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Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on Assessed Quantity and Nature of Labour Shortage for 27 Occupations under Shortage Occupation List

Employment practices Foreign manpower

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1852 OF 2023 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 21 April 2023

QUESTION NO. 2880 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis

To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the assessed quantity and nature of labour shortage for each of the 27 occupations under the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) respectively.

Answer:

1. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) evaluate occupations for the Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) Shortage Occupation List (SOL) based on three criteria: (i) the importance of the occupation to Singapore’s economic priorities, (ii) the degree and nature of labour shortage, and (iii) the sector’s commitment to developing the local pipeline to address these shortages.

2. The degree and nature of labour shortage for each occupation is assessed based on a set of quantitative indicators. This includes data on vacancies that were unfilled for at least six months from MOM’s Job Vacancy Survey (JVS), and the ratio of job applicants to vacancies from the MyCareersFuture job portal. The JVS also provides the underlying reasons why these vacancies were hard to fill by locals. When identifying occupations for the SOL, we focused on vacancies that were hard to fill due to a lack of specialised skills among the local workforce.

3. The quantitative indicators are one part of a holistic assessment across the three criteria. They are supplemented by qualitative input from the relevant sector agencies and feedback from industry and tripartite partners, including on the sector’s commitment to developing the local pipeline to address these shortages. The SOL is a dynamic list, and will be regularly reviewed by MOM and MTI to ensure it remains responsive to industry conditions.