SINGAPORE — To better understand the reasons behind gaps in the social sector and its sub-sectors, as well as manpower attrition rates, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) will be conducting an annual survey on the sector’s manpower profile, starting this year.

The primarily quantitative survey will also measure the “level of adoption” of the 2012/2013 salary guidelines among voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) that are registered with the National Council of Social Service (NCSS), according to tender documents published on GeBiz — the Government’s e-procurement site — on June 12.

Previously, manpower data was collected from the community and social sectors to provide a “whole-of-sector” overview of data and trends. This was coordinated by the NCSS on a biannual basis. The new survey aims to collect “more comprehensive and up-to-date manpower and salary data”, according to the tender document.

Demand for manpower in the sector is set to surge against the backdrop of a rapidly ageing population, whose needs will increase in scale, scope and complexity.

By 2016, manpower needed to fuel services in the elderly and disability sub-sectors, such as in senior group homes, senior care centres and homes for adults with disability, is expected to rise by 30 per cent.

With the survey, the MSF will be able to identify which professions are in demand, the profiles and the number of vacancies. It will also determine the overall manpower growth rate of the sector and identify how manpower projection can be “reconciled with actual ground hiring”. The survey will be completed by June next year.

The NCSS will launch a career centre tomorrow at TripleOne Somerset in a move to attract talent to the sector and provide career guidance and placement to job-seekers.

Schools have been ramping up enrolment to help meet sector demand. Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP), whose first batch of 25 Diploma in Social Science students graduated last month, is doubling its 2013/2014 intake to “support the projected manpower needs” of the sector, an NYP spokesperson said.

About 260 students have graduated from SIM University’s undergrad and postgrad programmes in social work since 2007. In 2011, the intake for the undergraduate programme was increased from 30 to 60.

The Social Service Training Institute, which started with only 1,000 training places across 80 programmes in 2003, now provides 11,085 places across some 250 programmes. And about 60 to 70 students graduated annually from the National University of Singapore’s Department of Social Work between 2010 and last year.

The survey will help the ministry improve retention and career development by determining attrition levels, the profile of staff who leave and factors that correlate to attrition levels. It will also pinpoint the average and median pay increment across all positions.

In a media reply, an MSF spokesperson said that an NCSS survey last year indicated that 76 per cent of staff serving in MSF-funded programmes received an average salary increase of about 11 per cent.

Mr Jason Foo, Chief Executive Officer of the Alzheimer’s Disease Association, told TODAY that the sector’s attrition rate is still “manageable at the moment” but attracting new staff is difficult. “The survey will be very useful for VWOs in terms of adjusting the salary scale so they can attract and retain good staff,” he said. ASHLEY CHIA