SINGAPOREANS will get more tools to manage their “career health”, while vulnerable groups will receive more support so that all segments of workers can reap the benefits of growth, said Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng in Parliament on Wednesday (Mar 1).

Staying open to talent is part of having a vibrant economy, he said, adding that policies are being tweaked to ensure that foreign workers are of the right calibre and complement the local workforce.

Singapore’s labour market grew strongly last year, recovering past pre-Covid levels. But global economic uncertainty is expected to weigh on this in the medium term, said Dr Tan in his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate.

He assured workers that the government will support them “every step of the way” – from job-seeking and career changes, to helping the unemployed return to work and improving retirement adequacy.

While Singapore presses on with economic transformation, Singaporeans must improve their own career prospects and resilience to seize opportunities, said Dr Tan.

He set out three ways in which workers can take charge of their “career health”: staying aware of career prospects; taking “deliberate and purposeful” steps to stay competitive; and being able to bounce back from setbacks.

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To help jobseekers improve their awareness, a new feature on government jobs portal, MyCareersFuture, will provide personalised jobs and skills recommendations.

CareersFinder, to be introduced in the third quarter, draws on government data on “skills adjacencies” and job transitions in the labour market. Using this, as well as data provided by jobseekers, it identifies job listings on MyCareersFuture and recommends MySkillsFuture courses.

“CareersFinder is the first step to try and integrate jobs and training recommenders,” said Dr Tan. It will be launched in beta mode, but will “become more powerful as the data grows”.

Besides supporting workers in reskilling and upskilling, Singapore must build a “more inclusive labour market” with pathways for “different interests and inclinations”, he added. This includes “hands-on work”, which has traditionally been less valued despite requiring deep skills.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will work with the National Trades Union Congress to redesign such skilled trades to offer better salaries, clear career and skills progression ladders, as well as other ways to attract, retain and reward workers. The aim is to raise the number of locals in these roles “in a sustainable way”.

As for bouncing back, the Citizens’ Panel on employment resilience has been discussing issues such as re-employment support and will conclude its work in end-March, said Dr Tan, adding that he looks forward to their recommendations.

Vulnerable workers will get more help to improve their employment outcomes. Low-wage platform workers who make additional CPF contributions will have 75 per cent of this increase offset by the government, for the first year after contribution rates start to rise.

To enable persons with disabilities and ex-offenders to “achieve their full potential in the workforce”, wage offsets of up to 40 per cent will be provided to encourage their employment, said Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang.

Separately, as flexible work arrangements grow more prevalent, MOM will keep encouraging employers to adopt these “in a win-win manner”, said Gan. Tripartite guidelines will be introduced by 2024, requiring employers to consider such requests “fairly and properly”.

But Gan cautioned against legislating these guidelines, in response to such suggestions from Members of Parliament Louis Chua and Louis Ng. She noted that implementing these arrangements “in a rigid manner” risks creating an acrimonious workplace culture and affecting productivity, “which ultimately hurts employers and employees”.

Dr Tan said creating good opportunities for local workers requires a “vibrant, growing economy that is open to international investments, companies and workers”, stressing that foreigners who work here must be of the “right calibre”.

Employers will have to submit proof of Employment Pass applicants’ educational qualifications to score the relevant points under the Complementarity Assessment Framework (Compass), which applies to new applications from Sep 1.

Details of two bonus Compass criteria will be revealed by end-March, added Dr Tan. These are for individuals in “shortage occupations”, and employers that meet specific criteria on innovation or internationalisation.

Singapore’s foreign workforce must complement the local workforce, the minister noted, citing the example of the previously-announced Non-Traditional Source (NTS) Occupation List. This lets services and manufacturing firms hire work permit holders from NTS countries for seven job roles.

These roles are typically filled by rank-and-file S Pass holders. When S Pass qualifying salaries are raised on Sep 1, they may no longer earn enough to qualify – but may also not be eligible for work permits, which are restricted to those from specific source countries.

The NTS Occupation List allows such workers from six additional countries to be hired on work permits. On Wednesday, Dr Tan announced new restrictions: such workers must be paid at least S$2,000 a month, and cannot form more than 8 per cent of the employer’s total workforce. This ensures that employers diversify their workforce, and guards against “cheap-sourcing”, he said.