Talent consultancy and staffing agency Modis launches in Singapore

In Singapore, the technology sector is transforming at a rapid rate to meet the demands of a digitalising economy, and Technology professional staffing and solutions company Modis has expanded into the country to fill a gap in its talent pool.

Singapore's economy is developing at a pace which has left the talent pool unable to fill the current job openings. Growing demand for digital goods and services is shaping the Singaporean job market and, according to the Ministry of Manpower’s February 2018 report, companies are finding it continuously difficult to access IT talent.

The root cause of the issue lies in the speed at which companies across the country are digitalising. To achieve success across the board, from start-ups to multinationals, companies believe that they need to become fully ‘digital’. This may include utilising big-data, embracing Agile processes and other innovative sector disrupting technologies like blockchain.

The Singaporean government is promoting digitalisation for local businesses as a way to future-proof the city-state. “Digitalisation, innovation and highly skilled workers will enable cities and regions to prosper while staying open and connected to the world,” said the Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat. The government put aside $1.7 billion to help companies, large and small, with this transition in 2017.

The Minister for Communications and Information, Yaacob Ibrahim identified focus areas which can enable Singapore to develop into a digital economy. These areas include; Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, Cybersecurity, Immersive media, Internet of Things and future communications infrastructure. Within the Singaporean Government’s digitalisation strategy are numerous ongoing initiatives that will aid businesses and employees with the transition into the digital era.

However, with the rapid rate of change in the workplace, enhancing professional knowledge of digital technologies is not enough. Over 20% of firms worldwide saying that their biggest barrier to going digital is a lack of talent, and the fact that Singapore is already playing catchup. the talent gap for digital service professionals is likely to widen.

In a Forrester survey released earlier this year titled ‘Advance your digital maturity in Singapore and Hong Kong,’ the research and advisory firm identified a foundation of the problem. “Only half of the respondents said that their firm has a companywide program to identify, hire, and nurture digital skills.” With exponential growth in the digital sector and a government led push for businesses to go digital, Singapore seems to be the perfect market expansion for Modis.

The company is founded on the basis of delivering agile and intelligent end-to-end solutions for its customers, which includes professional staffing and IT consulting, project services, managed services, customised solutions, and full IT outsourcing projects. The company believes it will thrive in Singapore due to its high-quality specialist teams, ability to collaborate and its unrivalled and diverse portfolio.

Modis & the city state

Modis in Singapore will be led by Pierre-Francois, a long time resident in the Asia-Pacific region and a veteran of the global recruitment industry. “Modis is unique in its ability to enhance any project within the tech world, by connecting companies with the right talent solutions for their needs," said Pierre-Francois Vieau. "We will offer our clients top expertise, flexibility and agility to embrace innovation throughout their project or product life cycle, to drive change, or to accompany them in their digital transformation,” he continued.

The company has been operating for over 20 years across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Modis is a subsidiary company of the globally operating The Adecco Group; a Fortune Global 500 company that employs over 700,000 people and has a network across 60 countries.

The Regional Head of APAC for The Adecco Group, Ian Lee added “launching Modis in Singapore is highly complementary to the existing Adecco Group brands in place – that includes the Adecco General Staffing Brand and Spring Professional. The group is well placed to support the increasingly sophisticated needs of organisations across Singapore”.

Related: Government gives boost to professional services industry of Singapore.