Singapore to introduce subsidy scheme to support PME jobs

Aiming to reduce dependency on foreign workers, Singapore will introduce a two-year wage subsidy pilot scheme for hiring unemployed locals in professional, managerial and executive (PMEs) positions from October 1.
Companies which hire unemployed locals for PME jobs that pay at least SGD4,000 a month can get wage subsidies of between SGD400 and SGD2,800 each month for 12 months.
This would help lower their costs of hiring these workers. Named the Career Support Programme, the scheme aims to encourage employers to tap on the wealth of experience that mature Singaporean PMEs can bring to the workplace, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said today.

The tiered subsidies will cover up to 40 per cent of the employee's gross monthly salary, with a subsidy cap of SGD 2,800 a month.
Besides the wage subsidy, the Singapore Workforce Development Authority is also looking into hiring professional headhunters to help local unemployed PMEs find jobs.
The MOM announced a slew of measures to support local PMEs as part of ongoing efforts to "strengthen the Singaporean core".

From October 1, 2015, companies in Singapore will have to disclose the salary ranges of their PME jobs when they advertise their vacancies in the government-run national jobs bank to ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the hiring process and locals will not be shortchanged.

This would be to comply with the Fair Consideration Framework's advertising requirement.
When these firms subsequently apply for foreigners to fill the vacancies after they cannot find locals, some may be singled out by the MOM to give information such as whether locals had applied for the jobs and how many were interviewed.
This will put the companies under "greater scrutiny", Manpower Minister Lim Swee Say said.
The MOM would also asked companies which already have a higher ratio of foreign staff, compared to their peers in the industry, to implement a plan to reduce their reliance on foreign PMEs, before the ministry approves new or renew the Employment Passes (EP) of the foreigners.

The ministry has already put the hiring process of some 150 firms from industries such as IT, finance and services on the watchlist, Lim said.
More firms are expected to be under additional scrutiny.
Employers who apply for EP where the job advertisement did not state a salary range will have their applications rejected, the MOM said.
The ministry said it will also step up its scrutiny of EP applications for selected firms which have a "weaker Singaporean core" of PMEs relative to others in their industry.
These employers will be required to submit more information to check whether Singaporeans were considered fairly, MOM said.

The ministry is also refining work pass controls with immediate effect.