Sustained hiring demand, though employers expected to seek more flexibility
The 2024 job market for the banking and financial services sector was full of peaks and troughs, with periods of demand interspersed with redundancies and redeployments. According to Glen Chua, Senior Manager at Robert Walters, the hiring market was off to a slow start, before picking up steam and seeing robust demand in the second half of the year.
Over the past year, Glen has seen a shift in focus among asset management firms. Investment, research and distribution teams paid more attention to alternative spaces across private equity, hedge funds, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and other private asset classes. The aim was to deploy new asset allocation strategies and tactics that would drive better investment returns.
Meanwhile, multi-family offices diversified their businesses, creating new verticals that allowed them to operate in the private equity and venture capital space. This has spurred demand for talent experienced with deal-making experience – in either traditional investment banking or private equity – who can help with fundraising and capital deployment into emerging sectors.
Read on to find out more about Glen’s expectations of the labour market and hiring trends for Singapore’s Banking & Financial Services professionals in 2025.
Sustained focus on upskilling, contracting and diversity
“Singapore’s status as a global financial hub continues to drive demand for talent and there is quiet optimism that the job market will remain agile,” states Glen.
We remain optimistic on hiring growth for 2025, though economic uncertainties and geopolitical changes impact business needs and hiring trends.
This would push organisations to be more nimble in their hiring approach, pivoting as needed to secure the best talent. Glen anticipates that there will be a continued focus on upskilling internal talent, as well as toggling between contract and permanent hiring to meet business and project needs.
In the year ahead, businesses will also continue to focus on equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) in hiring and workforce management.
Niche skills in demand
Ongoing regulatory changes add complexity to the financial landscape. As such, demand for professionals with niche skills is growing, particularly in the areas of regulatory compliance, data privacy and governance.
Demand will also be high for positions in energy, natural resources commodities trading, artificial intelligence (AI) medical tech, private markets, and private equity.
Candidates looking to learn and upskill
According to Glen, candidates are now making more calculated moves in the job market. “They tend to be motivated by future growth and pathways for career and personal development. Requests for flexible work arrangements and enhanced benefits are also very common,” he notes.
Companies will need to address these key areas to have greater success at attracting and retaining their talent in 2025. The Flexible Work Arrangements (FWA) guidelines newly introduced by the Singapore government provide a good opportunity to revisit existing policies and help foster accountability, ownership and flexibility in the workplace.
For candidates looking to move jobs in the coming year, Glen says that upskilling is now essential as the industry landscape is advancing fast. Some ways to deepen knowledge of the sector include subscribing to thought leaders in relevant fields, participating in relevant courses, and tapping into the Financial Sector Development Fund.
Smaller increments ahead
Conservative revisions are expected for both job seekers moving into a new role and professionals staying in their current organisation.
Find out more
Request access to our 2025 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in the Banking & Financial Services industry in Singapore.
