1 in 3 employers are hiring contract workers. Are contract jobs the new norm for Singapore grads?

Should young job seekers start their careers with contract roles? With stiff competition for full-time roles, a tight job market and employers being more selective about new permanent hires, perhaps contract roles shouldn’t be off the table. In Singapore, such roles have become more common over the past few years. What can young people do to build their careers? Also, is contract work truly the ‘lesser cousin’ of permanent work? In this episode, Natasha speaks with: • Francois Lancon, the regional president of Asia Pacific and Middle East for ManpowerGroup, a global expert on labour market and employment trends, • Tyrina Toh, a contract content creator for businesses, who left a full time position to work only contract and freelance jobs •Seth Ng, a fresh university graduate who is currently looking for a job. Highlights (click/tap above): 0:00 Intro 2:34 Should the GovTech retrenchments be a cause for concern? 3:43 Why the surge in contract roles? 6:42 Tyrina’s first contract role at 16 10:26 Is contract work financially feasible? 12:01 Contract work a “launchpad” to full-time role: Seth 15:56 Do contract roles make you look like a job hopper? 19:10 Taking charge of your professional growth 23:26 Is contract work exploitative? 29:01 What happens when a contract role gets cut unexpectedly? 33:12 Should you do many internships to land a permanent role? Host: Natasha Ann Zachariah (natashaz@sph.com.sg) Read Natasha’s articles: https://str.sg/iSXm Follow Natasha on her IG account and DM her your thoughts on this topic: https://str.sg/8KNT Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN Follow The Usual Place podcast on IG: / theusualplacepodcast Follow Natasha on LinkedIn: https://str.sg/v6DN Filmed by: Studio+65 Edited by: Eden Soh & Natasha Liew Executive producer: Danson Cheong Producers: Natasha Ann Zachariah, Elizabeth Law & Zachary Lim Follow The Usual Place Podcast and get notified for new episode drops every Thursday: Channel: https://str.sg/5nfm Apple Podcasts: https://str.sg/9ijX Spotify: https://str.sg/cd2P YouTube: https://str.sg/theusualplacepodcast Feedback to: podcast@sph.com.sg Turn on notifications 🔔 to stay updated. -------------------- Discover more ST podcast channels: All-in-one ST Podcasts channel ➤ https://str.sg/wvz7 Get The Straits Times' app, which has a dedicated podcast player section: The App Store ➤ https://str.sg/icyB Google Play ➤ https://str.sg/icyX