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Job search scheme for foreign grads scrapped
The scheme had allowed foreigners to stay in Singapore for up to a year while looking for a job. -AsiaOne
Wed, Dec 07, 2011
AsiaOne
A scheme that allowed foreign university graduates to stay in Singapore for a year to search for jobs has been scrapped.
The Ministry of Manpower said that the Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (Epec) scheme has not met its target of helping companies recruit good-calibre candidates, reported The Straits Times.
Under the scheme, launched in 1992, eligible candidates were issued a non-renewable certificate on a one-time basis. To be eligible, an applicant had to be a graduate of one of the 700 universities approved by MOM, among other requirements.
Although it was not a work pass, holding an Epec signalled to employers that the applicant would also be eligible for an employment pass.
While the ministry stopped receiving new applications on Dec 1, applications that are already in process will be assessed with the same criteria as before.
Foreigners who still wish to continue searching for a job here will only be granted a visit pass that is valid for up to three months.
Recruitment agencies told the paper that most applicants are both men and women in their 20s and 30s, from countries like India and the Philippines, who are looking for jobs in the fields of IT, customer service, or admin-related jobs.
With this move, together with stricter qualifying criteria for employment passes that will kick in on Jan 1, foreigners may have a tougher time finding a job in Singapore. Employment Pass (EP) applicants would need to earn $3,000 and above a month, up from $2,800.
The scheme had allowed foreigners to stay in Singapore for up to a year while looking for a job. -AsiaOne
Wed, Dec 07, 2011
AsiaOne
A scheme that allowed foreign university graduates to stay in Singapore for a year to search for jobs has been scrapped.
The Ministry of Manpower said that the Employment Pass Eligibility Certificate (Epec) scheme has not met its target of helping companies recruit good-calibre candidates, reported The Straits Times.
Under the scheme, launched in 1992, eligible candidates were issued a non-renewable certificate on a one-time basis. To be eligible, an applicant had to be a graduate of one of the 700 universities approved by MOM, among other requirements.
Although it was not a work pass, holding an Epec signalled to employers that the applicant would also be eligible for an employment pass.
While the ministry stopped receiving new applications on Dec 1, applications that are already in process will be assessed with the same criteria as before.
Foreigners who still wish to continue searching for a job here will only be granted a visit pass that is valid for up to three months.
Recruitment agencies told the paper that most applicants are both men and women in their 20s and 30s, from countries like India and the Philippines, who are looking for jobs in the fields of IT, customer service, or admin-related jobs.
With this move, together with stricter qualifying criteria for employment passes that will kick in on Jan 1, foreigners may have a tougher time finding a job in Singapore. Employment Pass (EP) applicants would need to earn $3,000 and above a month, up from $2,800.
