A skills shortage has forced companies in Singapore to recruit overseas , including from India, with the battle for talent hitting a four-year high, a survey said Saturday. More than four in 10 employers are looking abroad to fill executive posts , Hudson Global Resources found. Apart from India, most foreigners sought by the IT sector are from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Britain and China.

Media and advertising firms are also hiring from abroad, particularly for creative positions, the survey said. The Hudson Report tracks quarterly employment trends in the city-state.?Companies are finding it more difficult to recruit the professionals they need,? country manager Stefanie Cross-Wilson told The Straits Times. ?They are engaged in a war for talent.? Fifty-two percent of the 543 employers polled are looking to increase headcounts, up from 45 percent a year ago. Candidates have become selective, holding out for higher pay.

Leading the recruitment drive is the banking sector, with many financial firms facing difficulties in obtaining qualified staff. Banks kept hiring to a minimum following the Asian financial crisis, the survey noted.

Now there is pent-up demand for a limited pool of candidates with the right skills. Those without specialised skills and the lower skilled remain vulnerable. They form the bulk of the unemployed. The jobless rate climbed from 3.7 percent last December to 3.9 percent in March.

<I>Source: Times of India</I>