Debated in Parliament on 12 Sep 2022.
Mr Speaker, Sir, Members of the House, I recently announced targeted enhancements to our work pass framework, to better attract top global talent and experienced tech professionals in areas of skills shortage.
Our goal is simple and unchanged: to create more opportunities for Singaporeans, at every level of the workforce.
At its core, economic development is human capital development. It is the skills, knowledge and ingenuity of a country's people that generate economic prosperity. Businesses attract talent with these attributes, local and global. And talent and the teams they develop around them in turn attract more businesses and encourages them to grow higher value-added activities.
Countries that manage to develop and anchor talent benefit from this virtuous cycle, which benefits everyone in the workforce. Those that do not, stagnate and worse, fall behind. Getting this right is all the more critical for Singapore, where people are our only real resource.
Many countries know this and they are playing an offensive game. They have populations larger than ours, but they are still going out of their way to court global talent.
The Prime Minister mentioned Germany and the UK in his National Day Rally speech. These are just two examples. Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have also launched talent visas of their own. And within the last month, countries much nearer to us such as Malaysia and Thailand have done the same.
I do not think that it is mere coincidence that countries and even cities around the world have upped their game to attract global talent. They know that when it comes to talent, you can never have enough – because of the virtuous cycle that I talked about.
In this race, Singapore is coming from a position of strength, but we cannot stand still.
As we move to create a high value, inclusive and a more sustainable economy, there are many opportunities for us to capture, be it in the green sector, in AI, or in fintech. And to do that, we need to attract the best from around the world, even as we do our utmost to develop local talents in each field.
These are the rainmakers of the world, whom we hope to bring to Singapore, so that we can tap on their networks. We can grow teams around them and learn from their expertise, and through these efforts, we can level up our industries as well as our workforce.
Members of the House appreciate this. The questions raised on the recent enhancements to the work pass framework – across 24 Parliamentary Questions – generally seek more details on the targeted enhancements to attract global talent and our ongoing efforts to develop our own local talent pipeline. These are important and valid questions and I thank Members for them.
As part of my Ministerial Statement today, I will address oral Question Nos 1 to 18 from today's Order Paper as well as questions filed by Miss Rachel Ong, Mr Patrick Tay, Assoc Prof Jamus Lim and Mr Don Wee for the sitting on or after 13 September. I would like to invite all Members to seek clarifications after my Statement and consider withdrawing the questions filed for future sittings so that we can address this issue in the same sitting.
Let me start by recapping the four targeted enhancements to our work pass framework.
First, a new Overseas Networks & Expertise Pass (ONE Pass) for talent earning at least $30,000 in fixed monthly salary, comparable to the top 5% of Employment Pass (EP) holders or with outstanding achievements in arts and culture, sports and research and academia.
Second, a new benchmark pegged to the top 10% of EP holders for our existing schemes, namely, the exemption from the Fair Consideration Framework (FCF) job advertising requirement and Complementarity Assessment framework (COMPASS) as well as salary criterion for the Personalised Employment Pass (PEP).
Third, restoring the FCF job advertising duration from 28 days to 14 days with effect from 1 September 2022 and improving the processing time of EP applications.
Lastly, the option of a five-year EP to experienced professionals filling tech occupations on the COMPASS Shortage Occupation List (SOL).
These are highly targeted enhancements. They are aimed at attracting top talent in diverse fields and experienced tech professionals in areas of skill shortages. They build on our efforts to improve the complementarity and diversity of our foreign workforce. The enhancements will also aim to build significant first-mover and sustainable competitive advantages in new growth areas to keep us ahead of the competition. I will address questions raised on each move in turn.
On the ONE Pass, Members have sought clarifications on the privileges, criteria, safeguards, expected numbers as well as impact on local employment outcomes.
Mr Leong Mun Wai has asked what would make the ONE Pass more attractive to talent, compared to the Tech.Pass. Similar to the Tech.Pass, the ONE Pass is a personalised pass that allows the holder to concurrently start, operate and work for multiple companies in Singapore at any one time. But compared to the Tech.Pass, it is open to candidates from all sectors and is not limited to the tech sector alone. It has a longer duration of five years instead of two years. Spouses of ONE Pass holders are also able to obtain a Letter of Consent (LOC) to work.
In response to Assoc Prof Jamus Lim's question, we do not have restrictions on the occupations that LOC holders can work in – this is, generally, the same approach for all other work pass holders, including dependants working in Singapore.
The longer duration of the pass as well as the LOC for spouses, is meant to give top talent the additional assurance they need when deciding whether to come to Singapore. Businesses tell us that these are key factors that top talent consider before deciding where to go.
Some Members asked why dependants of ONE Pass holders are able to work on an LOC instead of being assessed based on their own merits.
Today, dependants of EP holders are eligible to work in Singapore if they obtain a work pass. We stopped issuing LOCs to dependants, not because we did not want them to work here, but because it made sense to hold them to a similar bar as all other foreigners. This policy remains unchanged.
But when we are talking about top talent, we must be mindful of how global and mobile they are and how stiff the competition is for them. Many other jurisdictions, including Hong Kong, the UAE and the UK, offer work privileges for dependants. When people make major relocation decisions, it is usually a family decision. Without certainty for the spouse, these talents may choose to go elsewhere.
In terms of numbers, it is not that material. Of the top 5% of existing EP holders that might qualify for the ONE Pass as a proxy, only a small minority have spouses who are working. But in terms of the signal that we are giving to top talent, it is absolutely material and absolutely needle-moving.
Turning to the criteria for the ONE Pass, Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman and Mr Pritam Singh have asked for more details on the criteria for talent with outstanding achievements who do not need to meet the salary criterion of $30,000.
In gist, we are looking at individuals who have demonstrated exceptionally high levels of achievement in the fields of arts, sports, science and academia who can help us push new frontiers, draw in greater investments and interest to grow our local ecosystem and, most importantly, create a very diverse range of opportunities for Singaporeans.
In the case of sports, for example, it would include current and former world-class, top-ranked athletes who may wish to set up their commercial operations or training bases in Singapore, from which our own local athletes, coaches and sports ecosystem can benefit.
MOM will work with sector agencies that are experts in these domains, such as MCCY, NAC, MOE and NRF, to identify such exceptional talent.
