Technology candidates remain in short supply in Singapore with demand only likely to grow over the quarter, according to recruitment experts Hays. The latest Hays Quarterly Report reveals that despite strong competition for talent, Singaporean employers are setting the bar high when selecting their preferred candidate.

“There are a rising number of roles coming to market but most employers are struggling to fill them due to the significant shortage of suitable local candidates,” explains Lynne Roeder, Managing Director for Hays in Singapore.

“Employers are running long recruitment campaigns aimed at Singaporean and Permanent Residents and even re-running those campaigns in an effort to hire locally. Where this is not possible, companies are willing to look overseas but the process is a highly selective one in order to secure an employment pass,” Lynne added.

“Despite the strong demand for talent, employers remain focused on hiring candidates with strong ‘soft skills’,” says Lynne.

“For example, project managers should be proactive problem solvers with the ability to effectively translate the tech world to non-IT colleagues, plus be able to demonstrate a willingness to pursue professional development to keep up with the latest solutions and technologies.”

See: Salaries in Tech Sector in Singapore to Surpass Banking in 2017

Candidates that meet the requirements are so hard to find that, important project work is being put on hold in many organizations or must make do with far fewer resources, than needed and this is proving a real struggle for Singaporean companies.

Investment, corporate and private banks are on the hunt for strong project managers able to drive projects across change management, regulatory compliance and business transformation. Candidates must have excellent stakeholder management skills and a proven ability to manage multiple decision makers, costs and people.

Cloud architects have a choice of roles this quarter and in banking and finance, cyber security professionals are in high demand. Corporate and retail banks also have a strong and constant need for big data and analytics experts, data scientists, data warehousing experts and business analysts.

Mobile developers remain in very hot demand too, as more companies are looking to build their own mobile applications. Meanwhile, in the banking and Fintech sectors, developers of all tech languages are needed to work on almost daily application changes.

Singapore will also see steady demand for support and system engineers, as many companies continue to struggle to back-fill roles. Singaporean-based firms expanding into South East Asian markets are looking for pre sales and technical sales candidates.

Also read: Singapore Encourages Career Opportunities for Women in Tech