Applicants for Employment Pass to get bonus points for 27 ‘shortage’ roles
ROLES in financial advisory, carbon trading and artificial intelligence (AI) are among 27 “shortage occupations” for which Employment Pass (EP) applicants can get bonus points under Singapore’s upcoming Compass framework, on a list released by the Manpower Ministry (MOM) on Friday (Mar 31).
Also released were details of the previously-announced strategic economic priorities (SEP) bonus, which also grants bonus points. Firms do not need to apply for this bonus; those that qualify will be notified by MOM from end-July 2023.
Singapore International Chamber of Commerce chief executive Victor Mills said Friday’s announcement “provides clarity to businesses and enables them to plan for the implementation of Compass”.
From Sep 1, new applications for EPs will be assessed via the points-based Complementarity Assessment or Compass framework. Applicants must score at least 40 points to qualify.
There are four foundational criteria: the applicant’s salary, his or her qualifications, the diversity in the employer’s talent pool, and the employer’s support for local employment. Applicants can score 0, 10 or 20 points in each area.
On Friday, MOM also released its list of “top-tier” institutions whose degree holders can score 20 points under the qualifications criterion.
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In addition to Singapore’s autonomous universities, these include all faculties of top-ranked institutions such as the Harvard University, King’s College London, Peking University, Seoul National University and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
For some universities, such as Insead, only holders of qualifications from specified faculties will receive the 20 points. The top-tier institutions list will be updated in March next year, to take effect from September 2024.
In addition to the above four, there are two bonus criteria: the skills bonus for shortage occupations, and the SEP bonus.
The shortage occupation list is for roles that require highly specialised skills lacking in the local workforce. Applicants for these roles will get 20 bonus points. To encourage diversity, this is cut to 10 points if their nationality forms a third or more of the employer’s headcount of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs).
Of the 27 occupations from six industries on the list, 13 are from infocomm technology, including roles such as artificial intelligence scientist and digital forensics specialist.
Healthcare accounts for five roles, including clinical psychologist and diagnostic radiographer. There are four carbon-related roles in the green economy, such as carbon trader and carbon project manager.
Other examples are novel food biotechnologists in agritech; financial or investment advisers for ultra-high or high net worth, family office and philanthropy; and marine superintendents in the maritime sector.
Companies are finding it hard to grow due to a lack of local talent with the specialised skills to fill immediate shortages, for example, in green economy and IT roles, said Lei Hsien-Hsien, chief executive officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. “With the bonus points, companies will be more confident in expanding their operations in Singapore, knowing they can hire the workers they need.”
The occupations on the list are strategically important in achieving Singapore’s economic priorities and face a “significant degree” of labour shortage due to local skills gaps. They were chosen based on quantitative data, such as jobs vacancies, as well as qualitative assessment by sector agencies and tripartite partners.
Sector agencies must commit to addressing the shortage in these skills by working with industry to develop a local talent pipeline, added MOM. This could involve collaborating with institutes of higher learning to equip graduates with the necessary skills, or starting training programmes for locals.
In a Facebook post, Patrick Tay, assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said that training providers could use the list to better curate targeted training programmes and opportunities for the local workforce. This is so that they can take on these jobs and slowly reduce Singapore’s reliance on foreign talent.
“I also urge our local PMEs (professionals, managers and executives) to use this list as an opportunity, to understand which occupations in our economy which are in demand and to develop and obtain the necessary skill sets needed to be employable in such occupations,” he added.
The list will be reviewed every three years, but occupations could also be added or removed annually “if required by market conditions”, said MOM.
Applicants who need the skills bonus to reach the passing mark of 40 points will face additional checks, such as whether they have relevant qualifications or industry accreditation. They will be restricted to their declared shortage occupation – meaning that if employers want to re-deploy them, their EP eligibility must be re-assessed.
“As with all work pass applicants, MOM has several enforcement measures in place to guard against fraud, and will not hesitate to impose stiff penalties against errant employers and work pass holders,” said a ministry spokesperson.
Meanwhile, the SEP bonus is for “firms undertaking ambitious investment, innovation, internationalisation, or company and workforce transformation activities”, which can get 10 bonus points for each EP application.
To qualify, firms must be supported by economic agencies or NTUC. As set out in Friday’s statement, they must participate in qualifying initiatives by one of six agencies, or meet economic criteria such as by being a manufacturer employing at least 500 locals.
For example, firms might be recipients of the Economic Development Board’s Pioneer Certificate Incentive, or participants of Enterprise Singapore’s Scale-Up SG programme.
They could also show commitment to strengthening local workforce development by taking part in the NTUC’s Company Training Committees or government-supported programmes.
Apart from the above NTUC-related possibility, the list mirrors that of the earlier-announced Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) scheme, which gives qualifying firms higher quotas for S Pass and Work Permit holders. About 1,000 firms in Singapore currently qualify for the M-SEP scheme.
Firms may receive the SEP bonus for up to three years. After that, to keep receiving it, they must score at least 10 points on the two firm-related foundational criteria: the candidate’s nationality must form less than 25 per cent of headcount, and the company’s local PMET share must not be below the 20th percentile in its sector.
As it takes time to equip workers with skills, immediate improved access to foreign talent will enable companies to seize opportunities that might otherwise be lost, said Sim Gim Guan, executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation.
In a recent poll by the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore, the availability and retention of manpower was one of the top three concerns for businesses.
“Over three-quarters of businesses who responded to the poll in February have been actively recruiting, with the proportion of employment passes required remaining similar to that in the previous six-month period,” said the chamber.
Albert Tsui, executive director of the Singapore Business Federation’s advocacy and policy division, said: “Competition for top talent is heating up globally, and Singapore must move decisively to attract international employees with niche and technical expertise here to grow our economy.”
Companies can get more details on MOM’s website and use the Workforce Insights tool on the MyMOM Portal to assess their Compass performance.
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