires in 2022 is expected to be higher than the candidates’ last drawn salaries. For instance, a cloud engineer with three to five years of credentials, in today's market, can expect to earn a salary range of S$5,000 to S$7,000 per month; and with five to eight years of experience, a salary range of S$7,000 to S$11,000. As a full stack developer, one can expect to receive S$6,000 to S$7,500 (three to five years), and S$7,500 to S$10,000 (five to eight years).

Deep-dive: Banking & Finance

As the Singaporean economy steadily recovers, the financial sector is witnessing "robust broad-based growth" across banking, insurance, fund management, and payment services. On top of that, according to the report, financial institutions are "experiencing unprecedented growth" in digitalisation and the adoption of technologies. As such, financial institutions have been adding headcount, and pay increment has risen by as much as 40%. That said, the sector is facing "an acute shortage" in specialist talents, and "there is a mounting scramble" for talents, particularly in fintech and crypto.

In particular, employers in the banking & finance sector are looking for relationship managers, customer service officers, and product managers. Beyond that, employers are also looking at talents to fill up five other roles (shown below). Thus, Singaporeans can expect hiring levels in this sector to "remain strong" in 2022.

The top three in-demand roles are followed by:

• Compliance officer;
• Private banker;
• Trade finance manager;
• Treasury officer, and
• Credit analyst.

As for remuneration packages, a relationship manager can expect to receive S$3,000 to S$6,000 per month, while a customer service officer can expect to receive S$2,500 to S$3,500 per month.

Deep-dive: Manufacturing

Looking at the manufacturing sector, the report revealed that in 2021, the sector in Singapore grew by 12.8%, and was one of the best performing sectors. The electronics, and precision engineering clusters, in particular, recorded "robust growth" with worldwide demand for semiconductors, and semiconductor equipment.

Analysts are expecting the sector to "continue to enjoy a positive business outlook" in 2022, with manufacturers looking forward to higher levels of production. The electronics cluster is believed to be "the most optimistic", with robust demand expected from the 5G market, cloud services, and data centres. To cope with such trends, employers are anticipating a larger workforce. Technicians, engineers, and managers with specialist skills will be "highly sought after".

In particular, employers are looking at hiring senior/manufacturing engineers, design engineers, and senior/R&D engineers. Other roles include:

• Supply chain planner;
• Manufacturing/development engineer;
• Assistant engineer;
• Software engineer;
• Senior/buyer;
• Field service engineer;
• Automation engineer, and
• Process engineer.

Apart from competitive employee benefits and career progression opportunities this sector possesses, employers are relying on remuneration packages to attract and retain talents in the aforementioned roles. A senior/manufacturing engineer, for instance, could receive S$4,500 to S$8,000 per month. Meanwhile, a design engineer (medical/electrical) could receive S$4,000 to S$7,000; and a senior/R&D engineer should receive S$4,000 to S$8,500.

Deep-dive: Professional Services (Built Environment)

Although the pandemic caused building and construction activities to "fall significantly", the report said that the built environment sector is "set for robust growth over the medium term". Its optimism came from the Building & Construction Authority’s forecast for 2022 to 2025 which had construction demand projected to reach between S$25bn and S$32bn per year. In addition, the public sector is also expected to lead with residential building projects, infrastructural development, institutional projects, and civil engineering works—which some will involve digitalisation.

To support this, employers will increasingly require professionals with digital knowledge and professionals with the requisite skillsets. In addition, the remuneration package for various positions is expected to increase by 10-15% due to the lack of foreign workers and rising competitiveness within the industry. All these said, individuals looking to enter the sector are highly recommended to further their studies, such as getting accreditation by the Singapore Professional Engineers Board.

According to the report, the top three in-demand roles in the sector are: senior/quantity surveyor, senior/site engineer, and site coordinator. Other roles include:

• Senior/M&E engineer;
• Asst/contracts manager;
• Asst/project manager;
• BIM modeler/BIM coordinator;
• Site supervisor;
• Senior project manager;
• Project director;
• Construction/site manager;
• Asset manager;
• Leasing manager, and
• Property manager.

As for the salary package, a senior/quantity surveyor (pre/post contract) could receive S$4,500 to S$6,500; a senior/site engineer (building & infrastructure) S$4,500 to S$7,000, and a site coordinator (archi/M&E/C&S) S$4,000 to S$6,000.

Deep-dive: Professional Services (Energy, Oil & Gas, and Chemicals)

In 2022, electricity demand is expected to grow as the economy recovers from the pandemic, particularly in electricity-intensive sectors such as data centres which have large power requirements, according to the report. Further, it revealed that the hiring outlook in the energy sector is positive, with companies on the lookout for engineers, managers, and technicians with specialist knowledge to support the growth ahead.

In the oil and gas and chemicals sector, which both have seen a strong rebound in 2021, analysts believed that 2022 will be a period of transformation. Companies in the former group will require professionals who are able to optimise resource portfolios, facilitate transition to renewable energy, and embrace environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements, in support of the shift to a low-carbon ecosystem. On the other hand, companies in the latter group will be on the outlook for professionals adept in balancing trade-offs between strategic options and accelerating digitalisation in the business.

As such, professionals who have specialist knowledge in advances in decarbonisation, abatement of emissions, and monetisation of wastes will be "highly sought after".

The top three in-demand roles are: product design engineer, service engineer, and sales engineer. These are followed by:

• Commercial executive;
• HSE executive;
• Presales consultant;
• Mechanical engineer;
• Electrical engineer;
• Contracts administrator;
• Senior/buyer;
• Product planner;
• Project manager;
• Process engineer, and
• Operations manager.

Compare it against previous salary guides on HRO's website:

- Singapore salary guide 2021: HR, administration & business support, sales & marketing, and more
- Singapore HR salary guide 2021/22: What HR directors, C&B managers, L&D leads and more can earn monthly

Lead image / 123RF; Body Image / Achieve Group

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