Top talents, rainmakers, outstanding achievers - all these terms have been flying about since Singapore announced changes to its work pass framework, headlined by the new Overseas Networks and Expertise (One) Pass.
This week, Insight explores what the new pass means for the nation's businesses and workforce, how it will help attract the sort of game-changing talent that many countries are jostling for, and the type of job roles here likely to meet the $30,000 a month criterion.
One pass, many options to help woo global talent
The Overseas Networks and Expertise (One) Pass has had Singapore talking ever since it was announced by Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng on Aug 29.
At the press conference to unveil the pass, Dr Tan made it clear that the Republic is playing in the big leagues as it seeks to attract the top players in various fields.
"By bringing the best from around the world, we can tap their networks, learn from their expertise, and ultimately we will accelerate the development of our local talent pool," he said.
Singapore's new work pass to attract talent: Which are the jobs that pay $30,000 or more a month?
The new Overseas Networks and Expertise (One) Pass for top foreign professionals has a criterion of $30,000 in fixed monthly salary.
But what are the jobs that pay that much?
Mr Nilay Khandelwal, managing director of talent consultancy Michael Page Singapore, said: "Any organisation is like a pyramid and we are looking at the apex of the pyramid, the top 10 to 20 per cent, who could earn that much."
Visa schemes elsewhere pose challenge to S'pore
Singapore's home-grown talent are making a splash abroad even as the country is trying to reel in top foreign talent with the new Overseas Networks and Expertise (One) Pass.
Dr Leonard Ng, for instance, is a Singaporean who has been a holder of the United Kingdom's coveted Global Talent Visa since its inception in 2020 for his expertise in materials science.
The field involves studying the properties of existing materials and ways to create new ones with superior properties for application.
Niche work passes such as Singapore's One Pass are evolving
The launch of the new Overseas Networks and Expertise (One) Pass is not the first time Singapore has designed a specialised work pass to attract the world's best talent to its shores.
The Tech.Pass was launched in January last year to draw what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong described as "the movers and shakers of the tech world".
But less than two years later, it may be on the way out as the global war for talent across sectors in technology and beyond heats up.
