Sept. 24 – The Singapore government today announced rules that will require companies operating in the country to consider Singaporeans for skilled job vacancies before turning to candidates from abroad.
Commencing August 2014, firms with more than 25 employees must advertise a vacancy for professional or managerial jobs paying less than S$12,000 (US$9,605) a month on a new jobs bank website administered by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency for at least 14 days. Only after that period can the company apply for an employment pass to bring in a foreign national.
The city-state will also raise the qualifying salaries for employment pass holders to at least S$3,300 (US$2,641) a month, up from the current S$3,000, starting in January 2014.
“Even as we remain open to foreign manpower to complement our local workforce, all firms must make an effort to consider Singaporeans fairly,” said acting Manpower Minister Tan Chuan Jin, also adding that “Singaporeans must still prove themselves able and competitive to take on the higher jobs that they aspire to.”
