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SINGAPORE – Nearly 5,500 jobs are offered in the health sector, of which three out of four are long-term jobs.
About 40 percent, or 1,530, of the 4,080 long-term jobs available are in professional and executive roles, such as nurses, allied healthcare professionals, and finance and human resources executives. The other 2,550 long-term job openings are support functions such as healthcare assistants, therapy assistants and patient service associates.
Meanwhile, support and administrative support functions also account for 95 percent, or 1,330, of the 1,390 short-term jobs on offer. About 5 percent, about 60, of short-term jobs are for professionals and executives.
These 5,500 long and short-term jobs are part of the 6,700 job, internship and training vacancies in the sector at the end of last month, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said in its weekly work situation report on Thursday. (December 10 ).
In addition to the jobs, there are also around 470 company-organized internships and adjuncts, as well as 760 training opportunities.
Long-term professional and executive roles include registered and registered nurses, with monthly salaries between $ 3,300 and $ 5,200 during the first year of admission. The median monthly salary is $ 3,900.
The salary for allied healthcare professionals is $ 4,100 to $ 5,000 per month, with a median of $ 4,400.
Long-term healthcare support jobs include roles as patient service associates, typically earning between $ 2,400 and $ 3,000 per month, with a median of $ 2,700. Health care assistants and therapy assistants earn between $ 1,800 and $ 2,300 each month, with a median of $ 2,100.
Healthcare has been among the top sectors offering job opportunities and skills.
More than 80 percent of openings are offered by public healthcare groups like SingHealth, National University Health System, and National Healthcare Group, as well as community care organizations like Ren Ci Hospital, Vanguard Healthcare, and St Luke’s Eldercare.
The rest are offered by private organizations, such as Parkway Hospitals Singapore, Healthway Medical Group, and Q & M Dental Center.
More than 8,000 placed in the health sector since April
The ministry said that around 8,350 people were placed in jobs, internships and training positions in the health sector between April and last month.
About 93 percent were placed in jobs, most of which were short-lived, the MOM said. These include swabs and swab assistants to support Covid-19-related operations, as well as care ambassadors and patient concierge staff attached to public health institutions and community care organizations.
While some of these workers are still in their current roles, others have successfully transitioned to longer-term positions in the sector or other job opportunities they have obtained on their own, the ministry said.
He added that current workers may also consider switching to professional roles such as nursing or allied health by accessing Professional Conversion Programs (PCP).
Singapore’s health sector is supported by a workforce of over 100,000 people in the public and private sectors.
Approximately 70 per cent of the workforce is made up of health professionals, such as doctors, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and allied health professionals, while the remaining 30 per cent comprises auxiliary, administrative and auxiliary workers.
The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has created temporary vacancies and manpower needs for a variety of roles, such as swabs and swab assistants to support increased testing operations. Ambassadors of care are also needed to support the hospital nurses as they were redirected from their original duties to care for Covid-19 patients.
In addition, health professionals, including nurses and doctors, and support personnel, such as phlebotomists, were mobilized to provide services in the facilities and medical posts dedicated to Covid-19.
Long-term demand for healthcare workers increases
In the long term, the aging of the population and the increase in the incidence of chronic diseases will drive the demand for health workers. New healthcare facilities will be progressively developed, such as integrated facilities, general hospitals, community hospitals and polyclinics.
The industry has been committing resources to expanding the portfolio of recent graduates and mid-career individuals, and offering opportunities to equip existing workers with up-to-date skills, Human Resources Minister Josephine Teo said at a virtual press conference.
The MOM said that government and industry have a three-pronged approach to helping Singaporeans enter the healthcare sector and prosper in their careers.
One way is to prepare existing students for careers in health care.
The Government has been working closely with institutes of higher education to build a constant line of local health professionals. For example, the hiring of local nurses increased by about 50 percent from 1,500 in 2014 to 2,200 last year. New undergraduate allied health programs such as diet and nutrition and speech and language therapy have been introduced in recent years.
Another approach taken is to support recent graduates and mid-career job seekers with no health history to enter the sector.
There are several initiatives to do this, including career conversion programs, training opportunities, and healthcare job redesign that combine clinical support, administrative and operational responsibilities.
This comes amid growing interest among mid-career workers to switch to healthcare during the pandemic. For example, the number of applications for the PCP for registered nurses (diploma) in October admission was about three times higher than in April, the MOM said, without giving numbers.
The Government plans to open a training capacity of 900 places over the next three years to serve mid-career newcomers entering nursing and related health services. But this can be adjusted based on the interest and participation rate of the applicants.
Finally, existing workers receive ongoing training and development opportunities. These include training scholarships for healthcare professionals to take on formal postgraduate education skills or opportunities.
Ms Teo said: “When people think about whether to pursue a career in healthcare, they also see themselves not just accepting any job. They see meaning as part of it, but they also know that it is a profession that demands a very high level of commitment. “
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