Others, such as Mr Gerald Giam, asked whether the $30,000 fixed monthly salary criterion can be drawn from multiple employers. In general, the fixed monthly salary of $30,000 must be from one employer. This helps us ensure that the candidate has played or will be playing a meaningful role in a company. For overseas candidates, the previous or prospective employer must also have a market capitalisation of at least US$500 million or an annual revenue of at least US$200 million.
I think most people would agree with me that $30,000 is, indeed, a high bar, but some worry that there could be potential abuse of the new ONE Pass. Mr Desmond Choo, Ms He Ting Ru, Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Yip Hon Weng have all asked about the checks that would be in place to prevent abuse or fraudulent applications. In general, the vast majority of employers and businesses are honest. They take our policies and MOM seriously and they know that there are grave consequences if they submit a false declaration. Nevertheless, we will take precautions as we roll out this new pass that offers more privileges and put in safeguards at two levels.
First level – we will carefully vet all applications. Today, MOM already conducts back-end checks to sieve out potential cases of false salary declarations. This includes scrutinising applications from companies with a limited track record and asking for more documents to verify that the salary declared will, in fact, be paid. This will also be applied to all ONE Pass applications. For those seeking to convert from an existing EP, we will scrutinise their personal income tax filings with IRAS to ensure they are consistent with their applications. For overseas candidates, we will further assess their company's market capitalisation and revenue based on verifiable sources. The economic agencies will support MOM in this endeavour.
Second level – we will engage ONE Pass holders during their time in Singapore so that we will be up to date with their professional activities and annual income. This will factor into our assessment on their eligibility for renewals.
Ms Hazel Poa asked why we do not impose a time limit requiring ONE Pass applicants to remain employed. Let me be very clear. The ONE Pass is not meant to be abused as a visit or travel document. MOM reserves the right to cancel the Pass if there are extended periods of economic inactivity with no good reasons.
Having said that, we are bringing in these talents and giving them flexibilities because we want to encourage them to take risks, to explore new frontiers and to make a big impact to benefit Singapore. It is important to allow them some ramp-up period for that to happen and not be too quick to jump to the conclusion that they are not contributing.
Members have asked how many individuals we are expecting to qualify for the ONE Pass. This Pass is meant for talent that is comparable to the top 5% of our EP holders, which means that the salary criterion is based on the 95th percentile of EP wages.
To give a sense of numbers, 5% of our EP holders today would be around 8,000. But the focus is really not on the numbers because our focus is on quality rather than quantity.
Mr Mohd Fahmi Aliman, Mr Pritam Singh and Ms He Ting Ru have also asked whether we will be setting a quota on the number of ONE Pass holders. We are not setting a quota and the reason is this – if we accept that there is never enough of top talent to go around the world, then it does not make sense for us to limit the amount of talent we are bringing in. If we impose a quota, we are, essentially, putting a hard limit on how strongly we can compete at the high-end of the global economy. This ultimately hurts Singaporeans, who will then have fewer opportunities.
This is the same reason why we do not impose a quota for EPs, but focus instead on setting a high quality bar. Given that the ONE Pass has an even higher quality bar than an EP, it would not be wise for us to apply a quota here.
However, Members would know that we are talking about the top of the pyramid of talent. Given the highly selective nature of the scheme, there is no risk of a deluge of people coming in through the ONE Pass.
There are naturally questions on how the ONE Pass would benefit Singaporeans and what the expected impact on local employment is going to be. Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Ang Wei Neng have asked this. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim have also asked how meaningful contributions and the success of the ONE Pass will be measured.
As I have mentioned earlier, we will engage all ONE Pass holders. This will allow us to better gauge if they have been contributing in meaningful ways. Even so, the relationship between talent, innovation and economic growth is more than a simple, linear one. The contributions of talented individuals go beyond a set of key performance indicators (KPIs). Limiting and reducing it to that risks constraining us to a measurement and missing the forest for the trees.
Some ONE Pass holders may be employees, making it possible to bring a new business unit to Singapore or grow a new line of business. Others may set up companies of their own, generating employment as well as supporting their network of business partners who can also provide good jobs. Yet others may be here to teach, to advise or to consult for local enterprises, sharing their expertise with Singaporean business owners and professionals.
Like any portfolio, the contribution of each ONE Pass holder can vary. Indeed, not all may succeed in the first instance because such is the nature of risk-taking. What matters is the sum of the parts and how well the entire portfolio performs.
We are building a rich network of markets, people and ideas that, over time, will show up in the dynamism of our economy. And if, at the macro level, local job creation remains strong, unemployment low, real income growth sustained, and if, amongst our people, there is always a sense of hope and of opportunities, then I think we would have succeeded.
Our local SMEs will benefit from this too. Mr Don Wee asked how these enhancements to our work pass framework would help our SMEs. SMEs are the backbone of our economy. They too will be able to benefit from the recent enhancements.
Mr Lennon Tan, President of the Singapore Manufacturing Federation, agrees. In an interview with Channel 8 news, he mentioned that SMEs can now benefit from the expertise of these talent and professionals as they are not tied to just one employer.
Indeed, some SMEs could benefit from directly hiring the ONE Pass holders, while others could tap on the Pass holder’s expertise through consulting services, or inviting them to join their Boards.
Just as importantly, a vibrant, growing economy will create more business opportunities or build a new eco-system for our SMEs who may be partners, contractors, suppliers or service providers. This may be in up-and-coming sectors like green economy or fintech, where there will be new cheese for our SMEs.
Moving on to the new benchmark for existing schemes, including the exemption from the FCF job advertising requirement and COMPASS. Let me clarify that this is not a relaxation of our policies.
By setting the benchmark at the top 10% of EP holders, the threshold for exemption is in fact increased from $20,000 to $22,500.
What this aims to do is to set a clearer benchmark for existing schemes. This will give our businesses predictability on future updates, and to ensure that our mainstream framework continues to cover the vast majority of EP applications, even as wages move up.
Mr Pritam Singh has asked for the rationale of exempting the top 10% of EP holders from the FCF job advertising criteria and COMPASS. The top 10% of EP holders consists mostly of senior management and senior professionals.
