Locals and Foreigners Hired for Skilled Jobs

Mrs Lina Chiam asked the Minister for Trade and Industry in light of a 2010 EDB report which stated that 21,300 skilled jobs were created in Singapore in 2010, what is the breakdown of the number of locals and foreigners being employed in the 21,300 skilled jobs.

The Minister for Trade and Industry (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, EDB's focus in job creation is two-fold. First, it seeks to create job opportunities through the investments brought into Singapore. Second, it helps our local workers to build new skills and capabilities so that they are ready to seize these opportunities.

With regard to the Member's query, the 21,300 skilled jobs reported in the 2010 EDB Annual Report refers to the number of skilled jobs that EDB-supported companies will hire upon full implementation of their 2010 investment commitments in Singapore. The eventual mix of local and foreign skilled workers will depend on a range of factors, such as the companies' ability to identify and recruit the required workforce locally and the prevailing labour market conditions at the time of the recruitment. Based on the Census of Manufacturing Activities between 2005 and 2009, more than seven in 10 skilled jobs in the manufacturing sector were filled by locals.

Besides creating job opportunities, EDB also works with the industry and other stakeholders to ensure that locals are equipped with the appropriate skills for the jobs created. In addition to aligning the curriculum of our tertiary institutions with industry needs, EDB has programmes in place to fund formal and on-the-job training for individuals. These programmes include the Initiatives in New Technology (INTECH) grant which co-funds training in new technology and new growth areas, as well as its Strategic Attachment and Training (STRAT) Programme which funds overseas training with leading companies. On average, 3,500 locals were trained annually under these programmes in the last five years. EDB will continue to bring in investments and create good jobs for our local workforce and ensure sustainable economic growth for Singapore.

Mrs Lina Chiam (Non-Constituency Member): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Sir, I have three supplementary questions to ask the Minister for Trade and Industry. With regard to the breakdown of skilled jobs, how many employed are Singaporeans and PRs? Are Singaporean applicants given priority? Will Singaporean retirees be allowed to apply for these skilled jobs?

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Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I mentioned in my reply earlier, more than seven in 10 skilled jobs in the manufacturing sector was filled by locals. In terms of recruitment, of course, companies, all things being equal, would prefer Singaporeans. And we have programmes in place to make Singaporeans ready to take on these jobs, for example, the two programmes that I mentioned just now ‒ INTECH and STRAT. So Singaporeans are ready.

But in some situations, we have to be realistic. For example, when we were attracting animation investments into Singapore, these investments did take place very quickly. The lead time for bringing in these investments is quite short and so we did not have enough time to send Singaporeans to university and for overseas attachments to build up the skills base. In such situations, of course, we do allow the companies to bring in foreign talent and workers first to start the investments in Singapore, and then we will produce the pipeline of Singaporeans to take these jobs. But for other investments, for example, in solar panels, these took some time to build up the factory. In the meantime, we have the time to train our local workers, particularly those from the semi-conductor electronic sector, to undertake these jobs. So the situation would depend on the sector.

Finally, for retirees, we do encourage people with the skills and who are prepared to be trained with the skills to undertake these jobs, too.