Yesterday (3 Oct 2022), Manpower Minister Tan See Leng replied to several Members of Parliament in Parliament with regard to the new OnePass scheme which aims to bring in “global talent” into Singapore.
“Being open, being connected, and bringing in complementary global talent have helped to grow the overall pie for Singapore and more good job opportunities for locals,” Dr Tan said, who himself is a medically trained doctor.
He noted that the proportion of EP holders who worked in the fast-growing information and communications technology (ICT) sector increased from one-sixth (16.7%) in 2016 to one-fifth (20%) in 2021. At the same time, the number of local PMETs has also increased. “The growth of the Information & Communications sector has also resulted in the creation of more jobs for our locals — in the same timeframe, we saw strong growth in the number of local PMETs by 34,400,” said Dr Tan.
However, he did not provide the corresponding numbers of EP holders working in the ICT sector.
Still, these numbers can be derived from the Manpower Ministry (MOM) website. According to the website, there were 192,300 EP holders at the end of 2016 but dropped to 161,700 at the end of 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
So, this means at the end of 2016, we have about 32,050 foreign EP holders working in the ICT sector while at the end of 2021, we have 32,340, using the proportion figures provided by Dr Tan.
Hence, as can be seen, it shows that there is hardly any increase in the number of EP holders in the ICT sector from 2016 to 2021.
It’s not known how Dr Tan could conclude that growth in the ICT sector has resulted in creating more jobs for our local PMETs since there is no apparent increase in the number of foreign EP holders in this sector from 2016 to 2021. It should be remembered that after the 2020 GE when the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) lost 2 group representation constituency (GRCs) and also during the Covid-19 period, the government was forced to give out many incentives for companies to recruit locals.
During the Parliamentary debates, Workers’ Party MP Gerald Giam also asked if the government would introduce a quota for the bottom half of income earners among EP holders. But Dr Tan replied that such a quota would “restrict Singapore’s ability to compete”.
Another MP asked about the number of companies that have been placed under the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices’ (TAFEP) watchlist. Responding, Dr Tan said enforcement actions were taken against about 300 companies from 2017 to 2021 over unfair hiring practices. However, he added that placement on the watchlist does not mean they have flouted any rules.
Dr Tan assured the House that his ministry could also prosecute errant employers or key personnel who have lied about considering all candidates fairly.
“Employers who are convicted of false declaration under the Employment of Foreign Manpower Act will face imprisonment of up to two years or fine of up to $20,000 or both,” he said. “There is no place for discrimination in Singapore. The Ministry of Manpower does not and will not tolerate unfair hiring practices, and employers who do not give locals a fair chance will face stiff penalties.”
Questions With Regard To The Quality Of Engineers From India
It’s no secret that the bulk of foreign ICT engineers in Singapore comes from India these days. This was disclosed by Dr Tan in a Parliamentary debate last Jul when he had to defend the government’s position with regard to the signing of the Singapore-India Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) with India.
During the Parliament sitting, he was forced by Non-Constituency MPs Leong Mun Wai and Hazel Poa to disclose that the proportion of EP holders from India had doubled to 25 per cent in 2020, up from 14 per cent in 2005.
This was driven by the rapid growth of Singapore’s digital economy, rather than the result of more favourable treatment for Indian EP holders due to CECA, Dr Tan explained. “As every sector seeks to be digitally enabled, their need for tech talent has grown significantly,” he said (‘Indian EP holders nearly doubled to 25%, driven by digital economy growth‘, 8 Jul 2021).
However, that doesn’t mean engineers from India are necessarily all good. According to a news report from the Indian mainstream media, The Economic Times, only a minority of engineers from India can code (‘The real reason why 95% of Indian engineers can’t code‘).
It reported that some years ago, a McKinsey report said just a quarter of engineers in India were actually employable. Some other studies put it at less than 20%. Then a survey by employability assessment firm Aspiring Minds said 95% of Indian engineers can’t code.
The Economic Times acknowledged that thousands of engineering colleges and universities in India are churning out millions of graduates every year whose employability is questionable. “There is a glut of engineers in the country and most of them are not employable. Old problems of low-quality education and outdated curricula have become more pronounced,” it wrote.
The Economic Times blamed the over-capacity of colleges in India as the primary reason. “A glut of engineering colleges and resultant over-supply of graduates has led to quality going down,” it added. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project of ‘Make in India’ is hobbled by a lack of employable graduates. The project aspires to increase manufacturing capacity in India and generate 100 million jobs by 2022. That’s too difficult with the kind of graduates our engineering colleges churn out.”
In any case, it’s not known how Dr Tan is going to ensure the quality of foreign talents that he wants to take in, especially those from India who are specifically mentioned as “unemployable” by The Economic Times.