For such roles, companies would already have a stringent selection process to hire the right candidate, given the impact these individuals would have on their business. It is also more likely that head-hunters or search firms will play a role to fill these jobs, and it is not typical for these roles to be filled by advertising on job portals like MyCareersFuture.sg alone. Individuals filling these roles would also have no problems passing the COMPASS criteria given their calibre.
Providing this exemption is therefore not a major concession on our part. However, what it does is it helps to send the right signal to global companies on our openness, by giving them greater certainty that they are able to hire their key personnel, which will make a difference to their confidence to operate here.
These global companies are a key driver in creating good jobs for locals, including opportunities for them to take on higher-level positions. Many locals have taken on these opportunities. And, as I will share more later, we will continue to invest heavily in developing our own local talent, so that they can compete strongly at all and every level.
Besides attracting top talent, we also want to make sure that the broad base of businesses can access complementary foreign workers, especially in areas of skills shortages.
On that note, let me touch on to the adjustment to the FCF job advertising duration, which applies to all EP and S Pass applications. Mr Patrick Tay has asked whether shortening it to 14 days will remove the need for employers to exhaust all avenues to hire local PMEs, before they turn to foreign PMEs. Mr Louis Chua and Mr Ang Wei Neng, have asked for more data to understand the efficacy of the FCF job advertising requirement. Let me address the intent of the questions by explaining the considerations behind our latest move.
It is important for us to look at the context of when and why we increased the FCF job advertising duration to 28 days.
When the FCF job advertising requirement was first introduced in 2014, the duration was set at 14 days.
Based on data from MyCareerFutures.sg, the vast majority of applications are submitted within the first two weeks of a job posting – so within a fortnight. Thereafter, responses fall off significantly.
So, 14 days was an optimal balance between giving jobseekers time to look for a job and making sure that companies could fill their vacancies in response to pressing business needs.
During COVID-19, we extended the FCF job advertising duration to 28 days because of the unprecedented slack in the labour market. The ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons reached a low of 0.55 in June 2020 in the thick of COVID-19 – there were more jobseekers than job openings.
We wanted to give local jobseekers more time to respond to job openings and employers more time to evaluate the increased number of applications.
The situation has since reversed. The ratio of vacancies to unemployed persons has risen in excess of 2.4. So, from 0.55 in June 2020, it is now in excess of 2.4. There are now more jobs than there are local jobseekers.
Companies, including local enterprises, have been giving feedback that in the tight labour market, the 28-day requirement is causing them to lose good candidates because they are unable to offer them employment contracts quickly. It is timely to adjust the job advertisement period back to 14 days.
But, Members of the House, make no mistake, employers are still expected to fairly consider all applicants who apply within this window. This remains unchanged, and our employers understand this.
Last but not least, let me touch on the option of a five-year EP introduced for experienced tech professionals in areas of skills shortages. Miss Rachel Ong asked if this option of a five-year EP could also be extended to non-tech professionals in the sustainability sector.
For the time being, we have limited the option of a five-year EP to tech roles, for which there is an acute shortage of talent globally. But that it is not to say that other sectors cannot benefit. Almost all sectors require tech talent to drive transformation. This includes the financial services and manufacturing industries, as well as up-and-coming sustainability sectors.
Mr Speaker, Sir, we are watching the sustainability space closely as it develops and we will refine our policies when needed.
I would now like to spend some time to talk about our efforts to develop our local workforce, and in particular, our local leadership pipeline.
Our policies to attract global talent are also meant to accelerate the development of our own local talent pool.
We have designed our foreign workforce policies to incentivise companies to develop a strong local workforce – COMPASS, for instance, takes into account a firm’s local Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMET) share when evaluating its EP applications. And we will complement this with investments in our local workers, to help them succeed.
The Industry Transformation Maps mapped out growth plans for 23 sectors across the economy. For each of these 23 sectors, we have identified in-demand jobs and developed jobs and skills strategies to build up the local talent pipeline for these jobs.
We have also launched Jobs Transformation Maps, to provide job-level insights on the impact of technology on the industry and workforce. With these insights, companies can redesign and enhance job roles, and equip their workers with the skills needed for these roles.
Working closely with industry and unions, the Government has spared no effort to help employers and workers to upskill and reskill for jobs of the future. A wide range of programmes are offered by Workforce Singapore, SkillsFuture Singapore and the various sector agencies to support training.
I echo Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Patrick Tay and Mr Lim Biow Chuan’s views on the importance of building up our local bench strength when it comes to top leadership positions. One key priority is increasing the global and regional exposure of our local talents, so that they can take up leadership positions in global firms.
Mr Tan Wern-Yuen is an example of a Singaporean who has ventured abroad to gain valuable experience. He started his first overseas stint as Managing Director of McDonald's Taiwan. He then became the CEO of Walmart China, where he led a team of 100,000 associates responsible for over US$10 billion in annual revenue. Now, he is back in Singapore, as CEO of PepsiCo APAC, helming the global firm’s operations across Asia Pacific, Australia, China and New Zealand.
We need more Singaporeans to do the same. Our agencies have good programmes to support this. For instance, MAS has the Asian Financial Leaders Scheme that co-funds and sends promising Singaporeans in the Financial Services sector on leadership programmes. Other similar schemes include the SkillsFuture Leadership Development Initiative and Enterprise Singapore’s Global Ready Talent Programme. At Budget this year, I also announced a new Singapore Global Executive Programme that will help local enterprises build a pipeline of young local talent with potential to take on regional or global leadership positions.
Leadership development must fundamentally be driven by our businesses. The business community is also doing its part to nurture promising Singaporeans.
The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has taken the lead to form an Alliance for Action (AfA) on Business Leadership Development. This AfA brings together businesses and local leaders to look into ways to cultivate conducive conditions for Singapore talent to strengthen regional exposure and assume key leadership roles in enterprises. The AfA will also draw upon the diverse experiences from business and academia to help Singaporeans broaden networks and learn progressive leadership practices. I look forward to the ideas and initiatives that the AfA will propose.
Miss Rachel Ong asked about skills transfer as a way to build up local expertise. Today, companies have programmes to get more experienced employees, foreign or local, to transfer skills to less experienced employees. It is in their interest to do so, for business resilience and sustainability.
