Why the world’s software engineers are moving to Singapore

After exploring why entrepreneurs, tech firms, and founders are moving to Singapore, here’s why engineering talents want to be in the heart of Asia.

Over the past few years, some of the biggest technology companies have made Singapore a key node in its operations. Social media giant Facebook is opening its first S$1.38 billion (US$1 billion) Asian data centre while Google’s third data centre for their next billion users is on the cards.

Southeast Asia’s own unicorns have also made Singapore their staging ground to grow their operations. Grab, the region’s largest ride-hailing platform, decided to relocate its headquarters to Singapore in 2014. E-commerce giant Lazada also chose Singapore as its group’s headquarters.

The common reason why the tech giants are turning to Singapore? Great talent, says Mr Lionel Wong, senior tech recruiter at Indeed.com, one of the largest job portals in the world. “If you look at Indonesian startups, you’ll realise they're building their engineering centres in Singapore. Big Indonesia unicorns base their tech teams here. The senior software engineers are being hired here. They see the talent here.”

Glassdoor noted in a 2019 report that there were 5,806 tech-related positions available in Singapore as of November 2018. Some of the biggest Silicon Valley giants, including Amazon, Apple, Dell, and Visa, are hiring in Singapore.

A big part of the surge in demand for talent is simply because technology companies, big and small, are using Singapore as a launch pad for the region. “If you’re talking about launching products across Southeast Asia, Singapore is the best place to do so,” says Mr Wong.

Real estate company Colliers International noted that Singapore was only second to Bangalore for companies looking to establish and expand their operations in Asia.

“As Singapore continues to transform into an innovation-led, high-tech economy, it will remain a compelling business destination for global technology firms,” notes Ms Tricia Song, Colliers’ head of research in Singapore.

The country’s Smart Nation push is helping to push the frontiers on a number of new technologies. Supporting this vision is a growing eco-system of MNCs, SMEs, government agencies and universities all attuned to the latest in developments in technological research.

For example, Alibaba, one of China’s richest company, recently launched a talent programme with Nanyang Technological University in Singapore to support their research and development efforts here and in China.

It is thus of little surprise that real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle ranked Singapore as the top foreign investment destination for Chinese tech giants like Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent.

For many talented individuals, having a clean, safe, and stable environment also factors into their considerations.

This is especially true if they are looking to start families or raise children. Singapore’s education system has been held as an example for other countries to follow. In the IMD World Talent Ranking report 2018, Singapore ranks highly for its education system, and is top in the world in a PISA education assessment of 15-year olds – a big plus for parents.

The IMD study also crowned Singapore as Asia’s top destination for talent, and scored global second in the availability of skills and competencies in the talent pool – a testament to why talent is eager to move to the Republic.

Singapore was also ranked first in Asia Pacific and second worldwide for attracting and developing talent, in the 2019 Global Talent Competitiveness Index.

“It’s easy to come here and live here. It’s painless. There’s no real obstacle or mental obstacle for people to come to Singapore besides the usual worries about moving their family,” says Mr Wong.

Get started: Building your engineering team

Wondering where to start? Besides international job portals like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed.com, here are other platforms that companies can tap for their tech talent needs: