Two-thirds Singaporean core in workforce a firm target: Lim Swee Say...

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This story was printed from channelnewsasia.com

By Loh Chee Kong, TODAY

POSTED: 21 Aug 2015 06:39
URL: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/two-thirds-singaporean/2064820.html

TODAY reports: The tightening of the Singapore's foreign manpower regime was not a reaction to
past mistakes, but was rather a reflection that realities had changed, says Manpower Minister Lim
Swee Say.

SINGAPORE: The Government will hold fast to its goal of having a two-thirds Singaporean core in the
economy, and this will be the structure of the countrys workforce in the medium to long term,
Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said.

Speaking to TODAY in an interview earlier this week, Mr Lim elaborated on the Governments aim -
which he mentioned in a Parliament sitting last month - of maintaining the 2:1 ratio of Singaporean
workers to foreign employees.

We are managing the growth of the foreign manpower at the pace in tandem with the growth of the local
manpower, said Mr Lim. Its important that we ensure that two thirds of our workforce will form a
strong Singaporean core in our economy ... On the whole, we want to do our best to strike this balance.

The move would not diminish Singapores standing as a global city and if a balance is struck, foreign
investors would still find the country a good bet, he said. In fact, the Republics position as a talent hub
would be enhanced, with leading multinational companies trying to take advantage of every headcount
possible to bring in the most qualified and experienced person, he said.

During the hour-long interview, Mr Lim also reiterated that the tightening of the Republics foreign
manpower regime was not a reaction to past mistakes, but was rather a reflection that realities had
changed. The inflow of foreign manpower was a hot topic during the 2011 General Election, and Mr Lim
identified the determination to manage the growth of the foreign workforce here as the key shift in
manpower policy since.

He stressed that it was quite clear that Singapores previous growth strategy had reached a point
whereby it was no longer sustainable - not necessarily immediately, but in the medium to long term.
Its not so much because the policy of the past was a mistake but rather, we are now having a new stage
of growth and therefore we have to pursue a new direction, he said.

Mr Lim pointed out that all global cities have restrictions on imported labour. Not everybody from all
over the world can just go to New York or London, take up a job and settle down. Management of foreign
manpower in many global cities of the world, in fact, is a norm. So Singapore is no different from
anybody else, he added.

Nevertheless, he noted that some cities are very open to foreign manpower. However, in these places,
locals go back to their homes in the countryside - a luxury that Singapore, as a city-state, does not have.

He added: Every country has to find the right balance But on the whole, I would say that we have

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Two-thirds Singaporean core in workforce a firm target: Lim Swee Say... about:blank

managed the process a lot more effectively compared to some other cities and countries. Through the
manpower quota system, we have ensured foreign manpower spread across all sectors and companies.

In his interaction with representatives from multinational companies here, he noted that many of them
recognised that one reason why they are here is that they can tap on local talent. They do not see that
this policy direction ... would limit their access to foreign manpower, Mr Lim said.

He pointed out that having foreigners make up a third of the workforce would offer companies
tremendous scope to bring in global talent. One third is not a small percentage. In fact, in many
countries, they are looking at much lower than one third, he said.

Singapore is now more selective of the types of foreign workers it wants, Mr Lim said. For the rank and
file workers, it would prefer those who are more skilful and more experienced. We dont want Singapore
to be their learning ground, he said.

For PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians), the Republic is looking for those who
can bring the expertise and know-how to complement and supplement what we have in Singapore, Mr
Lim said.

In short, the emphasis is on quality over quantity - quality in terms of the foreigners relevance to
Singapores future direction, Mr Lim explained. Ideally, (a situation where) local and foreign PMEs are
not competing for jobs in Singapore (but one where) Singaporean PMEs are working together with
foreign PMEs to help us to compete for jobs with the rest of the world.

Read the original TODAY story here.

-TODAY/av

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