SINGAPORE, April 29 — Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Standard Chartered Bank and consumer goods company Unilever are the top three companies to work for, according to LinkedIn’s 2021 list of top companies in Singapore.

The professional networking site unveiled yesterday the top 15 companies that made the list, which was published for the first time in Singapore.

They are:

1. OCBC Bank
2. Standard Chartered Singapore
3. Unilever
4. EY
5. UOB
6. Citi
7. Accenture
8. ST Engineering
9. FairPrice Group
10. Sea
11. IBM
12. PwC
13. KPMG
14. Prudential
15. DBS Bank

According to LinkedIn, many companies on the Singapore list are currently hiring, with more than 1,700 job positions available.

The LinkedIn top companies list is an annual guide that identifies the best places for professionals to grow their careers.

LinkedIn rates companies using seven data indicators: Ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity and educational background.

LinkedIn said that all 15 companies in the list invest in employee success, career development, equity and inclusion.

Companies in banking, accounting and financial services dominate the list, reflecting the strength of the banking sector in Singapore and its resilience during the pandemic, said LinkedIn.

Chris Anderson, senior news editor of Asia-Pacific at LinkedIn, said the challenges that came about through the Covid-19 pandemic helped it to identify companies investing in employee growth.

"We found the best companies that have put their employees first by implementing various policies around well-being and mental health, and helping them get back on their feet, through training and development programmes,” he said.

Companies that made it to the list have the following features:

• Committed to or launched programmes aimed at developing their employees’ skills to meet future and current job requirements
• For example, ST Engineering partnered educational institutions to train its employees, EY has its own virtual Master of Business Administration programme and Prudential has offered machine learning training.
• Supported their workforce through challenging times with flexible work arrangements and employee well-being policies
• For example, OCBC Bank pledged not to lay off any staff, Unilever gave its employees a day off as a way of thanking them for working hard during the pandemic and Accenture implemented an employee assistance programme as well as other schemes to support their employees.
• Made strong investments in digital capabilities
• For example, Sea’s e-commerce and gaming business boomed during the pandemic and the firm was also awarded with a digital full bank licence by the Singapore authorities, and Standard Chartered Bank launched a digital-only bank in the city-state. — TODAY