More foreign, local workers to be made available as firms face manpower crunch

THE tourism and aviation industries will be allowed to temporarily hire more foreign workers, as Singapore’s economic reopening runs headlong in a manpower crunch.

Meanwhile, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng noted on Monday (May 9) that about 5,200 local workers - many with prior food and beverage (F&B) and retail experience - will be up for grabs in the coming months, when their short-term Covid-19-related contracts end.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and Ministry of Trade and Industry will also work with trade groups to support immediate F&B and retail manpower needs, while the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore is working with aviation firms to recall former staff, Tan told Parliament.

“As economic recovery gains momentum, we recognise that some segments of the economy may find it challenging to fill job vacancies amidst the tight labour market,” he said in reply to questions about the manpower situation, while laying out measures to address this.

The minister acknowledged the crunch in industries such as F&B, cleaning, retail, tourism and aviation that were affected by safe management measures and international travel restrictions, as well as continued vacancies in industries such as information and communications and financial services.

But Tan added: “We expect labour market tightness to ease in the coming months as non-resident employment rebounds following significant relaxation of border restrictions.”

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With Singapore’s borders gradually reopening, Tan noted that the work permit holder workforce in the hardest-hit construction, marine shipyard and process sectors has already rebounded from a 2-year low in October 2021 to reach more than 90 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Other assistance on the way includes “additional foreign worker quotas on a time-limited basis” for the tourism and aviation industries, so businesses can quickly rebound, he said.

Besides wider adoption of technological solutions such as autonomous floor scrubbers, the minister also pointed to “opportunities to hire more local workers”, including those who filled Covid-19 roles such as safe distancing ambassadors (SDAs) and vaccination centre staff.

Numerous MPs had asked about how to address ongoing labour shortages in industries such as cleaning, food services and retail, as well as what plans are in place to shift SDAs into new jobs.

That’s as Singapore significantly eased virus-related domestic restrictions on Apr 26, including group size limits and safe distancing rules. The Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment said in a statement at the time that it would gradually step down the deployment of the roughly 2,000 SDAs employed by various agencies, with job help available for those who needed it.

Tan has now disclosed that some 1,200 of the roughly 6,400 workers employed in short-term Covid-19 roles as at April 2022 will be redeployed into longer-term roles.

The rest will be looking for new jobs, with support from government agency Workforce Singapore and the labour movement’s Employment and Employability Institute.

“Many of these workers came from the F&B and retail sectors, and would thus possess the relevant skill sets as well as experience,” he noted.

Besides tapping the former Covid-19 workforce, employers can also turn to around 9,800 trainees who were in attachment and training programmes under the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package as at end-February 2022, and who will soon be looking for work as well, Tan added.

Citing the relaxation of safe management measures, People’s Action Party (PAP) MP Yip Hon Weng (Yio Chu Kang) also asked about efforts to promote more local employment and whether the Manpower Ministry would relax foreign labour policies, should the staffing crunch continue.

Meanwhile, PAP MP Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar GRC) asked whether the ministry could allow employers to recruit cleaners from more countries, to reduce the risk of worker shortages.

Services companies are generally restricted to hiring work permit holders from Malaysia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan or South Korea, although the authorities will start to expand eligible source countries for certain occupations from September 2023 onwards.

Though the labour market tightness is expected to ease as borders reopen, Tan also warned that “over-reliance on foreign workers will leave businesses open to and vulnerable to disruptions”.

“Therefore, I strongly encourage employers facing manpower shortages to utilise all the available support to press on with efforts to transform and become more manpower-lean, while tapping on the available sources of local workers that still exist to build up their local manpower core.”