They can also tap on various Government programmes, including SkillsFuture, the Enterprise Development Grant and the Capability Transfer Programme. At Budget this year, the Minister for Finance also announced that $70 million has been set aside for the NTUC Company Training Committee (CTC) Grant. Companies that set up CTCs can tap on this grant for their business and workforce transformation projects.
Assoc Prof Jamus Lim has asked whether we can codify training and skills transfer requirements into law. Some Members have previously raised the idea of time-limited EPs, as a way of ensuring skills transfer.
I would caution against too deterministic an approach. Skills transfer is but one way that foreign manpower can contribute to Singapore and create opportunities for Singaporeans. In some areas, foreign manpower helps to make up the gap between demand and supply – some of these gaps can continue to persist due to local and global trends, for instance, the global lack of digital talent.
Skills transfer is another way they can make a meaningful contribution, though this can take many forms – in some cases, it would be to train up a local to take on their role. But in others, it can be to bring in expertise in a new area, to provide leadership and to level up many more in Singapore.
At the end of the day, skills transfer is not a simple or linear process – it would be impossible to come up with a single rule on how long it should take for skills to be transferred from one person to another, or how much skills to transfer, for that matter.
So, our approach is not to set a mandatory requirement for skills transfer, but rather, to put in place the right ecosystem of policies that incentivises businesses to select complementary foreign workers, while building up a strong Singaporean Core. This includes keeping a tight labour market through regular updates to our work pass criteria, alongside significant investments to help our workforce upskill and reskill. Mr Speaker, Sir, may I say a few words in Mandarin?
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] Last month, MOM announced several targeted enhancements to our work pass framework, including the introduction of a new pass - the Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Pass – in January 2023.
The ONE Pass is meant to attract top talent from all sectors, to strengthen our position as a global hub for talent. It is for talent earning at least $30,000 in fixed monthly salary, comparable to the top 5% of EP holders. It is also for those with outstanding achievements in arts and culture, sports, and research and academia, even if they do not meet the salary requirement. The validity period is five years, longer than that of other work passes.
Our strategy to remain open to talent is not new – it is consistent with what other states have done in the past and in the present. In the historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (based largely on historical events in China), Liu Bei was able to bring together a good team because of his interest in talent and his ability to convince them to join him. He brought together the military generals Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and the strategist Zhuge Liang In the battle of Red Cliff, they were able to forge an alliance with Sun Quan, to defeat the much larger Cao Cao army.
What I want to emphasise is that Singapore is a small country and talent is our precious resource. As a regional business hub, Singapore has always welcomed talents from diverse backgrounds to work here. Competition for talent has intensified in the post-COVID-19 era. We should, therefore, seize this opportunity to bring the best from around the world here to innovate and push frontiers, and increase our international competitiveness and grow our economy.
At the same time, we will continue to cultivate our own local talent. We have various schemes to encourage Singaporeans to go abroad to gain global and regional exposure, so that they can sharpen their global instinct, and eventually take up leadership positions. If Singapore wants to be a global player, we need to adopt a two-pronged approach: (i) continue to bring in top talent from around the world; and (ii) continue to groom our own local talent.
Through interacting and working together with global talent, we can tap on their networks, learn from their expertise, and ultimately speed up the development of our local talent pool, and create more opportunities for all Singaporeans. In this way, Singapore will continue to prosper, and our people can benefit from a society of ever-expanding opportunities.
(In English): Members of the House, I have gone on at great lengths to explain the targeted nature of our recent work pass enhancements, the safeguards we will put in place and our efforts to ensure that our locals can compete fairly and strongly. But let us never forget what our goal is, and that is, ultimately, to create opportunities for Singaporeans to grow within and benefit from.
We do not live in a zero-sum world. Attracting and anchoring global talent in Singapore does not mean less opportunities for locals and, indeed, we have grown opportunities tremendously. At the start of the 1970s, our GDP was $20 billion. The opportunities for Singaporeans then were much more limited, in terms of the sectors and occupations that they could work in.
I mentioned before that our economy has now grown to $454 billion. Singaporeans can pursue a wide range of careers and with vastly higher salaries. This is only possible because we have adopted a global mindset. We have welcomed global companies and global talent to our shores. Many Singaporeans are working in or with these global companies, alongside global talent. And the same companies often post Singaporeans abroad, giving them opportunity to develop new networks and deeper experiences.
Singapore cannot be playing a defensive game when it comes to talent. The better we are at attracting and retaining the best talent, local and global, the higher the chances of securing our economic future and to continually be able to generate good jobs for all Singaporeans. Conversely, if we do not do this well and we cede competitiveness to other jurisdictions, we may not even be able to hang on to our best Singaporean talent.
The enhancements to our work pass framework are our offensives on global talent. Ms He Ting Ru hit the nail on the head when she asked about the marketing and promotional efforts we will be putting in place. Indeed, the ONE Pass is just a vehicle. We will need targeted marketing and promotional efforts to get to our desired destination and to pick up the right talent, with the skillsets, networks and expertise to contribute to Singapore. Our sector agencies are identifying high quality individuals to proactively engage. We will be leveraging existing networks, such as EDB's overseas offices, to reach out to the right global talent.
In the last two weeks, I have been speaking to various parties. The feedback, thus far, has been positive. Businesses have been very supportive of these moves, as it will help them to attract and retain talent in Singapore. Locals understand these moves are targeted at the top and will create more economic opportunities. For those who are concerned with fraud and abuse, I hope my clarifications today can assure them that safeguards will be put in place.
The international community is buzzing. There is a sense that Singapore is finally emerging from the shadow of COVID-19 and that we can all work together in this next phase of growth. We have taken an important step – to make talent all over the world sit up, pay attention and think seriously about coming to Singapore. MOM and economic agencies will continue to put in place processes to ensure the schemes are implemented well, monitor the outcomes and review the parameters as we go along.
But it cannot just be about Government policies and compliance with rules and thresholds. Businesses must continue to play their part to uphold fair hiring practices and promote an inclusive culture, and develop, most importantly, the Singaporean Core in their organisations and complement it with a diverse foreign workforce.
The global talent we attract must share knowledge and provide opportunities with for others including their local colleagues and outside of the workplace, to seek, to understand and respect the norms in our society. And us locals ourselves should keep upgrading our skills and be willing to go on international stints. We should also help newcomers integrate into our society.
