Developing the Singapore Workforce - A Dialogue with Mr Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower

 

This article was originally published on 23rd April 2018.

Achieving sustainable workforce growth and building the talent pipeline - Minister Lim Swee Say, Minister for Manpower, speaks to Chamber members on Singapore’s vision and plans to develop the country’s workforce.

How can we sustain Singapore’s economic growth through higher productivity, train for the future needs of the nation, while keeping the share of foreigners at about a third of the workforce? The challenge for the Ministry of Manpower is that the workforce growth rate of 4% per annum from 2012 to 2014 is not sustainable into the future, especially as local workforce growth is heading towards stagnation in the next decade. There is also a pressing need to make the workforce future-ready, as Singapore’s economy undergoes a period of major transformation that requires new skillsets.

The Ministry’s foreign workforce policies have nudged Singapore towards a path of quality growth over the last 3 years, with higher productivity and slower workforce growth. During the period, the Ministry also engaged employers to communicate the country’s future economic direction. Today, approximately 1.1 million foreigners are working in Singapore.

In a full capacity event for the British Chamber of Commerce on 5th April 2018, Minister Lim spent a highly engaging two hours in a two-way conversation with the Chamber’s member company representatives, explaining the thought process behind the Ministry’s local and foreign workforce policies, and the progress that has been made so far. Chamber members further shared their own experiences and in turn, provided suggestions and ideas to the Minister and his team.

How does Singapore set out to improve the skillsets and viability of employees within the country’s workforce? How does Singapore in turn leverage global talent to complement the local workforce in meeting business needs?

The Government has introduced a number of initiatives in recent years that are having a significant impact in transforming the economy. The 23 Industrial Transformation Maps, part of the Ministry for Trade and Industry’s wider Industry Transformation Programme, are targeted at clusters of key industry areas marked for transformation in the future. These include manufacturing, built environment, trade and connectivity, essential domestic services, modern services and lifestyle. To support the skills requirements for these industries, the SkillsFuture movement under the Ministry of Education seeks to upskill the Singapore workforce to be ready for these jobs. 

Committed to developing a future ready workforce, Workforce Singapore’s Adapt and Grow initiative also supports Singaporean workers looking to make career transitions by building on their existing experience and skills.

The Minister reiterated that Singapore remains open to foreign professionals with skills needed by businesses. Few countries today operate such an open door policy to foreign professionals as Singapore in the context of a tight labour market, with no quotas, levies or source controls at the Employment Pass level. Furthermore, members present were reassured that the Government has no plans to stop foreign workforce growth. Rather, Singapore’s objective is to maintain a 2/3: 1/3 balance between local and foreign manpower at a national level for the medium term, and calibrate growth in the coming years. At the industry level, the ratio may differ as the Ministry recognises the unique skills requirements of each industry and the ability of the workforce today to meet those needs.

During the dialogue, some members expressed concern about the scrutiny of Employment Pass applications for firms on the Fair Consideration Framework Watchlist. The Minister said that this treatment only applied to a small number of companies with indications of unfair hiring practices. Of the approximately 500 (out of 34,500 companies that hire Employment Pass holders) which had been placed on the Watchlist, about 150 companies had since improved their hiring practices and exited the Watchlist. In the same period, over 2000 local professionals were hired by these companies.

Some companies are going beyond the requirements of the Fair Consideration Framework and have adopted progressive HR practices to develop their human capital. They have been identified by the Ministry as their Human Capital Partners. Approximately 140 companies lead the way in fostering a pipeline of strong local talent and have, as a result, been recognised for their investment and efforts.  

To support all businesses which require global expertise that is lacking in the local workforce, the Ministry has recently launched the Capability Transfer Programme. In partnership with Workforce Singapore, the Ministry provides financial support and work pass facilitation for businesses that want to transfer global expertise to their local workforce. The Minister gave the example of the precision engineering sector, where expertise was limited in the local workforce and an industry facility had been created to support training delivered by experts based in Germany.

There was open acknowledgment of the importance of continued communication among MOM, employers and workers in order to achieve the required manpower transformation that industries will need in the coming years. The Minister highlighted that at the heart of the Ministry’s approach to building a sustainable and future ready workforce was a commitment to collaborate and engage with the business community and workers, which was aligned with Singapore’s tripartite model. This was a strong message that ended the Minister’s address to Chamber members.
 

- END - 

This article has been approved for British Chamber of Commerce publication by the Ministry of Manpower