SINGAPORE'S burgeoning technology sector may be a sales boon for IT companies, but many of them are now facing the bane of a manpower drought as competition for scarce talent intensifies.

According to a recent employment survey by recruitment firm Hudson, technology firms have the hardest time in finding new staff compared to their counterparts in other industries.

'Seventy-three per cent of respondents (in the technology sector) say that recruiting has become harder. Singapore's emergence as a regional IT hub has created huge demand for skilled employees and employers are struggling to find the people they need,' said Yeo Gek Cheng, Hudson's director of its IT&T (information techno- logy and telecommunications) practice.

The study showed that sales professionals continue to be in demand across most sectors. In the IT field, banking technology specialists are highly sought-after as more banks relocate their operations centre here, she explained.

Hudson's study examined the human resource (HR) challenges like recruitment issues as well as staff development schemes used across a wide range of vertical industries.

In light of the limited IT talent pool and heightened demand, technology firms are finding it increasingly difficult to hold on to their staff.

'The IT&T sector had the highest number of respondents (43 per cent) who see staff retention as the principal challenge for HR. This is a clear recognition that there is a finite talent pool of specialist skills and that employers must introduce comprehensive measures to protect themselves against losing key staff,' Ms Yeo told BizIT in an interview.

Beyond the prospect of offering higher salaries and bonuses, companies are introducing manpower development schemes for their top employees. The survey revealed that the three most popular ones were management development, coaching and mentoring programmes. In particular, Ms Yeo said coaching is popular with technology firms as workers are hard-pressed for time to attend formal training regimes.

However, beyond tangible returns like salaries, she stressed intangible factors are also becoming an integral part of the equation in retaining staff.

'There will always be a better pay master but the individual will eventually consider one who provides a good environment to work in or one staffed with top calibre professionals who can contribute to his learning curve,' she stressed.

Hudson is not alone in its prognosis of the issues in the local technology job market. Singapore's IT brain drain is part of a larger manpower shortage that is confronting the entire Asia-Pacific region. A survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the Economic Intelligence Unit in December last year also yielded similar findings. In the study, Asian executives highlighted difficulties in finding technical talent in emerging markets, as well as with hanging on to existing staff.

With intensified competi- tion, coupled with scarce supply, emerging countries like China and India have witnessed a jump in the salaries of IT workers. The situation has gotten to a point where both countries, which have traditionally been viewed as low-cost destinations for technology companies, will no longer be viewed as favourable from a cost perspective for good talent, PwC said.

This article first appeared in BT on April 09, 2007