FIRMS undertaking activities which support Singapore's strategic priorities will be given short-term flexibility to bypass foreign worker curbs under a new scheme, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said in Parliament on Friday (Mar 4).

They will be able to hire S Pass and Work Permit Holders beyond the prevailing Dependency Ratio Ceilings - the maximum share of such foreign workers in a firm's total workforce - for a limited period of time.

The Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) scheme is expected to be launched later this year, and will run for 3 years. The details are now being worked out, said Dr Tan.

To qualify, firms must meet the criteria of "undertaking ambitious investment, innovation, or internationalisation activities", as set by the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other economic agencies.

This includes participating in selected programmes which support Singapore's key economic priorities, such as the Economic Development Board's Research and Innovation Scheme for Companies and Enterprise Singapore's Scale-Up SG programme.

Participating firms must also commit to developing their local workforce.

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