And all of us must constantly look for possibilities of what we can create together, when we bring our diverse skills and expertise, to work as one. Let us, together, build a vibrant Singapore that is always looking to new horizons, always daring to re-invent herself and brimming with opportunities for our fellow Singaporeans. [Applause.]
Mr Patrick Tay.
I thank the Minister for his Ministerial Statement. I have three supplementary questions. The first question will be —
Mr Patrick Tay, if you can keep it to two questions
Okay, two questions. My first question, would there be control, such that the ONE Pass does not go particularly more to those from one or two nationalities, and so that it is diverse; and whether that there will be limits on the number of dependants in which the ONE Pass holders will be able to bring in, such as children, parents, parents-in-law.
The second question is, for family offices setting up shop in Singapore and paying their family members and relatives as employees way above the $30,000 per month salary, will they, therefore, qualify for the ONE Pass as well?
I thank Mr Patrick Tay for his questions. For the ONE Pass, we do not have a fixed number. The nationality diversity, the nationality concentration, we have envisaged that on a broader perspective, our COMPASS framework will manage that complementarity part. Because the ONE Pass is really targeted at the top 5% of EP holders, what we are concerned about is really the quality of that talent coming in.
Because, it is the economic agencies, together with some of the other sector agencies that we have, like MCCY, we go out through our overseas offices to look for this group of talent to bring here. I think the ability for us to diversify and ensure that it is complementary, to bring as wide a diaspora in as possible, would mitigate your concern.
On family offices, we are developing frameworks in specialised areas in which we are looking at, to up the ante in terms of bringing up the level of competency, the expertise and the skillsets and grooming our local talent. So, the family offices, depending on the space that they are in, if they are in the green economy and they are hiring members with that level of expertise and talent to help us to develop sustainable green practices, or in the sustainability space, it is something that we would be prepared to consider.
Mr Pritam Singh.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Sir, the Sunday Times yesterday carried a two-page story on the new ONE Pass. It quoted a sustainability recruiter, one Greg Brittain, as saying and I quote, "The solution is not simply to import more talent. It needs to be a combination of upscaling and developing local talent, alongside bridging in talent to support the building of capacity within Singapore."
Another individual, a Mr Dimitri Volkov of a cyber security company, remarked that only local experts can effectively identify, monitor and respond to threats and his firm contributes to the ecosystem by exposing local talent to real cyber threats.
Sir, these individuals understand that skills transfer to Singaporean workers must be at the centre of our foreign manpower policies to ensure that Singaporeans can avail themselves to good job opportunities, from management to staffing positions.
I have two supplementary questions for the Minister. First, at last year's Parliamentary debate on the motion on securing Singaporeans' jobs and livelihoods, and the foreign talent policy, the Workers' Party raised several alternative proposals to alleviate the concerns of Singaporeans' at the workplace and to ensure that the local foreign employment divide does not become a permanent fault line.
With the introduction of the ONE Pass and several changes to the Employment Pass (EP) framework, as announced by Minister, how does the Ministry intend to promote and track the transfer of skills to Singaporeans by EP holders, such as the ONE Pass?
In view of the Ministerial Statement, has the Minister ruled out fixed term employment passes or other schemes that incentivise such skills transfer to Singaporeans to address skills related underemployment, amongst other things?
Second supplementary question, MOM's press release on the ONE Pass states that there are a few routes to apply for it, and it covered two in the main text of the press release and three at the Annex. The Annex also stated that more details on the eligibility for new applications and renewals would be published. Can the Minister confirm if there are any other eligibility criteria for the ONE Pass that have not been published thus far?
I thank Mr Pritam Singh for his comments and his question. I do not think we will cover the earlier comment on The Sunday Times. I think perhaps at a separate Sitting, I would be happy to engage him further. Just to take his supplementary questions.
In my speech earlier, I have already shared, in terms of our views about the benefits the top talent will bring in and the potential spin-offs that we have. I suggest that he could refer to that in the Hansard.
Today, as we speak, there are many, many Government programmes that support capability development. The Government has given significant SkillsFuture subsidies – Enterprise Singapore (ESG)'s Enterprise Development Programme as well as sector-specific programmes where various sector agencies are continually supporting the development of skillsets for our locals.
One of the programmes that he was particularly interested in is the Capability Transfer Programme (CTP), which is one of the programmes that he has actually raised and filed Parliamentary Questions on before. Under this CTP, funding support is provided to companies to acquire global capabilities that are not available in Singapore. This can be done in a variety of ways such as bringing foreign specialists into Singapore to train locals in new capabilities or sending locals for overseas training attachments.
The scheme was created and since its inception in 2017, it has benefited more than 140 companies and more than 1,000 locals. Our locals have experienced expanded job scopes as they acquired new skills. The last two and a half years, we had some setbacks because of COVID-19, but with the reopening of borders, we once again would like to welcome companies to tap on this if they need to bring in global experts in cutting edge areas.
His second point is in terms of multiple routes of the ONE Pass – ONE is an acronym for Overseas Networks & Expertise. We are working on all the other routes, through different sector agencies, in terms of coming up with a framework and we will also worked, as I have shared, with MOE, with MCCY, with NRF and a few other agencies, to identify some of these criteria in which we can target these global talents with this kind of expertise.
So, towards the end of the year – the scheme will start on 1 January 2023 – I suggest that he watches this space. More details will be released in due course.
Mr Gerald Giam.
Sir, will MOM allow ONE Pass holders to earn $30,000 dollars a month from one company and smaller amounts from several others, since they will be exempted from job advertising requirements, minimum salary thresholds and local PMET shares in those other companies, will Singaporean PMETs and those companies lose out in any way if this happens?
Secondly, I note that ONE Pass holders do not need to reapply for a new pass if they change jobs. How will the Ministry prevent ONE Pass holders from switching jobs and joining another company at a lower salary after getting their ONE Pass?
I thank Mr Gerald Giam for his questions.
I think his first supplementary question, I have already answered that, primarily, it comes from one company – that $30,000. But we will not restrict the ONE Pass holder from working with other companies if he is able to transfer skillsets and his expertise. For instance, he could primarily be engaged by one company at a salary of $30,000, but because of his skillsets in corporate governance, he could be invited to become a director on the board of another company, potentially an SME, and provide that benefit. I do not think we should restrict that.
