Singaporeans landing to high-paying jobs to grow 50% by 2030: Government

More of the lower-skilled jobs will have to be done by foreigners.

According to the government's white paper released today, it anticipate a significant upgrading of the Singaporean workforce towards Professional, Managerial, Executive and Technical (PMET) jobs.  

By 2030, the number of Singaporeans in PMET jobs, it said is expected to rise by nearly 50% to about 1.25 million compared to 850,000 today, while the number in non-PMET jobs is expected to fall by over 20% to 650,000 compared to 850,000 today.

Overall, two-thirds of Singaporeans will hold PMET jobs in 2030, compared to about half today. 

Here's more:

We will continue to provide opportunities to non- PMET Singaporeans, and help them to upgrade and upskill, as well as ensure that they are treated fairly and their pay recognises the increases in their contribution.

To create good jobs and opportunities for Singaporeans, we need a dynamic economy and businesses that produce goods and services not just for Singapore, but for the region and the world. Our economy must stay ahead of other Asian cities, so that we can provide them with the high-end goods and services that they need but are not yet able to produce themselves. Our businesses will need a workforce with the full range of skills, backgrounds and experiences who can kick-start high valueadded emerging sectors, and understand regional and international markets. This requires a complementary workforce of Singaporeans and foreigners. 

Foreign workers can provide skills and expertise, as well as market knowledge and access, to enable Singapore-based companies to create new products and penetrate new markets to serve the region and beyond.

Foreign workers help to create the right balance of skilled and less-skilled workers in the overall workforce. As Singaporeans upgrade themselves into higher-skilled jobs, more of the lower-skilled jobs will have to be done by foreigners.

Foreign workers also provide healthcare, eldercare and domestic services to support our ageing population and working families. They build infrastructure and housing, and do conservancy and maintenance work. They thus enable Singaporeans to enjoy good social and municipal services at a moderate cost, contributing to our quality of life. 

Foreign workers enable businesses to expand quickly and flexibly during economic booms. They also buffer Singaporean workers from job losses during downturns. We thus continue to need a significant number of foreign workers to complement the Singaporean core in the workforce.
However, we cannot allow in an unlimited number of foreign workers. We do not want to be overwhelmed by more foreign workers than we can absorb, or to expand our total population beyond what our island is able to accommodate. Too many foreign workers will also depress wages and reduce the incentive for firms to upgrade workers and raise productivity.