share on
Minister Tan also reassures that the SOL will not depress wages for Singaporeans as salaries remain competitive amidst occupation shortages.
Addressing concerns on the impact of the Shortage Occupation List (SOL) on locals, Singapore's Minister of Manpower Dr. Tan See Leng affirms that the SOL is designed to complement efforts to develop the pipeline of local professionals. By enabling access to foreign professionals for occupations in shortage, the SOL allows companies to grow their business and create new opportunities.
In determining whether an an occupation should be placed on the SOL, the Ministry of Manpower does not just look at whether there is a shortage of such local workers, but also what plans there are by the industry and companies to train and place locals into these jobs.
ALSO READ: How Singapore evaluates occupations for its COMPASS Shortage Occupation List
Minister Tan also reassures that this initiative will not depress wages for Singaporeans as salaries remain competitive amidst these occupations facing shortages. In any case, foreign professionals filling SOL occupations will still need to meet the prevailing Employment Pass (EP) qualifying salary, which is benchmarked against the top one-third of local professionals, managers, executives, and technicians (PMETs).
The SOL will be reviewed every three years. Occupations will be re-assessed based on whether the occupation remains in shortage at that point in time, and whether commitments to develop the local pipeline have been achieved
Thank you for reading our story! If you have any feedback, feel free to let us know — take our 2023 Readers' Survey here.
Lead image / Shutterstock
share on