To his other point about renewals – it is one of those points that I raised earlier on in my speech as well. We will work closely with the ONE Pass holder. We will work with him regularly in terms of not just updating his progress; at the same time, we are also seeing how we can learn from the talent, the type of skillset that he has and find ways and means to continue to encourage him or her to transfer his or her skillsets to other companies or to other locals and Singaporeans.
Mr Liang Eng Hwa.
Sir, we do have a significant pool of mature PMET talents – those that may be between the age of 50s and 60s. And we should do more to help improve their employment opportunities as there is still a very sticky bias against this group of PMETs.
Can I ask the Minister whether the reductions in the job advertisement period under FCF from 28 days to 14 days for EP applications reduces the impetus for employers to hire local PMETs, especially those in the more mature age groups? In other words, would employers take this reduction in the advertisement period as a signal to look to foreign hires as the first resort rather than the last resort?
I thank Mr Liang Eng Hwa for his concern. I think if we look at it, moving forward, it will continue to rise.
The long-term unemployment has dropped to 0.8%. This is end-March 2022 again. Pre-COVID-19, it was 0.7%. So, we are almost back to where we were, as of March this year.
The shortening of the FCF allows some form of a breathing space for our companies to get the employees that they need to help them to fulfil their orders, to help them to also gear up for new orders coming in.
If you look at the refinement of all of our frameworks, the ONE Pass is really the peak – the top of the pyramid. But over the last five to six months, we have announced an entire slew of measures as part of a balanced framework, whether it is COMPASS, we have also improved the criteria, including the qualifying salary and so on for the EP and the S Pass. All of that is in keeping with the development of our economy.
To the group of PMEs in the 50s and 60s, we have also offered significant support measures to ensure that they continue to stay incentivised and enfranchised to continue to work. Our Jobs Growth Incentive is one very clear example of how we have helped them. On top of that, WSG has grants to help in terms of the jobs redesign and jobs reskilling. Parallel with that, there is also the Support for Job Redesign under Productivity Solutions Grant to help companies redesign their own job processes.
All of these measures should be viewed not in isolation but as part of a broader objective to ensure that our Singaporeans do not get compromised at any stage. As long as they are prepared and want to look for a job, we will be there to support them and to help them.
On top of that, the Deputy Prime Minister is launching Forward SG and you know inherently in each one of the pillars, the target focus again is on Singaporeans – to see how we can continue to help them not just keep up but keep ahead of the competition. I hope that that reassures the Member.
Mr Ang Wei Neng.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank Minister for pointing out that my earlier Parliamentary Question (PQ) is asking about the efficacy of the advertising framework under the Fair Consideration Framework on the MyCareersFuture website.
One of the indicators for how many Singaporeans are on track to get top jobs is how many of the good jobs advertised under the Fair Consideration Framework are given to Singaporeans. The Minister has not answered my PQ as to how many of the jobs that are above $10,000 in salary per month, are filled by Singaporeans as compared to non-Singaporeans in the past five years.
My second supplementary question: is there a maximum number of years that ONE Pass holders can have in Singapore because it will determine whether he has planned to pass on his expertise or get Singaporeans to fill the top jobs?
I thank Mr Ang Wei Neng for his questions.
I think it is timely that he raised this point. As a top leader and executive himself, Mr Ang Wei Neng would appreciate the fact that at that space, people do not just rely on one portal or one scheme to get employed.
So, while there are requirements for job advertisements on MyCareersFuture under the Fair Consideration Framework, many of the top talent in all the different spaces would get employment through a whole host of means. I have also mentioned earlier on about search firms and head-hunters. There are also private, commercially-run portals. Without promoting any particular one, LinkedIn is an example.
So, there are multiple ways in which people at that level can get jobs or get head-hunted.
If it is any comfort, when we set the benchmark at the top 5% of EP holders and the $30,000 salary requirement, and we looked at the statistics of the numbers of about 8,000 foreign EP holders who are earning at least $30,000, when we compare to our local Singapore Core, our local Singapore talent, in terms of the numbers, if you look at the entire universe of top corporate executives earning $30,000 or more a month, the Member would be happy to know that the vast majority of them are Singaporeans.
The fundamental objective in creating this ONE Pass is to, if I may use this cliché statement, find new cheese. It is for us to up the ante in terms of where we see ourselves five years, 10 years down the line, where at every part of the economy, cutting-edge, top-notch, frontier industry, we would like that talent to come to help us to launch a thousand ships in every single one of these sectors and, because of that, have spillover effects to our medium-sized, our middle segment, broaden it significantly, deepen it and allow the continued growth of our SMEs to become, eventually, local large enterprises (LLEs).
That is the intent of this measure.
Mr Don Wee.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. Many SMEs, which include the small and medium audit practices or consulting practices are facing a talent crunch or manpower shortage. The ONE Pass allows this holder to hold multiple jobs and even starts his or her own business. I wonder can MOM extent this principle or concept to EP holders who are working in these knowledge-based industries?
(In Mandarin): [Please refer to Vernacular Speech.] I agree with the Minister that we need to attract top talent like "Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮)". But we also need to have good training schemes to groom our own "Sima Yi (司马懿)" and "Pang Tong (庞统)".
If I can request Members to keep their questions one language, unless you have a separate question.
Thank you, Speaker. I will just answer in one language. [Laughter.] I am not a fan of "Pang Tong" or "Sima Yi".
I think it is important that the Member understands that the ONE Pass is one part of a broader framework that we have been rolling out for the last few months. For the different sectors that he was talking about, it is also important to understand that we have sector-specific measures as well to cater and there are multiple schemes available including in MTI, there is a Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) to address the much needed workforce gaps in the different sectors including healthcare. So, there are multiple measures. We should not look at the ONE Pass in isolation, we should look at the entire improvement in terms of the S Pass, our normal EP as well as the Work Permit. And including – at my announcement earlier on at COS this year – the introduction of Non-Traditional Sources Occupation List (NTSOL) where companies can hire from non-traditional sources for our Indian restaurants, in terms of Indian chefs.
So, there are multiple policy refinements that we have done to ensure that we are able to differentiate and make it a lot more targeted to support the needs of the SMEs.
Ms Hazel Poa.
