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March 8, 2007 Over 450,000 Jobs To Be Created In Next 5 Years About half will go to white-collar workers; foreign worker quotas in most sectors to stay By Sue-Ann Chia Straits Times SINGAPORE can expect to create more than 450,000 jobs in the next five years, with about half of them going to white-collar workers, said Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen. This means more choices for professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), many of whom are still out of work after losing their jobs in the previous downturns. In an upbeat speech in Parliament on the job outlook, Dr Ng also assured Singaporeans that there will be no increase in foreign worker quotas - except for two sectors. They are the booming construction sector and the process industry, which includes oil, chemical and drug companies. These industries need more workers for several big ongoing projects, such as the building of the integrated resorts (IRs). Another change Dr Ng announced is letting companies hire more S-pass holders, or semi-skilled foreigners. However, this will not lead to a rise in foreign workers because their numbers must stay within the companies' current foreign worker quota. These changes are to meet the prospective demand for workers amid forecasts of an expanding economy. Dr Ng had based his five-year projection on the economy growing by 4.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent each year. 'The demand for manpower is now well above what can be supplied locally,' he said yesterday, during the debate on his ministry's budget. Citing figures, he gave an overview of the sterling job market. A record 173,300 jobs were added last year, with more than half going to Singaporeans and permanent residents. The workforce hit a high of 2.49 million, with a record 76 per cent of working-age Singaporeans in jobs. Average monthly incomes rose 2.2 per cent to $3,505. 'What do these numbers tell us? Simply that Singapore and Singaporeans are among the winners in this age of globalisation,' he said. He also addressed MPs' concerns about the plight of PMETs. Several, including Dr Lim Wee Kiak (Sembawang GRC), spoke about the frustrations of those laid off but are now working in jobs that pay a lot less. Dr Ng said jobs for PMETs made up 36 per cent of all vacancies last year. In the next five years, they are set to get 50 to 60 per cent of the projected 450,000 new jobs. Some examples include: 3,000 vacancies for engineers this year in the marine sector, and 10,000 supervisory jobs in the next three years in the process industry. Also, each of the two IRs is expected to hire more than 1,000 PMETs for such jobs as service executives, management executives, retail and sales managers, and restaurant services managers. The Workforce Development Agency (WDA) - a statutory board that develops adult training frameworks - is working with the two IRs to identify the skills needed. As for PMETs getting lower-paid jobs, Dr Ng said: 'In our system, the market determines the value of the job. Individuals, especially PMETs, would have to prove their own worth and increase their value.' What is more critical, he added, is to help displaced PMETs upgrade their skills to earn higher salaries. Hence, the WDA is going to launch a training programme, called the Professional Conversion Programme, for PMETs. Analysts and MPs interviewed were heartened by the abundant jobs ahead, with labour economist Shandre Thangevalu saying it was a modest forecast. Hailing the decision not to raise the foreign worker quota, Mrs Josephine Teo (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) said: 'This is one of the strongest reassurances from the Government that growth is primarily for Singaporeans to gain from.' ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY ZAKIR HUSSAIN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access |