Singapore is not as open as it once was to foreign talent

livemint.com:

It is employment-pass renewal season in Singapore and the new regime dominates after-work conversation on Fridays. From September, overseas employees on a work visa will need to fulfil the city-state’s new points-based system, and earn a minimum salary threshold to stay in their jobs. While this mirrors what happens in other countries, it risks turning foreign companies away and could tarnish the nation’s image as a global business hub.

The scheme was announced in 2022 to assess an employment pass’s complementarity with the local workforce. Points are awarded for how a candidate’s salary compares to Singaporean peers, along with their education and skills, and whether their nationality improves the diversity of the firm. It puts the onus on employers to prove why they need to hire foreigners.

The government knows that catering to the local population on jobs is important. In 2020, resentment over foreign workers led to the worst showing since independence for the ruling People’s Action Party. It is undergoing the biggest leadership transition in its history, and elections are expected by the end of the year.

The issue is a vote winner, a convenient political tactic that both the opposition and ruling party raise whenever polls come around. Safeguarding jobs for citizens is not unusual. Many countries do this to strike a balance between the foreign and local workforce.

For many sectors, it makes sense to hire Singaporeans: The population is well-educated and regularly scores among the highest in the world in math, reading and science. It has struggled with instilling a culture of creativity in the exam-driven curriculum, but there are efforts to change that. Still, for a government that trumpets an open and free economy,