FROM Jun 1, employers in Singapore can hire work permit holders from more countries in certain sectors or for specific occupations, with more roles joining the list in September.
This will allow firms to “build a more skilled and resilient workforce”, said Minister for Manpower Tan See Leng at his ministry’s Committee of Supply debate on Thursday (Mar 6).
Work permit holders can be hired from non-traditional source (NTS) markets in the construction, marine shipyard and process industries, as well as for specified manufacturing and services roles on the NTS Occupation List.
The current NTS markets are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. From Jun 1, Bhutan, Cambodia and Laos will be included.
Calling it a “good move”, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Asme) president Ang Yuit noted that hiring from traditional sources can be challenging due to availability constraints or higher costs.
From Sep 1, three roles will be added to the NTS Occupation List: heavy-vehicle drivers; manufacturing operators; and cooks, replacing the earlier occupation of “cooks in Indian restaurants”.
Noting that manufacturers have “consistently requested” the addition of such manufacturing operator roles, Singapore Manufacturing Federation president Lennon Tan said the move will especially alleviate shortages in “labour-intensive operator roles that have proven challenging to fill”.
Source: The Business Times
