SINGAPORE, May 19 (Reuters) - Singapore is to allow young foreign holidaymakers to work in the city-state as part of efforts to attract skilled migrants, leading newspapers said on Saturday.
Singapore, which wants to raise its population from 4.5 million to 6.5 million, will allow undergraduates and graduates from seven countries -- including France, Germany, Britain and the United States -- and the Chinese region of Hong Kong to look for employment while on holiday in the country.
"This programme will target to bring bright young people to Singapore," Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen was quoted by The Business Times newspaper.
The government hopes these students, aged between 17 and 30, will return to Singapore after an initial working holiday of up to six months.
"These students and graduates are a rich source of talent whom we should try to tap on when they eventually join the workforce," he added.
Singapore is widely seen as one of the world's freest economies but it also has one of the lowest global birth-rates.
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This is going to backfire. Singaporeans are going to face stiffer competition, work harder and longer hours, have less time for children let alone have children to begin with. Foreigners from foreign countries are not going to have many children anyway, and they will not be any guarantees that foreigners from developed countries will want to settle down here because they will feel they have downgraded, more likely for this to happen for those from China and India as it is an upgrade for them, just like our forefathers.
Singapore, which wants to raise its population from 4.5 million to 6.5 million, will allow undergraduates and graduates from seven countries -- including France, Germany, Britain and the United States -- and the Chinese region of Hong Kong to look for employment while on holiday in the country.
"This programme will target to bring bright young people to Singapore," Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen was quoted by The Business Times newspaper.
The government hopes these students, aged between 17 and 30, will return to Singapore after an initial working holiday of up to six months.
"These students and graduates are a rich source of talent whom we should try to tap on when they eventually join the workforce," he added.
Singapore is widely seen as one of the world's freest economies but it also has one of the lowest global birth-rates.
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This is going to backfire. Singaporeans are going to face stiffer competition, work harder and longer hours, have less time for children let alone have children to begin with. Foreigners from foreign countries are not going to have many children anyway, and they will not be any guarantees that foreigners from developed countries will want to settle down here because they will feel they have downgraded, more likely for this to happen for those from China and India as it is an upgrade for them, just like our forefathers.
