[Bigiron]

Tighter controls on higher-skilled foreign workers will less likely prompt firms to hire locals than on lower-skilled workers: Tan See Leng 

https://www.theonlinecitizen.com/2023/02...-see-leng/

[Ola]

If tighten NON- tech jobs, companies will hire higher skilled locals

Dead- dragon thinks I am as stupid as Jac?

[Bigiron]

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story...dqamJVGhhl&id=100063165581944&mibextid=Nif5oz

[Bigiron]

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story...dqamJVGhhl&id=100063165581944&mibextid=Nif5oz

Breaking news: Parliamentary debate - % of non-native S'poreans in workforce continues its relentless rise to 56.2% (est.)? 

"Tighter controls on lower-skilled foreign workers help boost employment for locals: Tan See Leng" (ST, Feb 27)

"Tighter controls on hiring lower-skilled foreign workers are more likely to prompt companies to recruit more locals, compared with tightening access to foreign workers who are higher-skilled, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng on Monday.

This is because businesses were able to substitute lower-skilled but cheaper foreign workers with locals, and improve production processes accordingly

The finding is based on government impact assessment studies, which are carried out regularly on policies, including those related to the foreign workforce.

He added: “This has therefore informed our approach of remaining open to high quality foreign professionals, while maintaining a disciplined stance in regulating the number of work permit holders through quotas and levies.”

More than 1.5 million foreigners help Singapore plug the manpower gap to run its US$400 billion ($540 billion) economy.

That is because its four million-strong resident population is a fraction of similar-sized economies in the region, such as Malaysia with 33 million and Vietnam with 99 million people.

“It is important that our policies enable firms to access foreign workers who complement the local workforce, so that the firms can grow and create more opportunities for locals,” Mr Tan said.

He said proper calibration of the foreign manpower controls is necessary, as the tightening measures work only to a certain point before the outcomes turn negative.

“If you continue to tighten, it actually can have a worse-off effect for the development of our country in terms of the economic progress as well as industry developments,” he said.

But given the small size of the population and the accelerating pace at which the global economic landscape is transforming, foreign professionals are needed to keep Singapore competitive.

“In terms of making sure that we are ahead of the competition, we will not just need to develop our own local talent, but we will also need foreign workers,” he added."

Comment:

Let's cut the "mumbo jumbo" narrative, & go straight to the point - Let the numbers do the talking!

Strangely, there was no breakdown into residents & non-residents in the workforce, in the latest employment statistics (Dec 2022)
https://stats.mom.gov.sg/Pages/employmen...Table.aspx

But a clue may have been given to us in today's Parliamentary debate - "More than 1.5 million foreigners help Singapore plug the manpower gap"

So, we can now try to estimate the non-resident workers as a percentage of the total workforce as at Dec 2022 - 38.5% (1,500,001 foreigners divided by 3,897,500 total workforce)

https://stats.mom.gov.sg/Pages/employmen...Table.aspx

Breakdown of total workforce (est.):

38.5% foreign (1,500,001)
10.6% PRs (413,810)
51.1% citizens (1,983,689) 

49.1% (est.) non-S'porean (foreigners + PRs)

6.6% (est.) (13% x 51.1%) (13% citizen workforce not born in S'pore) (Parliamentary debate, Jul 2021)

0.5% (est.) (est.1% x 51.1%) (est. 1% citizen workforce born in S'pore as non-citizens) (6,959 non-citizen births in 2021 (38,672 total live-births - 34,183 resident live-births - 31,713 citizen births))
https://tablebuilder.singstat.gov.sg/table/TS/M810091

56.2% (est.) (38.5 + 10.6 + 6.6 + 0.5%) (non-native citizens in workforce (including citizens not born in S'pore & citizens born in S'pore as non-citizens))
#SGIssuesThatMatter