HIRING LOCALS STILL PRIORITY
Security companies said that while expanding recruitment to other jurisdictions could help ease the labour strain, their immediate priority is attracting more Singaporeans to take up the job.
“We will continue to make efforts to attract and mature our local talent – that’s where our focus really lies,” said Ms Ong.
“We want to take steps to engage Singaporeans, and give them a good career that is really attractive and stable.”
The firm said it has put in place competitive remuneration packages and various bonuses and incentives, as well as initiating training and development programmes, in an effort to entice more Singaporeans to join its ranks.
An analyst said hiring locally could in turn translate to better training quality, and increase the momentum in the industrial transformation map for the security industry.
“The more we try to attract locals, the likelihood is that the quality of (APOs) that we (hire) from other countries will also go up because we need to put in more screening and training,” said Associate Professor Razwana Begum, head of the Public Safety and Security Programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).
“There will also be greater focus on upscaling and upskilling, and in terms of how we project and market such roles. In general, we are likely to move towards having a profession that will be of a better quality and with greater oversight.”