Minister of Manpower Lim Swee Say says the initiative is ‘pro-business, pro-worker and pro-economy’
The Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) recently celebrated its 10th anniversary and Minister of Manpower Lim Swee Say, in his keynote address, announced the launch of a new partnership programme.
Dubbed the ‘Human Capital Partnership’ (HCP), it is meant to encourage employers to be more progressive in their employment practices, paying particular attention to three outcomes:
1) Build a stronger Singaporean core by eliminating discrimination in hiring practices;
2) Forge stronger complementarity between Singaporean core and foreign workers by being more selective in hiring; and
3) Proactively transfer know-how from foreign PMETs to local PMETs to help upgrade local capability.
“Two-thirds of our workforce is local manpower. It should be the core of the Singapore workforce today, and into the future,” said Lim.
“One-third of our workforce is foreign manpower. [But] instead of taking in foreign manpower to displace and substitute local manpower, our employers should be more selective, take them to fill the three gaps in our local workforce, namely the number gap, the skills gap, and the timing gap,” he added.
Furthermore, Lim said that TAFEP will introduce a ‘green lane’ service to all HCP employers. He described it as a one-stop advisory service where they can have better access to grants and schemes such as those offered under the Adapt & Grow and SkillsFuture programmes, and Lean Enterprise Development initiatives.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for their part will help these employers obtain “quick approval of work passes and provide more responsive support for capability transfers,” he said.
“We will also recognise and publicise the individual and collective efforts of the HCP Community to create greater public awareness,” he added.
“In conclusion, the HC Partnership is pro-business, pro-worker and pro-economy. I urge all employers – big and small, from manufacturing to services, from export driven to domestic oriented - to come forward, join the HC Partnership.”