EP applicants who are candidates for jobs on the list will be given extra points under the points system known as COMPASS (Complementarity Assessment Framework). It takes effect from Sep 1.
“While this shortage occupation list helps companies access foreign professionals to plug immediate skills gaps and seize economic opportunities, it must also be complemented by robust efforts by industry to train up and to place locals into these well-paying jobs,” Dr Tan said.
That is one of the criteria that MOM and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) consider when evaluating whether an occupation should be put on the SOL.
“There must be clear plans, clear commitments by industry to develop the local pipeline, or else the occupation will not be included in the shortage occupation list,” he said
Working with the Ministry of Education (MOE) is a “key impetus” in drafting the SOL, said Dr Tan.
University and polytechnic graduates as well as mid-career conversion efforts should help to ease shortages over the medium to long term.
“We expect that with time, some of these occupations that are currently in the shortage occupation list will be removed, hopefully in the not-too-distant future,” Dr Tan said.
The Economic Development Board also provides feedback to institutions of higher learning about skills that are in demand, so that courses can be updated accordingly.
MOM and MTI also evaluate the strategic importance of an occupation and the degree and nature of the labour shortage in determining which jobs are included in the shortage occupation list.
