Commentary: Foreign labour shortages in construction sector is a wake-up call for change

Can we reduce our reliance on low-cost foreign labour? One suggestion is a proposal to re-introduce trade schools to boost the supply of Singaporeans working in essential areas such as construction, which rely heavily on foreign workers.LOW WAGES DISCOURAGES LOCALS FROM TAKING UP THE TRADE

Such an approach is sensible given that we live in an era where jobs and industries are increasingly being disrupted. In fact, when one considers that in 2019, Singapore had some 1 million foreigners on work permit and another 200,000 foreigners on S-pass, it becomes clear that getting such a large number of locals to take on jobs currently performed by low and mid skilled foreigners is unrealistic.How then can we reduce our reliance on foreign workers? A more practical approach is needed, where companies change their methods of production to be less reliant on foreign labour.

The fact that construction in Singapore tends to be labour intensive had already been recognised in 2017, when then Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong remarked that existing methods are not sustainable in the long term. They are labour intensive and would lead to a"far larger pool of foreign workers than we can possibly accommodate in Singapore”, he said.

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