Debated in Parliament on 15 Oct 2025.
Ms Gho Sze Kee asked the Minister for Manpower in view of the growing uncertainty in the jobs market and the challenges faced by recent tertiary graduates, whether there are plans to review and recalibrate the foreign manpower mix to provide Singapore’s local workforce with better opportunities, particularly at entry and mid-level PMET positions.
Mr Speaker, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) constantly reviews our foreign workforce policies to ensure that our foreign workforce is complementary, and that Singaporeans will continue to have access to good job opportunities.
The updates are done annually and with key changes announced at MOM’s Committee of Supply. For instance, we regularly update our Employment Pass (EP) and S Pass qualifying salaries to keep pace with local wage growths, and it avoids undercutting local salaries. New EP applicants aged 23 years old must earn at least S$5,600 to qualify, and this is significantly above the median wage of our fresh graduates. We also refresh the Complementarity Assessment Framework for EP applications annually, keeping in line with market conditions. For example, we will add or remove occupations on the Shortage Occupation List based on industry shortages and industries’ efforts to develop the local pipeline.
We strike a very careful balance when reviewing these policies. We need to provide businesses sufficient access to talent so that we can continue to maintain Singapore’s global competitiveness. In particular, foreign professionals help to attract foreign investments and multinational corporations that create a large number of good jobs for Singaporeans. While foreign-owned companies account for 20% of all companies in Singapore, they employ one-third of the resident workforce, and these include our fresh graduates as well. Foreign firms also create business for local firms, who in turn create jobs for Singaporeans.
MOM will continue to review our policies holistically. We will continue to invest heavily in our local workforce to support Singaporeans across all economic climates.
PAPERCUTS