ISSUANCE OF EMPLOYMENT PASSES TO FOREIGNERS

ISSUANCE OF EMPLOYMENT PASSES TO FOREIGNERS

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(Estimated figures and types of industries): **

6.

Ms Sylvia Lim asked the Minister for Manpower (a) if he will provide a projection, for the next five years, of the number of foreigners to whom the Government will issue or renew employment passes, personal employment passes, entrepasses, S-passes and work permits; and (b) which sectors or industries will be given priority for each of the aforesaid categories.

Dr Ng Eng Hen: Our work pass policies are designed to be flexible and responsive to changing industry needs and economic conditions. Hence, we do not set out to allocate foreign workers to particular sectors, but allow market forces to operate. Similarly, the change in foreign employment would also depend on Singapore’s economic growth, and is difficult to forecast accurately.

We control inflows of work permit holders through dependency ratios, levy and skill requirements. The dependency ratio requires employers to hire Singaporeans before they can employ foreign workers. For S-pass and other employment passes, criteria such as education qualifications and salary apply to ensure that only professionals and executives who are adequately qualified can work here.