S’pore needs foreign workforce: govt

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According to the population white paper released by National Population and Talent Division (NPTD) on Tuesday, by 2030, two in three Singaporeans will hold PMET jobs compared to one in two today.

The remaining one-third of Singaporean workers will be more skilled than non-PMETs today.

Government pointed out that foreign manpower would be needed to complement the local workforce in four key areas, namely:

1. Taking up lower-skilled jobs, as more Singaporeans upgrade into higher-skilled jobs
2. Helping to kick-start new high value-added emerging sectors to provide Singaporeans with a diverse range of good jobs
3. Providing businesses the flexibility to capitalise on economic upswings, while buffering Singaporean workers from job losses in downturns
4. Supporting social and development needs such as construction and social services, as well as conservancy and maintenance work, so that Singaporeans can continue to enjoy a good quality of life at moderate cost

By having foreign manpower supporting the workforce, the city-state will be able to develop a stronger core of higher skilled Singaporeans, government said.

It acknowledged that an influx of foreign workers can cause the population to expand beyond what is sustainable and can lead to lower wagers, reducing the incentive for firms to upgrade workers and raise productivity.

To guard against that, government said it would continue reviewing foreign manpower policies to reduce reliance on foreign labour in the long run.