“Being open, being connected, and bringing in complementary global talent, has helped to grow the overall pie for Singapore and more good job opportunities for locals,” Dr Tan emphasised.
Ms Jessica Tan’s (PAP – East Coast) had asked if there is data to show that Singaporeans are getting quality jobs in key sectors, while Mr Liang Eng Hwa (PAP – Bukit Panjang) had asked about the number of Employment Pass holders in the Information & Communications (ICT) sector, compared to other sectors.
Dr Tan said that more locals are in higher-skilled jobs for Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs), and there has been “sustained wage growth” for local workers.
He cited figures showing how the proportion of resident workers in PMET jobs has increased – from 55 per cent in 2016 to 62 per cent in 2021. He also said the median income of full-time employed residents has grown from S$4,100 to S$4,700 in those years, an increase in real wages of 2.1 per cent a year.
Wages for lower-income workers have also gone up, with the real income of locals at the 20th percentile rising 2.7 per cent per annum over the same period, he said.
On jobs in the ICT sector, Dr Tan said that the industry is a fast-growing one facing talent shortages worldwide. In 2021, one-fifth of EP holders here worked in the ICT sector, an increase from one-sixth in 2016.
“The growth of the Information & Communications sector has also resulted in the creation of more jobs for our locals – in the same timeframe, we saw strong growth in the number of local PMETs by 34,400,” said Dr Tan.
“Median local wages in the sector also continue to increase. Therefore, we can see quite clearly that this is not a zero-sum game.”
In his answer to Mr Gerald Giam’s (WP – Aljunied) question on whether MOM can consider imposing a quota for the “bottom half of income earners” among EP holders, Dr Tan said that at the EP level, the focus is on ensuring that the workers are “of good quality”.
The authorities do not impose quotas, as this will restrict Singapore’s ability to compete and hold back companies here. Dr Tan said that MOM has made significant adjustments to the EP framework to emphasise quality.
Some changes include benchmarking the EP qualifying salary to the top one-third of the local PMET workforce, and introducing a points-based Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS) from Sep 1 next year.
“Companies whose candidates cannot meet the EP qualifying salary or pass COMPASS will have to apply for an S Pass instead, where they will be subject to a quota. This is a neater solution than what Mr Giam is suggesting,” said Dr Tan.
“Compared to his suggestion where some EP holders are subjected to a quota while others are not, our current approach has the merit of keeping the positioning and the criteria of each pass type clear, and overall work pass framework simpler for businesses.”