By LEE U-WEN
THE secret of
Singapore's strong job growth, according to Manpower Minister Ng
Eng Hen, is not to rely solely on locals to fill the
vacancies. Instead, it was the ministry allowing
businesses here to readily tap foreign workers to meet their needs
that has proven to be the Republic's key competitive advantage,
said Dr Ng in Parliament yesterday.
'If we had relied on our limited manpower supply, growth would be
slower and fewer jobs would be created. This is the experience in
other countries that tend to close their labour markets,' he told
the House.
Some MPs were concerned that the government's recent moves to
relax the rules on hiring foreign workers had dented opportunities
for locals. But Dr Ng reassured them this was hardly the case.
'The unemployment rate among local polytechnic diploma-holders
has fallen from 5.6 per cent in June 2004 - before the introduction
of the 'S' pass (for foreign skilled workers) - to 3.4 per cent in
June 2007. Last year, we saw a 47 per cent increase in the number
of job vacancies requiring at least a diploma qualification,' said
Dr Ng.
To further boost productivity, MPs such as Josephine Teo
(Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) suggested that foreign worker access could
be linked to industry upgrading and re-development efforts. Another
suggestion was to have employers show that they had put in enough
effort to hire locals before being allowed to hire foreigners.
Dr Ng disagreed with both ideas. 'It would be both ineffective
and counter-productive to tie foreign worker quotas to specific
outcomes. Doing so would restrict the growth of companies,
especially in this tight labour market, and in turn reduce job
opportunities for locals.'
The solution, then, is a three-pronged effort. First, re-create
more jobs to boost workers' value and productivity. Second, get
companies to upgrade. Lastly, develop a 'first-class Continuing
Education and Training (CET) system to help our workforce stay
ahead', said Dr Ng. As such, the Lifelong Learning Endowment Fund
will be topped up to $3 billion. More CET centres, too, will be
developed to benefit adult learners, while an Institute for Adult
Learning will also be set up to conduct research and develop new
training methods.