I thank Ms Poa for her question. The feedback we get comes from multiple sources and we triangulate the data very regularly. We get feedback from economic agencies, our own sector agencies, trade associations and also from some of the foreign chambers that we work with. When we talk about needle-moving initiatives like the ONE Pass, because of the segment in which we are targeting – this is the pinnacle of the pyramid that I was talking about – by sending that signal across, it signals to the world that we are open for business and that we are welcoming for talent in that very rarefied space. And, we are prepared to bring them here, to help them set up so that we, as a country, as a people, can also benefit from their talent and their skill sets.
Earlier on, I forgot to answer a point. On the LOC given, it is only given to the spouse of the Pass holder. It is not given to the dependants of the Pass holder. And like I said, because of the highly selective nature of the scheme, we do not envisage that the numbers will be high, the delta will be high. Hence, my earlier statement that it will not be material, because it will not materially affect the LOCs that we are going to issue out of MOM. I hope that explains to the Member clearly.
Mr Edward Chia.
Thank you, Speaker. I thank the Minister for sharing some of the spin-off benefits that SMEs will actually benefit from this new ONE Pass. SMEs collectively employ a large majority of Singaporeans and are facing intense competition for talent to support every stage of their business growth. I appreciate that he also shared about support for vertical sectors but I think SMEs require support every different stage of business growth and are already facing a intense competition from larger enterprises.
So, I would like to ask the Minister, is there further direct support, direct benefits for SMEs to give them the support to find the talent that enables them to be the future large local enterprises (LLEs) and to reduce being further disadvantage in this intense competition for talent.
I thank Mr Chia for his very pertinent point. Our intent in growing this segment, first and foremost, is targeted to improve, to increase, to broaden the spillover effects to our SMEs. As I have shared, we want to grow our ecosystem as a whole by creating new cheese, significantly new cheese, so that down the stream, up the stream, our local companies will benefit. This measure will strengthen our standing as an international hub for talent. It will bring significantly more businesses for our local companies, especially our SMEs and increase the opportunities for all of our Singaporean workers.
Having said that, we have multiple grants and support solutions to continue to help strengthen and support our SMEs. We encourage our big LLEs to act as "Queen Bees" when we go out to hunt together as a pack, to bring our SMEs along. We also hope that SMEs will work with the Government and in the multiple approaches that we have done, as we go out and expand our reach globally, we would urge the SMEs, especially our SME bosses, to be nimble. Because of their size, they are able to provide significant engaging challenges and a very responsive type of HR policies for young talent to join them. And collectively, we can build a much bigger and a much better future for all of our ecosystem here in Singapore.
Together with the Singapore Business Federation, we have also supported them on the development of an Alliance for Action (AfA) to see how we can continue to help our SMEs to transform and level up. There are multiple measures to Mr Chia's point and we are always open to more suggestion as to how we can continue to improve our reach and our support for them.
Mr Louis Chua.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I have got two supplementary questions. The first relates to my original PQ. In terms of the EPs as a whole, not just that of the top talent, in terms of meeting the FCF advertising requirements, do we have any statistical data to show that it is actually achieving its stated purpose and that companies are not just going through the motions of putting up their advertisements? For example, such as the number of interviews being granted or the number of applicants that actually end up being hired through these advertisements.
Second is also in terms of timing. I recognise that as Minister shared, right now the labour market is very tight but at the same time they are actually risk in the horizon in terms of rising risk of a recession and slowing growth. So, in terms of the lower duration, would it be a bit too early to do so?
I thank Mr Chua for his question. And many companies have given feedback that they are really finding it very difficult to hire and if they wait for the period of time, for the 28-day advertising duration, they will lose the particular person that they want to hire and it compromises the operations of the business.
The policies remain unchanged. All of our policies, including the COMPASS framework, we are on track with regard to the Workplace Fairness legislation. We are going through the different consultations. On top of that, we have also kept the minimum qualifying salaries for the S Pass and the EP in tandem with economic development. I do not think that this is a wrong time. Today, we are coming in from a position of strength and if the businesses cannot ramp up when they have business, when they have orders coming in and they cannot ramp up, and if the downturn happens and they get hit, I think it would be even a worse-off situation for these businesses.
Having said that I have also shared that we will not hesitate to take action if companies discriminate against locals or if they discriminate against anyone in terms of characteristics. So, in that sense, we continue to monitor the space very closely. So, to your point, rest assured, we are on top of it.
Mr Sharael Taha.
I would like to thank Minister for sharing the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. As he mentioned, Liu Bei, had to visit his friend three times to convince him to join the team. Minister also mentioned that there will be stringent and rigorous checks to ensure the validity of the application. Similarly, as mentioned by Mr Chia, MNCs are also facing intense challenge to attract these talents to drive transformation from Singapore. How do we ensure the annual checks for these Pass holders can be implemented in a way that is not too onerous, so that we can continue to attract these talents, so that we can position Singapore to lead business transformation from our island?
I thank the Member for his spot-on assessment. We are very nuanced. In my speech, I have also said about giving them time to ramp up and a runway to develop and we want to encourage this group of talent to take risks, calculated risk, of course, to make sure that the payoff is significant, so that our entire economy and ecosystem benefit. Having said that, because it is a wide diaspora of talent that we are looking at and in different sectors, we will work very closely with the sector agencies to evaluate ONE Pass holders on a very regular basis. And I would also welcome Members' contributions in giving us ideas as to how we can continue to make this scheme a very sustainable and self-improving one.
Ms He Ting Ru.
Thank you, Mr Speaker. I just have a quick clarification. I did not ask about quotas in my PQ, but instead about estimates and projections and how many are anticipated to be under ONE Pass. I note that MOM said over the weekend that it expects about 7,000 or 8,000 to be on this new pass based on the top 5% of the EP holders. Although of course, this scheme is meant to attract more top talent who are not already here in Singapore.
I have one clarification for the Minister and it is about the promotional activities to be carried out to promote this ONE Pass to top talent outside of Singapore. What is the budget and how would the success of such promotional activities be determined, when deciding whether or not we are actually getting to the right people we are hoping to attract into Singapore?
I thank Ms He for her point. I think I complimented her in my speech about the fact she got the gist of it. She asked us about promotional budget.
