By Juliet Soh

97% of the employers reported that hiring skilled professionals in the second half of 2011 will continue to be a challenge, according to the latest survey conducted by Robert Half Workplace, a recruitment firm.

The industries that faced the most difficulties in Singapore are: Finance (28%), followed by Accounting (18%), Compliance (18%), Operational Support (14%), and Audit (8%).

Of the companies that are hiring, 70% of the new positions are for junior level professionals, 56% for middle management and 12% for senior management/director level staff.

By Juliet Soh

With a competitive job market and higher expectations from jobseekers, career fairs must offer more than just job opportunities. JobsCentral took the lead in offering an exclusive networking session, on-site interviews and free seminars in addition to jobs in the JobsCentral Career & Learning Fair 2011.

The annual event, in its 6th year running, attracted a visitorship of more than 50,000 and hosted 109 exhibition booths. Employers from many industries are represented, including a strong showing by tourism and hospitality employers including Singapore Tourism Board, Duck & HiPPO, Fairmont and Swissotel, InterContinental Hotels Group, Sentosa Leisure Group and Wildlife Reserves Singapore.