This article was updated on 12 Jan 2023.
Firms must participate in programmes or activities that grow Singapore’s economy and create more economic opportunities for Singaporeans to qualify for the new Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) scheme.
Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng emphasised the point at this year’s first Parliamentary sitting on 9 January 2023.
“This scheme is designed to work in tandem with the various government programmes that support Singapore’s economic priorities,” said Dr Tan.
Launched last month, M-SEP allows qualifying firms to temporarily hire S Pass and work permit holders above the prevailing quotas.
Dr Tan, who is also Manpower Minister, responded to several questions from Members of Parliament (MP), including Labour MPs.
In response to questions from MPs, including NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay, on how the M-SEP scheme will impact Singaporean PMEs and workers, Dr Tan said that companies participating in the programme “must also commit to employ or train locals while benefiting from the flexibilities.”
He said that firms could hire local workers through their own channels or government programmes and must be paid above the local qualifying salary of $1,400.
“Such firms will need to achieve a net increase in local hires,” according to Dr Tan.
He acknowledged that it is unrealistic to expect all firms to meet the hiring criteria in a tight labour market. However, there is an option for firms to commit to training local workers to fulfil this condition instead.
“Firms can do so by sending their local workers to a whitelist of training programmes. These are established training programmes, which have demonstrated good outcomes for participants in terms of enhancing their job roles and raising their wages,” he said.
NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Desmond Choo inquired about the steps that will be taken to ensure a level playing field for local workers.
He also asked whether companies under investigation for poor employment practices will be eligible for the M-SEP scheme.
In response, Dr Tan reassured him that the Ministry takes workplace fairness issues seriously.
“Firms that have breached the Fair Consideration Framework, or FCF, or the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, or TGFEP, may be barred from work pass privileges, and they will not be able to benefit from M-SEP,” he said.
Firms that are still undergoing investigations will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
Dr Tan also reiterated that manpower should not be a constraint to growth. He said that ensuring Singaporeans can benefit from the country’s economic priorities is most important.
“M-SEP will do so in two ways: directly, through the creation of hiring or training opportunities, and more significantly, indirectly, through the growth of needle-moving companies, which support our strategic economic priorities.
“Designed with these principal objectives in mind, M-SEP will strengthen our competitiveness,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary sitting also saw the House debating the SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and Skills Development Levy amendment bills. NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay stood in support of the amendments.
He called for proposed safeguards to prevent abuses by training providers. He highlighted the need for greater 4 Cs of Communication, Clarity, Credentials and Contemporaneity.
“There is a pressing need for these greater powers to be bestowed on SSG to investigate and prosecute as we weed out abuses by training providers and in particular the ‘black sheep,’ which we had seen in past years when SkillsFuture and other training funding schemes were meant to encourage individual initiated training, company-supported training and lifelong learning.
“However, we do not want to dampen the important role private training providers play in the training, transformation, and lifelong learning ecosystem,” Mr Tay said.
On 10 January 2023, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong also rose in support of the two bills.
He agreed that there is a need to better support Singaporeans in their lifelong-learning ambitions, which must be underpinned by assurance that training institutions are credible.
Beyond strengthening the regulatory framework to deter fraud, Mr Yong had two suggestions:
“As we work to improve the governance of our lifelong learning funding, we should also ensure that we support the changing aspirations of Singaporeans, as we continue to encourage every Singaporean to be a lifelong learner,” he said.
