AndrewV wrote:This leads to vicious cycle of there not being that many quality Locals who work themselves up to the higher levels. I feel the government is trying to curtail this by stepping in trying to nudge companies to fill this part of the spectrum so that over time these folks will move up the value chain where they will be competing purely based on ability.
Sorry, but I think that is nonsense. If a Singaporean really has the (demonstrable) ability, then they
will be considered for the 'higher levels'. Why should I, as an employer, go to all the trouble of finding a foreign candidate, getting the EP, paying for their expat package, etc., if there is a local Singaporean who is able (and keen) to do the job? There's no way I'd do that, so does that mean I'm unusual and most other employers go out of their way to make it more difficult and complicated than it needs to be?
One of the difficulties I've experienced first hand is that that there are
some (not all, obviously) Singaporeans who have a far higher opinion of themselves than could be justified. Of course this is not an exclusively Singaporean thing, but I've come across quite a few local candidates who suffer from the entitlement / chip on the shoulder affliction. However much they try to mask it in an interview, it still comes through. I don't want to hire someone who considers themselves God's gift to humanity and 'entitled' to the role. These are probably the people who are pushing the gahmen to set up systems to ensure they get their way.
Despite your earlier rebuttal of the suggestion, it does seem to me that you advocating a positive discrimination regime in favour of Singaporean candidates.
N.B. All my comments above are hypothetical at this point, since (thankfully) I no longer have to make hiring decisions in Singapore. The thought of having to jump through these FCF hoops and be 'advised' (read: second guessed) by a gahmen official makes me very glad that this is the case. If I
were still in that role, I'd probably be looking to hire more people in other countries in the region instead.