Impact of Reopening of Economy on Demand and Supply of Manpower and Measures Planned

Ms Poh Li San asked the Minister for Manpower with regard to the reopening of our economy (a) which are the sectors facing a severe shortage of manpower especially foreign workers; and (b) what are the measures taken by the Ministry to help these industries and companies to ride out the labour shortage so as not to hamper the recovery of our economy.

Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry will consider permitting cleaning companies to recruit cleaning workers from a wider range of countries to reduce the risk of labour shortages.

Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for Manpower for each year in the past five years (a) what is the number of local part-time food and beverage workers; and (b) of these workers, how many are students.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Manpower in view of the easing of safe management measures, whether the Ministry will be working on measures to encourage and divert manpower resources from positions no longer needed, such as safe distancing ambassadors, to industries that are facing manpower shortages, such as food services and retail.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the number of temporary workers who are currently working on COVID-19-related jobs, such as Safe Distancing Ambassadors or SafeEntry checkers; (b) what are the other employment opportunities available to these workers as the safe management measures are being stepped down; and (c) how can such workers be assisted in seeking new and longer-term employment.

Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether there are planned measures to support businesses, particularly in the food and beverage and catering sectors, who are having difficulty in hiring staff amidst the reopening; and (b) if so, what are these measures.

As economic recovery gains momentum, we recognise that some segments of the economy may find it challenging to fill job vacancies amidst the tight labour market. In my reply, I will be addressing the questions that Members of this House have asked about these manpower shortages, as well as the longer-term job opportunities of workers employed in short-term COVID-19 roles.

To Ms Poh Li San's question, the Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process (CMP) they are the hardest hit as they rely most heavily on migrant workers. As Ms Joan Pereira, Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Mr Sharael Taha and Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin have pointed out, our industries, such as food services, cleaning, retail, tourism and aviation, that were affected by safe management measures and international travel restrictions are also facing a manpower crunch now as they rebuild their manpower with the reopening. There also continue to be many vacancies in outward-oriented industries, such as information and communications, and financial services.

A significant part of the manpower crunch that we are experiencing today is, in large part, due to the impact of COVID-19. The balance, albeit a smaller part, is due to cyclical reasons. In the last two years, our non-resident workforce declined sharply as businesses were battered by the pandemic. However, while demand is recovering, border restrictions had dampened the regular inflow of foreign manpower. The Government has taken steps to resume the inflow of foreign workers to ease the manpower crunch and we, progressively, lifted border restrictions from late last year. Since then, non-resident employment growth had increased in the fourth quarter of 2021 for the first time in two years and picked up pace in the first quarter of 2022.

Most recently, we announced the removal of entry approval requirements for all pass types, including Work Permit holders in the CMP sectors. The number of CMP Work Permit holders in Singapore reached a two-year low in October 2021 but has since grown strongly by more than 40,000 to reach over 90% of pre-pandemic numbers. Our businesses now have fuller confidence to bring their work pass holders into Singapore and the recent reopening of the Singapore-Malaysia land border should also further ease the labour market tightness in the months to come.

Mr Yip Hon Weng, Ms Poh Li San, Mr Sharael Taha and Ms Nadia Ahmad Samdin asked what the Government is doing to enable Singapore to reopen our economy and reconnect with the world. MOM is working with MOT, MTI, STB and CAAS closely to provide targeted support for the tourism and aviation industries with additional foreign worker quotas on a time-limited basis, to ensure that they can quickly rebound and capture the opportunities.

Mr Yip Hon Weng also asked about efforts to promote local employment. Government agencies are also working closely with industry and unions to promote good jobs and ramp up local hiring. For example, STB partnered NTUC, NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (NTUC's e2i), WSG and key trade associations and chambers (TACs) to launch the Tourism Careers Hub in January 2022. This hub facilitates job matching of local candidates with the tourism sector. It supports the upskilling of workers to meet evolving demands, as well as drives transformation efforts. CAAS is working with aviation firms to recall former employees and expand hiring. Both CAAS and STB have lined up recruitment activities, such as career fairs, in the next few months.

We will also continue to support our businesses to transform and to improve job quality to attract and retain local workers. For example, MTI recently announced the $70 million Food Services and Retail Business Revitalisation Package. In the cleaning sector, NEA has also been working with cleaning companies to adopt technologies, such as autonomous floor cleaning scrubbers and robotic solutions, to free up workers to meet the added demand for disinfection work. So, basically, MOM and MTI will work closely with TACs to study further ways to support both the retail and F&B sectors in terms of how to support their manpower needs in the immediate term.

We will also nudge and continue to support our businesses to hire locals. We have extended the Jobs Growth Incentive to September 2022 to support the hiring of mature local workers who are not in work for at least six months, persons with disabilities and ex-offenders. Employers can receive up to $21,600 per eligible hire over a 12-month period. There are also other pathways in which employers can tap on, such as the SGUnited Mid-Career Pathways Programme, and attachments under these pathways will allow employers to provide mature candidates with on-the-job training and evaluate their job-fit.

On top of that, the Government will also be disbursing the Small Business Recovery Grant (SBRG) from June this year and this provides $1,000 per local employee, up to $10,000 per firm.

Our efforts are paying off. I am encouraged to see that many businesses have been able to build up their local workforce to meet their manpower needs. Overall, resident employment grew by 71,300 in 2021 and the resident unemployment rate has recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels and there continues to be opportunities to hire more local workers.

First, employers should look to hire workers who were employed in short-term COVID-19 roles, such as Safe Distancing Ambassadors and vaccination centre workers, the same group that Dr Wan Rizal, Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Sharael Taha have asked about. Around 6,400 of such workers were employed as of April 2022 by the public sector, Government-funded institutions or private sector medical service providers. Around 1,200 of these workers will be redeployed into longer-term roles, but the other 5,200 will be looking for new jobs when their contracts end over the coming months. WSG and NTUC's e2i will be providing employment facilitation support. Employers who are interested to consider these workers can reach out to WSG and NTUC's e2i. Many of these workers came from the F&B and Retail sectors and would, thus possess the relevant skill sets, as well as experience.

Second, employers can also consider hiring trainees who have gone through various attachment and training programmes under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package. There are 9,800 trainees who are still undergoing these programmes as at end February 2022, and they, too, will be looking for jobs in the near future. The Jobs Taskforce, which I chair, is working with sector agencies to place these trainees into suitable roles which make use of the industry-relevant skills and experience gained through the programmes.

Third, employers can also tap on a larger pool of local manpower by providing flexible work arrangements, including flexitime, flexi-place and part-time work.

Mr Leong Mun Wai also asked about the number of local part-time workers in F&B services for the last five years and the proportion who were students. The number of local part-time workers in F&B services remained stable at around 35,000, on average, over the last five years, of which about 15% were students. Part-time work can benefit both employers who need the manpower and workers who will not only earn an income but can also gain work experience for the future.

In conclusion, we expect labour market tightness to ease in the coming months as non-resident employment rebounds following significant relaxation of border restrictions. However, COVID-19 has underscored the importance of building resilient businesses. This is all the more important, given the uncertainties in the global geo-political and economic environment. Over-reliance on foreign workers will leave businesses open to and vulnerable to disruptions.

Therefore, I strongly encourage employers facing manpower shortages to utilise all the available support to press on with efforts to transform and become more manpower-lean, while tapping on the available sources of local workers that still exist to build up their local manpower core.