Banks dominated the top 5 best companies in Singapore to work for, according to LinkedIn’s list of the best workplaces in the country in 2024.
“Commercial banking firms from banking to insurance and digital payments, dominated the 2024 LinkedIn Top Companies in Singapore, comprising more than half of the top 15 (up from 5 in 2023),” Pooja Chhabria, head of editorial for Asia-Pacific for LinkedIn told CNBC Make It.
“This is no surprise as Singapore is a well-established financial hub in the region, characterized by stable regulatory frameworks, and increased adoption of digital banking,” she said.
LinkedIn’s data assesses various aspects of career progression. It ranked companies based on eight pillars: ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity; educational background, and employee presence in the country.
The list, released Wednesday, only includes companies that had at least 500 employees in Singapore as of the end of 2023. Additionally, recruiting firms, educational institutions, and government agencies were excluded from the list.
Here are the top five names on LinkedIn’s 2024 list for Singapore:
1. DBS Bank
Industry: Banking
Size of company: 30,000+
Most notable skills: Commercial banking, criminal law, intellectual property
Most common job titles: Business development officer, wealth manager, software engineer
Headquartered in the city-state, the Development Bank of Singapore was established by the government in 1968 to help finance the young nation’s industrialization and urban development projects. It is today Southeast Asia’s largest bank, offering corporate banking and financial services. This is the third year in a row that DBS Bank has landed in the top five of LinkedIn’s top companies to work for in Singapore.
2. Schneider Electric
Industry: Manufacturing, machinery, automation
Size of company: 100,000+
Most notable skills: Power systems, electronic control systems, utilities, instrumentation
Most common job titles: Account manager, project manager
Founded almost two centuries ago in 1836, this French multinational company is a new addition to the list. Schneider Electric specializes in energy management and digital automation and offers solutions across sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and more.
3. Standard Chartered Bank
Industry: Banking
Size of company: 80,000+
Most notable skills: Commercial banking, capital markets, software development life cycle
Most common job titles: Business analyst, business development officer, product team manager
Standard Chartered Bank moved down one notch to third place after being ranked second from 2021-2023. Established in 1969 in London, the international banking group provides treasury services as well as retail, corporate, and institutional banking.
4. American Express
Industry: Financial services, banking
Size of company: 70,000+
Most notable skills: Travel management, commercial banking, sales leads
Most common job titles: Relationship manager, data science manager, director
Another new addition to the list is American Express, which was founded in 1850 in Buffalo, New York. The global financial services company specializes in credit cards and offers products for consumers and businesses alike.
5. OCBC Bank
Industry: Financial services, banking
Size of company: 15,000+
Most notable skills: Commercial banking, insurance, investment banking
Most common job titles: Business development officer, financial advisor, financial planner
OCBC topped the list in 2021, ranked 4th in 2022, and dropped off LinkedIn’s list last year. This year, the company regained a spot in the top five. Founded in 1932, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation is among the country’s top three banking giants. This multinational financial firm offers services from commercial banking to wealth management. Almost 20% of its roles are on a hybrid schedule, according to LinkedIn.
Whilst commercial banking dominated the list, the healthcare, pharmaceutical and biomed sector made a strong showing with five companies in the top 15.Pooja ChhabriaHEAD OF EDITORIAL APAC AND LINKEDIN CAREER EXPERT
Another sector that is quickly growing in Singapore is health care.
Some of the companies in the health-care sector are featured high up on the list in Singapore:
6. Singlife (a subsidiary of Sumitomo Life Insurance Company)
7. Procter & Gamble
8. BD
9. Abbott
10. Mastercard
11. Takeda
12. Roche
13. S&P Global
14. Alphabet Inc.
15. HSBC
“Interestingly, only six companies from last year retained their placement on this year’s list, indicating a significant turnover in featured companies and suggesting that more firms are investing in attracting top talent and helping employees create meaningful careers,” Chhabria told CNBC Make It.