Could you introduce Airswift to our audience, and comment on how the merger with Competentia in 2021 consolidated the business?

Airswift is a global workforce solution provider with over 800 employees in over 60 offices. Historically, we have mostly operated in the energy sector, but in recent years we expanded into STEM industries, including infrastructure, mining, technology and manufacturing. In June last year, Airswift closed the merger with Competentia, the two businesses perfectly complementing in terms of geographical reach, clientele, and services. The wider territorial spread has particularly generated significant revenue synergies, but also more opportunities for our candidates, our contractors, as well as our people to move into new roles. Moreover, the work both companies were driving individually in terms of technology and digital innovation came together and created additional scale.

Could you give us a sense of Airswift’s presence in APAC and in Singapore?

APAC has been a core part of our business ever since the 1980s. Singapore is our regional corporate hub and we have operations in Australia, New Zealand, Papa New Guinea, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and China, which is a big market for us. As regional economies invest more in innovation, technology and new energies, topped up by renewed investments in the O&G sector, I expect our services to grow significantly in new STEM industries. Compared to the same period last year, Q1 of 2022 saw a 30% increase in activity for the region.

What were the key findings of Airswift’s GETI (Global Energy Talent Index) 2022 report?

The theme for GETI 2022 was “talent in transition,” which sums up what we’re seeing. In a short period of time, the pandemic changed how we look at the energy transition, pushed new ways of working and adopting technologies, and it fundamentally tilted the balance of power back from employers to professionals. In 2020-2021, the biggest issue facing employees was job security, but this year the biggest issue is career progression and development – which shifts the responsibility on employers to make sure they provide those opportunities and attract new employees. In the energy sector, workers have highly transferable skills which enable them to move across industries. The renewables sector stands out as an attractive choice. On its side, the renewables sector is also 1.6 times more likely to hire people from outside the energy space compared to the O&G sector. About 86% of our respondents indicated that ESG was a factor they looked at when considering leaving or staying in a job. The energy sector is also seeing more competition from the technology sector, which was ranked as the most attractive non-energy sector by our respondents. Similar to renewables, the tech sector is very open to hiring and retraining people from other technical backgrounds.

What can the chemical industry do better to attract talent, especially young talent?

The one thing the industry is guilty of is that it does not talk enough about the positive initiatives to offset some of the negativity around fossil fuels and carbon emissions. Singaporean players are looking at the entire value chain in their decarbonization efforts, and they are under ever-stricter regulations that force them to get better. The industry in Singapore is also doubling down on diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), which is something younger generations are more concerned about than in the past. The messaging needs to get better also around explaining the centricity of O&G players in the energy transition.

Could you share your key priorities moving forward?

Airswift has four major pillars of focus: The first is to develop our people by giving them chances to progress, more exposure to global positions but also to innovation outside of their normal BAU (business as usual). Then, we want to continue our growth in STEM industries. Thirdly, we would like the market to see us as the leading talent provider for many of the large investors in new energies. Our final objective is digitalization. We are working on several projects to enable closer relationships with our stakeholders by giving them access to data to make informed decisions.

Do you have a final message?

People are transitioning much more seamlessly across industries than they have done in the past, and up-and-coming industries are more open to taking talent from other sectors, like chemicals or O&G. It’s important that employers understand there is a huge fight for technical talent so they need to do what they can to develop and hold on to their talent.