Employment of S Pass Holders in Public Sector and Measures to Prioritise Local Talent

32 Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many S Pass holders are employed across statutory boards and Government agencies; (b) what hiring practices ensure such roles are not filled by S Pass holders when suitable local polytechnic or ITE graduates are available; and (c) whether the Ministry will publish disaggregated public sector S Pass employment data for transparency and accountability.

Dr Tan See Leng: There are about 550 S Pass holders employed in Ministries and Statutory Boards, making up roughly 0.35% of the 154,000 public officers. They take on roles that require skills that are in shortage among our local workforce. As the number of S Pass holders is small, further breakdown would be of limited public interest.

The Public Service adopts the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices, and fairly considers all local candidates for job positions.