A fresh approach to foreign manpower needed to tackle long-term challenges

There are some jobs that locals shun and tasks that can’t be automated. But companies can’t do without them.

Is there scope for greater differentiation between services jobs, bearing in mind that some services jobs are essential, cannot be easily substituted with automation, and are not attractive to locals, asks the writer. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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One of the focal points of the 2024 Budget speech and the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Committee of Supply revolved around empowering workers, from supporting skills upgrading to enhancing retirement adequacy.

While businesses may welcome these measures, they do not directly address their key pain points: rising manpower costs and the challenge of coping with manpower shortages.

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