OPTIMUM NUMBER OF FOREIGN TALENT FOR SINGAPORE

OPTIMUM NUMBER OF FOREIGN TALENT FOR SINGAPORE

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Mdm Ho Geok Choo asked the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home Affairs (a) what is the optimum number of foreigners/foreign talent needed to keep Singapore productive; and (b) what further measures are needed to ensure that there is a right mix of foreign talent who can value add to Singapore's capabilities and social cohesion.

Mr Wong Kan Seng: The Government does not target a specific total population size nor do we have a formula to determine the optimal number of foreigners. What we seek to achieve is a viable and sustainable population size that helps us grow our economy and develop a livelier and more vibrant society. There are various factors that influence the inflow of foreigners in Singapore, including economic factors such as the business or employment opportunities of the individual, the calibre of foreigners we need to or are able to attract for our economy and for population augmentation, the productivity of Singaporeans, and social factors such as the pace at which foreigners can be accommodated without introducing undue stress to our society.

Foreigners have an important role to play in the success of our economy. As of today, foreign workers make up almost one-third of our total workforce. They fill many jobs including those which Singaporeans do not want to do, eg, those in the construction, marine and manufacturing industries. They also fill jobs because we do not have enough Singaporeans to fill, eg, those in the services sector, like financial and tourism industries.

Nevertheless, the Government recognises that we cannot let the proportion of foreign workers in the workforce increase indefinitely, as there are real physical and social limits. Furthermore, companies that continue to rely heavily on foreign workers will have little incentive to invest in productivity improvements. The Economic Strategies Committee has thus proposed that foreigners be capped at the current one-third of total workforce.

However, this will not be implemented through setting quotas or specifying an optimal number of foreign workers. Instead, the Government will manage foreign workers sectorally and through a phased increase in the foreign worker levy. This allows companies the flexibility to employ the foreign workers they need to seize business opportunities and grow, without being hamstrung by rigid quotas. At the same time, the Government will help companies reduce their reliance on low-skilled foreign workers through productivity enhancing initiatives, such as the establishment of a $2 billion National Productivity Fund and the introduction of the Productivity and Innovation Credit.

Even as we moderate the growth of the total foreign workforce, it remains critical for Singapore to attract highly capable and entrepreneurial people from around the world to work here. They will complement our home-grown talent in areas like science and engineering, design, finance and start-ups. Keeping our society open to top talent will help to create many more opportunities for Singaporeans.

Other than this transient pool of foreign workers needed to supplement our workforce, immigrants are also needed to supplement our population. The reason is our declining birth rates, which are well below the replacement rate and a rapidly aging population. To make

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up for the shortfall, we need to take about 20,000 new citizens a year, to keep our citizen core. We will continue to be stringent in our requirements and grant citizenship to those of suitable quality, and who not only contribute to Singapore economically but also integrate well into our society.

As we continue to attract talented individuals to Singapore, we need to ensure that they are well-integrated into the local community. The National Integration Council was set up to spearhead efforts to integrate PRs and new citizens into our society. A number of measures to promote and foster social cohesion among locals, new immigrants and foreigners have been implemented. For instance, the Singapore Citizenship Journey was recently introduced to help new citizens learn more about Singapore's history and our way of life. For the transient foreigners, there are also programmes to help them adapt to local culture and conditions.

Attracting the right kind of people to Singapore and ensuring that they are welcomed into our society cannot be achieved by the Government alone. We need to and will continue to work with the community to explore new measures to enhance the integration of new immigrants.

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