Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng further explained the “offensive strategy” to bringing top global talent into Singapore, which Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong mentioned in the National Day Rally speech last month.
“What we are really hoping to bring to Singapore are the rainmakers,” Dr Tan said, talking about the Overseas Networks and Expertise (ONE) pass, which was introduced last week and is set to take effect on Jan 1, 2023.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Juliette Saly on Monday (Sept 4), the minister said that the number of applicants for the ONE pass will not be limited.
The pass is just one step that will make hiring expats easier amid a tight labour market, he added.
In saying that “rainmakers” are what he hopes would be attracted, he was referring was leaders in scientific, finance, culture and sports fields.
“We are always open for business, always open for global talent,” he told Bloomberg’s Saly.
The ONE pass allows expats who earn at least S$30,000 monthly to have a work pass valid for five years, and their dependents would be allowed to work in Singapore as well.
For exceptional candidates in sports, arts, science, and academia who may not earn this amount may also be eligible for the long-term visa.
Singapore is by no means the only country providing sweeter deals for top foreign talent to relocate, as Germany, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and even Thailand have launched programmes to attract so-called “rainmakers.”
PM Lee underlined in his NDR speech the importance of building “a world-class talent pool in Singapore,” even as he noted that globalization is on the decline and countries are turning inward.
But Singapore needs top foreign workers in order to avoid being left behind, he said.
“When it comes to top talent, we can never have enough. This is an age where talent makes all the difference to a nation’s success. We need to focus on attracting and retaining top talent, in the same way, we focus on attracting and retaining investments,” PM Lee said.
Like Dr Tan, the Prime Minister noted that other countries are also “making a special effort to court top international talents.”
The Manpower Minister told Bloomberg “In the competition for talent, we’re in a very, very hyped-up mode.
There’s hyper-competition, and we are very careful about what we reveal because we’re not going after the numbers. We’re going after really the quality — it’s not the quantity.”
H added that he doesn’t think there is a specific quota or number for the ONE pass, given that “these are people that are really in the top space itself. I think we would be able to manage those kinds of applications.” /TISG