There is no promotional budget. I think, for us, our aspiration to build a world-class ecosystem, to build a world-class talent base where we become a giant magnet to attract the best talent from all over the world to come here and contribute, I think, that in itself sends a very strong signal. I hope that clarifies my point.
Mr Yip Hon Weng.
I thank the Minister for his Statement. I agree with the need to bring in top talents. However, some of my residents have given me feedback about concerns with regards to the ONE Pass and how our local talent can compete fairly for opportunities. As such, I would like to ask the Minister to elaborate on how we can give assurance to local workers, especially the broad middle segment, that they can benefit from this.
I thank Mr Yip for surfacing this.
Today, as I have said and they are not motherhood statements, the core of what we do, whether it is COMPASS, whether it is the ONE Pass, whether it is the raising of the minimum qualifying salaries, the local qualifying salary, everything we do, everything that Prime Minister, our Deputy Prime Ministers, Senior Ministers, all the Ministers and everyone here in this room, are focused on is that singular objective of how we can continue to provide opportunities, good pay, good career progression for our Singaporean Core. That is really at the core of what we do.
So, to that end, we should not focus on just this ONE Pass. The ONE Pass is about creating new cheese, new opportunities, new economic opportunities, new diaspora of different sectors for it to then spill over to our SMEs, our other local enterprises so that we can continue to provide opportunities for our Singaporeans.
Simultaneously, in fact, contemporaneously, we have a whole slew of schemes today that we constantly groom and provide that opportunity for our Singaporeans to make sure that they keep abreast and, in some instance, we try to even nudge them to go ahead, think out-of-the box so that they can compete.
We have under MAS, we have the International Postings (iPost) Programme which is running very well. There is the TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) Programme for which we train our tech talent. I have earlier on also shared that we have the Global Ready Talent Programme. In March this year, during the Budget and Committee of Supply (COS), we also announced the Singapore Global Executive Programme. We also have the SkillsFuture Leadership Development initiative.
These are five very big initiatives aimed at exposing Singaporeans to leadership positions, to thought processes, thought leaders, all over the world. Because the depth, the size of our market is Singapore alone cannot give our fellow Singaporeans that necessary runway, that necessary depth to acquire the deep expertise and experience that is required.
So, we constantly do that. And if there are more programmes that Members of this House do have, feel free to suggest those to us and we are prepared to consider them.
So, I want to reassure all Members of the House that this is the core of what we do. It is for our Singaporeans, our fellow Singaporeans for our future. Because 50 years later, I think many of you would still be around. You want to continue to see Singapore to still be brimming with opportunities, optimism and hope. I am certain I would not be around but I am sure many of you will still be around. I hope that that gives you that reassurance.
Mr Leong Mun Wai.
I think no one in this House will be against attracting more foreign talents into our country. However, if you imagine, 20 years ago, I do not know who was the Manpower Minister then. He would have stood there and made the same message about attracting foreign talents.
But over the last 15 to 20 years, can I ask the Minister whether we have been attracting the right kind of talents since now, 95% of the EPs currently do not meet the ONE Pass requirement.
Second question: Sir, we are very concerned and that is why we are asking many questions. But the second point I want to make is that I support and I take the same position as the Leader of the Opposition and Workers' Party on why we cannot include mentoring skills transfer, and one more thing, I had mentioned in many of my speeches, succession planning, when we bring the talent, the foreign talent or the global talent into our market?
It does not make sense. I ask the Minister: does it makes sense that on one hand, we pay to get the talents in —
Mr Leong, can you keep your question succinct?
Yes, I am coming to the question. Does it makes sense that on one hand, we pay the talents to come in to help us in capabilities transfer but, on the other hand, we have a lot of talents that are working in Singapore and they opt to work in Singapore and we did not make it a requirement to renew their visa?
I thank Mr Leong for his exposé and also his two questions.
To his first point, 20 years ago, if I may just use one example and that is the example that the Prime Minister delivered in the National Day Rally when he talked about the entire biomedical industry; and he also mentioned Mr Philip Yeo, who went out there, brought the whales in to Singapore and developed our own biomedical enterprise.
I think that Mr Leong himself would have benefited from the PCR testing. At some stage, he may have used the Fortitude test kits. That came out of a homegrown enterprise, a company called MiRXES. It was a spin-off from the entire biomedical industry that Prime Minister talked about during the National Day Rally. So, I do not think I need to dwell on that.
I can go on with multiple examples to showcase to him that indeed, from where we have started to where we are today, we have certainly benefited from the global talent coming here with the transfers of skillsets, capabilities, knowledge and so on and so forth.
To his second point in terms of succession planning and so on, I think we are now at the stage where we are not only looking at skillsets, expertise alone, more so than the proxy of the $30,000-mark, we are looking at creating a significantly different ecosystem, one that will hopefully ensure our continued prosperity and progress for the next five or 10 decades and beyond. I am very optimistic that in subsequent Parliamentary Sittings, there will be opportunity for the Member to continue to raise this type of questions. But let us leave it as that.
Mr Desmond Choo.
I thank the Minister. Many countries have made changes to their talent policies. UAE has the Golden Visa, UK and Germany have introduced new passes to attract talent. I would like to ask, with this suite of changes, where does this place Singapore, in terms of our competitiveness compared to the other countries? Is this sufficient for us to get our fair share of talent and help companies to grow?
I thank Mr Desmond Choo for the question.
We do not have a target country that we are competing with. The Golden Visa, I presume Mr Desmond Choo is referring to, pertains to UAE. Their aspirations and our aspirations are actually quite different because of the fact that they have different levels of constraints just like we have our own constraints.
We are starting from the position of strength. We look at potential new enterprises that we see ourselves getting our first mover and our competitive advantage in. Then, we are going after those sectors where we are going to be able to create new cheese for ourselves and with that new cheese, provide significant economic opportunities to benefit our entire ecosystem of the SMEs and raising up our Singapore Core.
So, to that end, that is what we are focused on today. To go beyond identifying different sectors and so on, would also compromise our ability to ramp up and to upscale. And as I have shared in my interview with Bloomberg, I do not want to start a bidding war.
I hope that addresses Mr Desmond Choo's points.
Order. End of Ministerial Statement. Personal Explanation, Assoc Prof Jamus Lim.
PAPERCUTS