Why unskilled foreign workers' hired period extended
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SINGAPORE: Minster of State for Manpower and National Development Tan Chuan-Jin said the move to increase the maximum employment period of unskilled foreign workers is not meant to ease Singapore's labour crunch.
Mr Tan said the extension makes more effective use of labour within the time period allotted.
On Monday, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said from 1 July, unskilled work permit holders from non-traditional sources can be employed up to 10 years, up from the current six years.
Workers from non-traditional sources are those from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand, and China.
Many companies have been asking for an extension to the period of employment of unskilled foreign workers.
This is to help them keep workers who are trained, experienced, and thus more productive. It is hoped these workers can also improve on their skills and qualifications.
"It's not so much easing the labour crunch. I think what it does is that it allows employers to hold their staff for a little bit longer so the numbers don't change because they still operate within the dependency ratio ceiling," Mr Tan said.
"They have been here a while. They have become socialised to the norms so that is also important not in terms of assimilation but in terms of adjusting to the society as opposed to, say, bringing in another new worker.
"This means another whole round of adjustments needs to take place. And from a safety perspective, it's also important because they become seasoned to the practices here.
"They understand the different measures put in place, so they are also more attuned to that."
In addition, Mr Tan indicated the government would not be considering removing the period of employment totally, so soon.
MOM will continue to track the industry, gather feedback and take one step at a time.
Earlier, during a visit to Caliberlink, Mr Tan launched several initiatives from the Workforce Development Agency (WDA) targeted at professionals, managers and executives.
To meet the needs of individuals on-the-go, a free mobile application called Learn SG was introduced. Job seekers can also play Go Rush! - a mobile game designed to encourage them to upgrade their skills.
Meanwhile, WDA has revamped its website. One new feature is the job profiler that helps determine the occupations that best fit job seekers.
Other features include a salary benchmark, a tool for users to find out more about the average salaries for various occupations.
WDA chief executive Wong Hong Kuan said: "What we find is that there are different segments of professionals that need different help.
"Some just need some touch up in terms of their job-search skills. Some actually need deeper training to enable them to make significant transition into new areas of interest and to follow their passion.
"So in that sense, our approach will be individualised to each professional depending on what his or her needs and interests are."
Some 400 PMEs have benefited from Caliberlink's services since it was launched last December.
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Unskilled workers =
Keep inflation low....
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hey they are cheap - less than 1k sgd a month can survive - that's a forte and talent - we sgreans can or not? cannot right?
some more more and more sgreans are educated now, so low skill sgreans more and more deifficult for gahemnt o get hand son - so they outsuourece loh
talents that have to borrow money cum here? if they got talent still nid borrow money cum here? is no money back home so have to borrow money to get here earn a little bit more money to pay back the ah long and sned money home - that;s a stretegy - that and innovative idea- that what we wan we call - talents
but i ever encounter some worse - when take over still ask you to take back and do finish. he claim he in charge of the commodity, the you do the job. lazy (not lazy is plus really don;t know) how. if he had not watched how i am doing he also don;t know where to start
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This is loophole .
To extend stay here and qualify for PR for a stipulated years .
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thye are unskilled, so need more time to adjust so stay here longer
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Cheaper better faster.