Starting June 1, 2025, employers in Singapore can hire Cambodian nationals in certain sections or specific occupations as the Kingdom’s name was added to the list of non-traditional source (NTS) labour market on Friday.
The move follows a decision made by the Singapore Manpower Ministry early last week. A statement issued by the ministry, quotes Singaporean Manpower Minister Tan See Leng as saying: “The initiative aims to build a more skilled and resilient workforce in the country.”
As per the existing rule, work permit holders can be hired from NTS markets in construction, marine shipyard and process industries, as well as for specified manufacturing and services roles on the NTS Occupation List.
The current NTS markets are Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
According to Singaporean media reports, three more roles will be added to the NTS Occupation List – heavy-vehicle drivers, manufacturing operators, and cooks, replacing the earlier occupation of ‘cooks in Indian restaurants’ beginning September 1.
“More details on the additional occupations and requirements to hire NTS workers in these occupations will be provided on the Ministry of Manpower website before September 1,” Singaporean media added.
The Ministry of Manpower also mentions the requirements firms need to fulfil when it comes to hiring workers from the NTS List.
“The employers need to keep within a sub-dependency ratio ceiling of eight percent for NTS Work Permit holders in the NTS Occupation List.”
The dependency ratio ceiling or sub-dependency ratio ceiling is a regulatory limit on the number of foreign workers that a company can employ in proportion to its overall workforce. It is designed to ensure a balanced mix of local and foreign employees within a country’s labour market.
Other requirements include paying the work permit holder, who performs occupations mentioned in the list, a fixed monthly salary of at least $2,000 along with ensuring that work permit holders only perform the occupation stated in the permit.
Singapore is grappling with labour shortage as the country’s birth rate continues to decline. The situation is forcing the Singaporean government to attract workers from abroad.
Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has stressed the country’s need for foreign workers owing to slower population and resident workforce growth. He emphasised that the country facing a workforce shortage and must stay open to foreign workers.
In a related development last week, the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Gapyeong County of South Korea to facilitate the recruitment of seasonal foreign workers.
The MoU marks a collaborative effort aimed at addressing labour shortages within the agricultural sector as both nations strengthen their ties within the labour sector. Gapyeong Mayor Seo Tae-won said the agreement on foreign seasonal workers is expected “to strengthen cooperation between the two countries and greatly help resolve labour shortages in Gapyeong’s agricultural sector”.
Remittances to the Kingdom by Cambodian workers abroad increased to approximately $2.95 billion last year. There are about 1.38 million Cambodians working overseas and there is increasing demand for Cambodian workers across many countries in Southeast and East Asia including Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Japan.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501651777/singapore-adds-cambodia-to-nts-of-labour-recruitment/