Budget 2026: How should Singapore decide which jobs are to be filled by foreign workers?

[SINGAPORE] Inclusivity – including diverse pathways to success – was one of three priorities laid out by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng during the debate on his ministry’s budget in Parliament this week.

In the same speech, however, were policy tweaks that make it easier to hire foreigners for “roles with not enough locals”, as Dr Tan put it.

Amid ongoing efforts to broaden the concept of a “good job”, the government seems to view some roles as unlikely to be attractive enough to citizens.