{"id":9863,"date":"2022-12-19T07:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-18T23:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/?p=9863"},"modified":"2023-02-01T12:42:34","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T04:42:34","slug":"guide-to-manpower-for-strategic-economic-priorities-m-sep-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dollarsandsense.sg\/business\/guide-to-manpower-for-strategic-economic-priorities-m-sep-scheme\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide To Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First announced during the 2022 Committee of Supply, the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) scheme aims to support the growth of businesses that contribute to Singapore\u2019s strategic economic priorities through ambitious investment, innovation, or internationalisation activities. This follows the other changes that MOM is making to the Singapore\u2019s work pass frame, including Complementarity Assessment Framework (COMPASS)<\/a> for employment pass holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under M-SEP, eligible companies can temporarily hire more S Pass and Work Permit holders than the number allowed by their existing Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) and S Pass sub-DRC quota limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what businesses need to know about the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) and how to hire more S Pass and Work Permit holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: <\/strong>Foreign Worker Quota In Singapore: What Is It And How To Calculate It For Your Business<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

M-SEP Allows Eligible Companies To Temporarily Hire More S Pass And Work Permit Holders<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Under the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP), eligible businesses can obtain additional S Pass and Work Permit (WP) quota, up to 5% of their base workforce headcount. This is subject to a cap of 50 workers per firm. This flexibility will last for 2 years upon enrolment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if your company\u2019s base workforce headcount is 100 (including locals, S Pass holders and WP holders), you can apply for M-SEP for the flexibility to hire up to 5 additional foreign workers. This can be a mix of S Pass and WP holders, S Pass holders only or WP holders only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Base workforce headcount is computed by the total headcount of local workforce + S Pass holders + Work Permit holders.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the additional WP quota, this can only come from the approved sources of the sector your firm is in. For Services and Manufacturing, these are Malaysia, North Asian sources (NAS): Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan and People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC). For Construction, Marine Shipyard and Process, these are Malaysia, NAS, PRC and Non-Traditional sources (NTS): India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The M-SEP doesn\u2019t include flexibility for the PRC sub-DRC. Businesses in the Services and Manufacturing sectors will still be subject to the PRC sub-DRCs of 8% and 25%, respectively. If your business has maxed out the PRC sub-DRC quota, applying for the M-SEP will not allow you to hire more PRC WP holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses will also have to maintain their local workforce share and meet the necessary commitments for local workforce development by the end of the M-SEP support period. Those that fail to do so will be suspended from being eligible for M-SEP renewal for 2 years. If the business will need to reduce its overall workforce to become more manpower-lean, MTI and MOM will review these cases on a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: The local workforce share is computed by Number of local employees \u00f7 (Number of local employees + S Pass holders + Work Permit holders)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses That Show Support For Strategic Economic Priorities Can Qualify For M-SEP<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As the key objective of the Manpower for Strategic Economic Priorities (M-SEP) is to enable businesses that support Singapore\u2019s strategic economic priorities, this is the first criterion to qualify for M-SEP (Condition #1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These key economic priorities can be in the form of promoting investments that support Singapore\u2019s hub strategy, promoting innovation or Research & Development (R&D) or supporting internationalisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses must participate in at least one of the initiatives supported by economic agencies or meet any economic criteria to be eligible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporting Agency<\/strong><\/td>Initiatives\/ Supported participation<\/strong><\/td><\/tr>
Economic Development Board (EDB<\/a>)<\/td>Recipients of Development and Expansion Incentive (DEI), including International Headquarters-DEI
Pioneer Certificate Incentive (PC) recipients
Research and Innovation Scheme for Companies (RIS(C)) participants
Manufacturers with significant activities in Singapore (i.e. hire at least 500 locals).<\/td><\/tr>
Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG<\/a>)<\/td>Global Trader Programme (GTP) participants
Scale-Up SG participants
Singapore Global Executive Programme (SGEP) participants
High-growth startups that are incorporated in Singapore: with minimum investment amount of USD$10 million over the past 36 months, and have received funding from EDBI, SEEDS Capital or other recognised investment firms. The criteria for \u201chigh-growth startups\u201d is the same as the Tech@SG<\/a> criteria.<\/td><\/tr>
Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA<\/a>)<\/td>Accreditation@SG Digital recipients
SG:D Spark participants  <\/td><\/tr>
Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA<\/a>)<\/td>Maritime Sector Incentive: Approved International Shipping Enterprise (MSI-AIS) Award\u202frecipients and Shipping-related Support Services (MSI-SSS) Award recipients
Maritime Leasing (ML) Award recipients
Maritime Cluster Fund \u2013 Business Development (MCF-BD) recipients<\/td><\/tr>
Singapore Tourism Board (STB<\/a>)<\/td>Selected Business Improvement Fund (BIF) grantees with innovative projects that bring about substantial transformation or productivity savings
Selected Singapore Tourism Accelerator (STA) participants with innovative projects that bring about substantial transformation or productivity savings<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Businesses that are current participants or recipients of the above initiatives and grants are likely to already meet the criteria of strategic economic priorities. Tapping on the additional support of M-SEP will be helpful in accelerating their business growth as they would not be limited by the manpower constraints of their existing quota limits for DRC and S Pass sub-DRC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, for businesses who are not current participants or grant recipients, it may be worth considering applying for these initiatives and grants at the same time as or before your M-SEP application. The detailed supporting documents needed to qualify for M-SEP can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Also: <\/em><\/strong>Guide To Work Passes In Singapore: Work Permits, S Pass and Employment Pass (EP)<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eligible Businesses Must Show Support For Support for Local Workforce Development<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On top of meeting the criteria of strategic economic priorities, eligible businesses support must show support local workforce development (Condition #2). This can be in the form of<\/p>\n\n\n\n