The Singapore Fintech Association (SFA) and Accenture Singapore have launched the Singapore Fintech Talent Report in conjunction with the Singapore Fintech Festival 2022.
Despite the uncertain macroeconomic environment of 2022, Singapore’s fintech industry continues to grow as does its demand for the right talent.

The Singapore Fintech Talent Report 2022 found that demand for fintech talent still outpaced supply with the majority of fintech companies (72%) expecting sector growth to continue accelerating.
Most (95%) of the fintech companies surveyed expect an increase in their workforce over the next one to two years as compared to 2021 (84%).
However, the talent gap is intensified by several factors including compensation (67%), work permits for foreign employees (48%), company culture (47%), and competition (46%).

In terms of recruitment, the top three channels used by fintech companies to source talent are employee referrals (90%), online job portals (81%), and headhunters and employment agencies (52%).
Campus recruitment and career fairs are currently underutilised and fintech companies surveyed indicate that utilisation is expected to rise by 11% in 2021 and 9% in 2022 respectively.
Fintech companies are also increasingly tapping on partnerships with other companies as a channel for recruitment with 33% in 2022, up from 20% in 2021.

Survey results reveal that the majority (61%) of fintech companies have their employees stay an average of 1-3 years as compared to 44% in 2021, indicating a decrease in average employee tenure.
Attrition rate has gone up in the past year, with 42% of companies experiencing an attrition rate of between 10-20% in 2022, an 11% increase as compared to 31% in 2021.

Similar to 2021, limited career development and enhancement as well as insufficient monetary and non-monetary rewards remain the top two reasons why employees are leaving fintech companies in 2022.
Many fintech companies continue to have insufficient investment in learning and development. 50% of these companies spend less than $500 on learning and development per employee, as compared to 28% in 2021.

A critical part of talent development is performance management. Most fintech companies employ some form of a structured approach to performance management.
The most utilised practices for setting and measuring goals include KPIs (58%) and OKRs (49%), formal approaches such as regular, continuous feedback (84%), and manager calibration through discussions (55%).

“As we brace for a challenging and uncertain year ahead, fintech leaders will need to prioritise the talent agenda and invest in the right talent in order to drive business growth,”
said Shadab Taiyabi, President of Singapore Fintech Association.

“In Singapore alone, 6000 new jobs are expected to be created in the next two years within the fintech industry. Talent development needs to be the core of fintechs’ strategic agenda,”
said Nesan Govender, Talent & Organisation lead, Southeast at Accenture.