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Govt’s strategy in helping low-paid Singaporeans

Foreign manpower Skills, training and development
  • The Straits Times (01 April 2011) : Govt’s strategy in helping low-paid Singaporeans
  • The Straits Times (29 Mar 2011) : Clear career path for low-paid S'poreans
Govt’s strategy in helping low-paid Singaporeans
- The Straits Times, 01 April 2011

We refer to Mr Philip Wong's letter "Clear career path for low-paid Singaporeans" published on March 29, 2011. We note that Mr Wong had written on the same subject to our Ministry earlier to which we had replied on 25 Mar 2011.

2.   Mr Wong's suggestion to abolish the S Pass is untenable as businesses that require their skills will no longer invest in Singapore. Fewer jobs will be created and this will backfire on Singaporean workers. S Pass holders help plug the gaps in the manpower pool and are necessary to help grow the economy as well as help provide critical services to Singaporeans in occupations such as nurses, teachers and technicians.

3.   To encourage companies to hire better qualified S Pass holders with the right skills for the jobs, we have reviewed and recalibrated the eligibility criteria for S Pass over the last few years so that only better qualified and more experienced applicants will be issued the pass. The recent announcements on the increase in the levy on S Pass holders and the tightening of the levy tiers are aimed at moderating the demand for S Pass holders.

4.   As for Mr Wong's proposal to increase the number of sources of Work Permit holders, he may wish to note that the PRC is already an approved source of Work Permit holders. However, adding more sources of Work Permit holders as suggested by Mr Wong will merely add to the pool of low-cost and low-skilled workers in Singapore and may instead impede ongoing efforts to help the very group of Singaporeans which the Government and Mr Wong both wish to help.

5.   Besides workers, businesses like Mr Wong’s, should also do their part to press on with the productivity improvements and redesign their jobs to attract more Singaporeans.

6.   To help low skilled and low income workers, the Government has invested heavily in developing our Continuing Education and Training (CET) framework and will continue to strengthen outreach efforts and lower training barriers. Low-wage workers can benefit from Workfare which provides an income supplement as well as offers enhanced training support. This will help to improve the employability of low-wage Singapore workers by arming them with better skills so that they can take on better jobs and enjoy higher wages.

Clear career path for low-paid S'poreans
- The Straits Times, 29 March 2011

The article ('Good for foreigners, tough on employers'; last Thursday) describes a reality that plagues young Singaporeans whose highest qualification is a diploma, or lower.

I have tried to help such young people who were referred to me by voluntary welfare organisations because these young adults have financial problems and need decent paying jobs.

Retailers or food and beverage (F&B) operators need workers, not managers or supervisors, but Singaporeans are capable of taking on managerial or supervisory roles.

The retail or F&B businesses, which have a bottom-up career advancement path, do not need candidates with high educational qualifications.

However, S-Pass holders, whom businesses are forced to hire because of the acute shortage of takers here, block the career path of the bottom tier of Singaporeans.

Despite training or attending Workforce Skills Qualifications (WSQ) courses, Singaporeans who hold less than a diploma find themselves starting at the lowest pay rung of $1,000 to $1,300 a month. S-Pass holders are paid a basic monthly wage of $1,800.

The Singaporeans at the lowest pay rung have no advancement prospects because businesses hire S-Pass holders to run supervisory roles. The solution: Remove the S-Pass category.

Allow businesses to hire workers on a quota system: for example, three foreigners for every Singaporean WSQ certificate holder.

In this way, Singaporeans with lower qualifications have a meaningful career path.

Businesses can leverage on the training available to nurture Singaporeans and salaries will increase with advancement in the career.

We can start with Institute of Technical Education (ITE) graduates and WSQ holders as trainee supervisors who can move up the career ladder from this point, instead of at the bottom.

To clear such a path for Singaporeans, the Ministry of Manpower should allow the hiring of Filipinos, Nepalese, Indians and Chinese nationals on work permit by businesses in the service industry.