Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong underlined the importance of building “a world-class talent pool in Singapore” in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 21, saying that the country needs top foreign workers in order to avoid being left behind.
In a media conference on Monday (Aug 29), Manpower Minister Tan See Leng outlined some of the steps toward this, including a new work pass designed to attract top talent called the Overseas Networks and Expertise Pass.
One CEO commenting on the foreign talent issue called it a “do or die” matter for Singapore, even though he acknowledged that it may become political if the country were to experience economic hardship.
Mr Devadas Krishnadas, the founder and CEO of Future-Moves Group, wrote in an Aug 30 LinkedIn post that there are three facts that Singaporeans need to face:
- that the population is rapidly ageing
- that many STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workers are needed in order “to achieve the ambition to be a ‘Smart Nation’ and achieve a digital economy,”
- and that while more Singaporeans are more entrepreneurial today than before, the country “needs to crowd in as many economic risk-seeking actors as possible.”
He expressed that the downside to “an ageing, economically slowing and less lively workforce” is that younger workers, who already number fewer than before, may want to move to greener pastures with more economic opportunities.
“This would just exacerbate conditions and Singapore cannot afford any further squeezing of the ‘labour belt’,” he added. “In short, it’s ‘do or die’ for Singapore.”
Mr Devadas commented on the new measures to attract top foreign talent, saying that they are “more targeted and outcome-focused” and not merely “obsessed with labour force injects” as had been the case two decades ago.
However, he warned that while this “may not bother Singaporean workers much when the economy is overheating,” it could “once again become a political issue when the economy turns sour,” and urged that the government “launch a campaign of persuasion to convince Singaporeans of the collective imperative of these 3 facts.”
He added that these innovations in policy represent the direction of the fourth generation of the ruling People’s Action Party leadership, even though it was PM Lee who announced them.
“On a pair of controversial issues – Section 377A and foreign talent, Prime Minister Lee has thrown himself on the ‘political barbwire’ for the benefit of his successors to move forward. This is political calculation and leadership,” Mr Devadas wrote.
He ended his post by stating that the question remains whether Singaporean workers will accept these new policies, but underlined yet again that it is “not just an economic choice but an existential one.” /TISG