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Job search scheme for foreign grads scrapped
Published on Dec 7, 2011
By Lin Wenjian
THE Manpower Ministry (MOM) has scrapped a scheme that gave foreign university graduates up to one year to land a job in Singapore, saying it has not met its aim of helping companies recruit good-calibre candidates.
With the discontinuation of the Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (Epec) scheme, foreigners now have only three months - the duration of a visit pass they can apply for - to try to secure a job.
The move, which took effect from Dec 1, comes ahead of stricter requirements for Employment Pass (EP) applicants which will kick in on Jan 1.
Labour experts say the move is timely in the light of the global economic uncertainty. Singaporeans may now stand a better chance of getting a job with the reduced competition.
To be eligible for the Epec scheme, which was launched in 1992, applicants had to be graduates of any of the close to 700 universities on the MOM's approved list, among other requirements.
The certificate, issued on a one-time basis, was non-renewable and was not a work pass. But it signalled to employers that its holder was likely to be eligible for an Employment Pass.
The MOM said it was scrapping the scheme because it 'was not meeting its intended objective of helping employers recruit EP-calibre talent'.
'Of the Epec applications received each month, less than 10 per cent were approved,' said a ministry spokesman, who declined to give exact figures.
Applications that are being processed, however, will be assessed with the same criteria as before.
Recruitment agencies say some job-seekers found the scheme useful because it bought them more time for job-hunting amid stricter manpower rules introduced in the past year to regulate the inflow of foreigners working here. Some agencies also noticed foreign graduates from lesser-known universities applying for it.
Recruitment agencies noted Epec applicants were typically men and women in their 20s to early 30s from Asian countries like the Philippines and India. They were usually interested in IT, administrative or customer service-related jobs.
Associate Professor Tan Khee Giap of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said the timing of the move was apt, given the economic uncertainty in Europe and Asia.
He said: 'By giving people from all over the world such a long window to look for a job, it is essentially asking Singaporeans to compete at the world level in their own front yard.'
Mr Zainudin Nordin, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, said with the change, the pool of job seekers here will primarily be local residents.
Recruitment agencies noted that the move comes ahead of stricter qualifying criteria for EP applications. From Jan 1, EP applicants have to earn $3,000 and above a month, up from $2,800.
Mr Josh Goh, assistant director of corporate services at recruitment firm The GMP Group, said current Epec holders may encounter difficulty finding a job when the one-year mark is up because of the tightened EP criteria.
Another recruitment consultant, Mr Satish Bakhda of corporate solutions company Rikvin, said scrapping the scheme would 'close the loophole' when the new EP criteria take effect. 'Someone with an Epec will think that he will get an EP if he applies. So stopping the scheme will prevent any such confusion or conflict of interest,' he said.
News of the scheme's cancellation came as a surprise to foreign job-seekers like Malaysian Ng Yun Ling, 24.
Ms Ng, who graduated recently with a master's degree in actuary studies from Macquarie University in Australia, has sent out more than 50 job applications to banks, insurance companies and hedge funds here in the past two months.
But she has yet to receive an offer. She also applied for an Epec last week, and is currently awaiting the status of her application. She said: 'I think three months is way too short. We will need at least six months to find a suitable job.'
Published on Dec 7, 2011
By Lin Wenjian
THE Manpower Ministry (MOM) has scrapped a scheme that gave foreign university graduates up to one year to land a job in Singapore, saying it has not met its aim of helping companies recruit good-calibre candidates.
With the discontinuation of the Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (Epec) scheme, foreigners now have only three months - the duration of a visit pass they can apply for - to try to secure a job.
The move, which took effect from Dec 1, comes ahead of stricter requirements for Employment Pass (EP) applicants which will kick in on Jan 1.
Labour experts say the move is timely in the light of the global economic uncertainty. Singaporeans may now stand a better chance of getting a job with the reduced competition.
To be eligible for the Epec scheme, which was launched in 1992, applicants had to be graduates of any of the close to 700 universities on the MOM's approved list, among other requirements.
The certificate, issued on a one-time basis, was non-renewable and was not a work pass. But it signalled to employers that its holder was likely to be eligible for an Employment Pass.
The MOM said it was scrapping the scheme because it 'was not meeting its intended objective of helping employers recruit EP-calibre talent'.
'Of the Epec applications received each month, less than 10 per cent were approved,' said a ministry spokesman, who declined to give exact figures.
Applications that are being processed, however, will be assessed with the same criteria as before.
Recruitment agencies say some job-seekers found the scheme useful because it bought them more time for job-hunting amid stricter manpower rules introduced in the past year to regulate the inflow of foreigners working here. Some agencies also noticed foreign graduates from lesser-known universities applying for it.
Recruitment agencies noted Epec applicants were typically men and women in their 20s to early 30s from Asian countries like the Philippines and India. They were usually interested in IT, administrative or customer service-related jobs.
Associate Professor Tan Khee Giap of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy said the timing of the move was apt, given the economic uncertainty in Europe and Asia.
He said: 'By giving people from all over the world such a long window to look for a job, it is essentially asking Singaporeans to compete at the world level in their own front yard.'
Mr Zainudin Nordin, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Manpower, said with the change, the pool of job seekers here will primarily be local residents.
Recruitment agencies noted that the move comes ahead of stricter qualifying criteria for EP applications. From Jan 1, EP applicants have to earn $3,000 and above a month, up from $2,800.
Mr Josh Goh, assistant director of corporate services at recruitment firm The GMP Group, said current Epec holders may encounter difficulty finding a job when the one-year mark is up because of the tightened EP criteria.
Another recruitment consultant, Mr Satish Bakhda of corporate solutions company Rikvin, said scrapping the scheme would 'close the loophole' when the new EP criteria take effect. 'Someone with an Epec will think that he will get an EP if he applies. So stopping the scheme will prevent any such confusion or conflict of interest,' he said.
News of the scheme's cancellation came as a surprise to foreign job-seekers like Malaysian Ng Yun Ling, 24.
Ms Ng, who graduated recently with a master's degree in actuary studies from Macquarie University in Australia, has sent out more than 50 job applications to banks, insurance companies and hedge funds here in the past two months.
But she has yet to receive an offer. She also applied for an Epec last week, and is currently awaiting the status of her application. She said: 'I think three months is way too short. We will need at least six months to find a suitable job.'
