Work pass changes will also benefit S'poreans: Minister

Bringing in the best talent from around the world will ultimately benefit Singapore's local talent pool, said Manpower Minister Tan See Leng yesterday.

He was discussing changes made to the work pass framework to strengthen Singapore's position as a global hub for talent.

The enhancements include introducing a new pass to draw top talent with overseas networks and expertise with a salary criterion that will be comparable to the top 5 per cent of Employment Pass holders here.

Dr Tan said at a press conference: "Underlying all the changes we are making is our goal of creating more - and more exciting - opportunities for our fellow Singaporeans.

"By bringing in 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."

The new Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass will be open for applications from Jan 1 next year to attract top talent across all sectors.

It can give Singapore a boost in areas such as the green economy and sustainability, Dr Tan said, in response to media questions on the industries that are likely to benefit the most from the new pass.

"There are tremendous new opportunities, and some of the technologies are still quite nascent, in terms of the adoption of hydrogen as a fuel, carbon capture utilisation and storage, the circular economy, even using biomass as fuel," he said.

Dr Tan added that the pass is also intended to help bring in those who are at the cutting edge in every field, including academia and culture.

Singapore will continue to groom its local talent and leaders, supporting them in going abroad to acquire greater regional and global exposure so that they can eventually take up leadership positions back home, he added.

Dr Tan noted that global competition for talent has intensified in the wake of the pandemic, and he stressed the importance of developing and retaining top talent.

"As a country with little or no natural resources, talent is our only resource, and talent acquisition is an offensive strategy for us. We are now in an era where businesses follow talent, as much as talent follows businesses. Both businesses and talent are searching for safe and stable places to invest, live and work in. Singapore is such a place," he said.

Besides attracting global talent, Singapore will also continue to invest heavily in developing its local workforce, he added.

The Republic has rolled out Industry Transformation Maps that map out growth plans for 23 sectors and help to identify in-demand jobs while developing skills strategies to build a local talent pipeline for them.

Jobs Transformation Maps also provide job-level insights into the impact of technology on the industry and workforce.

"With these insights, companies can identify requisite skills for their employees to move into redesigned jobs and emerging roles. The Government has a range of programmes to support reskilling and redeployment of workers into these new roles," Dr Tan said.

He added: "We must keep doing more. Our ambition is to groom many more Singaporeans into world-class leaders, standing shoulder to shoulder with global giants."