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SINGAPORE: Even amid a political climate in which the narrative of foreign talent displacing locals has been a long-standing contentious issue revived by a challenging job market in a global pandemic, Singapore appears to be at it again.
The country’s Economic Development Board (EDB) has just announced that a new scheme will be launched next January, called “Tech.Pass”, in which talents with significant experience in leadership in technology or product development companies may be located in Singapore.
But this time, the global talent attraction strategy is a fundamental change from the past, where foreign managerial workforce and specialists in a wide range of domains were brought in under the Job Pass scheme.
The minimum wage to qualify for that program is S $ 4,500 (and S $ 5,000 for financial services).
By comparison, the Tech.Pass bar is much higher. It seems to be aimed at C-suite technology leaders and developers creating applications and technologies of the future.
Candidates must meet two of the following criteria: Draw at least a fixed monthly salary of Singapore $ 20,000, have five years cumulative in a leadership role in a technology company with a valuation of at least $ 500 million ($ 674 million Singapore dollars) or US $ 30 million in financing, or have five cumulative years of experience developing a technology product with 100,000 monthly active users or at least US $ 100 million in revenue.
Even then, the pass is not a ticket that lasts in perpetuity. It is valid for two years and will have to be extended afterwards. Only 500 will be chosen.
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There are two substantive aspects of the new talent scheme that deserve closer examination: technology and time.
THE HIGH GROWTH APPROACH HIGH TECHNOLOGY
Unlike the existing job pass schemes under the Ministry of Manpower or even the EDB Global Investment Program, which are “horizontal” in uptake and are aimed at investors who can help identify plum options for The next investment, Tech.Pass is a “top down” approach precisely targeting high-potential companies in high-tech domains that are experiencing exponential growth.
Tech.Pass is a class of its own, attracting a highly select and qualified clientele that is globally mobile and fiercely sought after by many of the world’s leading capitals.
Singapore has been expanding its high-tech sector and has convinced many of the world’s leading companies to establish regional offices there. (Photo: AFP / Roslan RAHMAN)
The capabilities being sought will involve expertise in cutting-edge technologies, including the often touted “ABCD” (artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and data analytics), areas where unicorns are born, and pre-unicorn companies. .
The world is also now seeing, particularly stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented focus on deep technology applications in hot areas such as medtech, edutech and true fintech technology like never before.
And in all applications will be the need for high-level cybersecurity and the projected widespread use of enabling technologies like 5G.
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Startups in these areas with a demonstrable path to growth and returns that satisfy investors hold the key to unlocking the next stage of Singapore’s growth in an increasingly digital global economy, but they don’t appear every day.
Investors are hungry for options. The money is here, but where are the investments and the founders?
Singapore’s Temasek Holdings is in active discussions for its first direct investments in healthcare and education startups in Southeast Asia.
This is a serious bet on the burgeoning digital economy, which will triple to more than $ 300 billion by 2025 in Southeast Asia, according to Google and Bain and Co.
The fintech sector also has enormous potential, considering the rapid growth it has enjoyed in China, despite recent restrictions on Alibaba’s Ant IPOs in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
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Fintech investors around the world will be backing up to optimize their investment portfolios in potential locations.
Southeast Asia, including Singapore, may be part of the new equation, particularly when considering DBS’s informed plans to establish a digital exchange that will allow cryptocurrencies and other digital securities to trade against the Singapore dollar and some other currencies.
This move by digitally savvy DBS, awarded the world’s best bank by eminent publications Euromoney and Global Finance, will generate even more demand for fintech talent across the economy.
A DBS logo is displayed outside an office in Singapore on January 5, 2016. (Photo: REUTERS / Edgar Su / File Photo)
Interestingly, a recent report by The Business Times pointed to a serious cybersecurity talent gap in Singapore. This will dangerously leave many companies exposed to cyber and data privacy threats.
Even more significant is that the Asia-Pacific region has a huge gap in the cybersecurity workforce estimated at 2.6 million, according to the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium.
The result is that there will be many areas of high-tech need in Singapore.
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The transformative leaders of the fields will be required to respond to the siren song of the market, but the country will face stiff competition as cities around the world will fight tooth and nail to attract this crème de la crème of the pyramid of the talent.
THE FOCUS ON TIME
COVID-19 has presented even more opportunities for high tech. Tech companies with the right offerings have found the sweet spot of a good time during the crisis to make breakthroughs.
The obvious example is Zoom Video Communications, in which people and businesses moved closer and further away from virtual meetings during the pandemic.
With its valuation now outpacing Boeing and 3M, it has become such an indispensable tool as the world made the leap from digital work from home overnight, that for many companies to continue to survive, it is “zoom or perdition”.
The pandemic presents a short window of time in which there will be a high demand for talented leaders who change the rules of the game. There are few of these talents around the world, but there are many places that want them.
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Singapore is not alone in using incentives to attract tech talent to the country. Established economies like Australia, France, and the UK have similar talent schemes, some of which are more aggressive than Singapore’s.
The Australia Distinguished Talent Visa offers permanent residency. France’s Tech Visa program does not require local options to be exhausted before a foreigner submits a position. And the UK Global Talent Visa, with its term of five years, can be extended to immediate family members.
Still, Singapore is well placed to attract foreign talent. On the list of the most competitive places for talent released this month by the Institute for Management Development, Singapore ranks first in Asia and in the top ten in the world.
Founded by three young Singaporeans, tech start-up Glints aims to unite young adults with internships and permanent employment opportunities. (Photo: Glints)
In particular, it is ranked above Australia, France and the United Kingdom.
While the pandemic continues to ravage parts of the world, especially North America, Western Europe and South Asia, it is only natural that mobile tech talents globally want to look around to see where they can use their time most fruitfully.
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From a practical angle, tech talent may want to target localities that have done well in fighting the coronavirus outbreak and keeping the number of infections under control.
For them, time is also money. Innovation nodes, with new money cans and ecosystems that offer business opportunities that allow them to bring their innovation to market faster, may seem like good options. Tech innovators can’t wait; there is always the risk that someone will beat them.
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Host countries also cannot afford to wait. They are looking for talents who can adapt to a purpose immediately upon arrival and be ready to plug and play from day one.
Time will be the final arbiter in this fierce competition of locations. Countries have to urgently redouble their attraction of tech talent now.
For Singapore, the timing is perfect as its economy needs value drivers.
The planned 500 Tech.Pass holders will be queen bees to create jobs and multiply opportunities for economic growth.
Lawrence Loh is director of the Center for Governance, Institutions and Organizations at NUS Business School, where he is also an associate professor of strategy and policy.
