China, US and Malaysia are top overseas postings for Singapore workers: MOM
Only 3.1 per cent of the resident labour force has ever worked overseas full-time for at least six months
[SINGAPORE] China, the United States and Malaysia are the top three overseas posting destinations for Singapore resident employees, accounting for 18.3 per cent, 13.6 per cent and 10.1 per cent of stints, respectively.
But overseas postings remain rare, with only 3.1 per cent of the resident labour force – about 76,000 people – having ever worked overseas full-time for at least six months.
These figures were released for the first time by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) in its annual Labour Force in Singapore Advance Release on Friday (Nov 28).
MOM said it began collecting overseas work experience data this year to assess how prepared Singapore’s resident workforce is for regional and senior roles, given the country’s position as a hub for multinational companies’ headquarters.
Overseas experience was most common among mid-career workers in their 40s (4.6 per cent) and 50s (4.5 per cent).
However, such workers often had this experience when they were younger. Slightly more than half of them took their first overseas posting between ages 25 and 34.
Overseas stints were less common for other age groups – 2.6 per cent for those in their 60s, 2.5 per cent in their 30s, and 0.5 per cent among workers aged 25 to 29.
Employees in senior roles were more likely to have had overseas experience.
About 7.7 per cent of managerial employees – including managing directors, chief executives and general managers – had worked abroad.
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These are roles “where global exposure is highly valued, especially in multinational corporations and companies with overseas operations, suppliers or customers”, said MOM.
Exposure rose with income as well. Of employees earning S$30,000 or more a month, 16.8 per cent had worked overseas. This was significantly higher than 10.6 per cent for those earning S$15,000 to S$19,999, and around 3 per cent for those earning S$5,000 to S$9,999.
“For workers aspiring to take on higher-paying roles in their careers, actively planning and seeking overseas work opportunities is crucial in building up their capabilities to be considered for such roles in the future,” said MOM.
Overseas experience was also more common in outward-oriented sectors: 3.8 per cent, compared with 2.2 per cent in domestic-focused industries.
This was particularly the case for professional services (4.7 per cent), information and communications technology (4.6 per cent), finance and insurance services (4.2 per cent), and wholesale trade (3.8 per cent).
Workers who went abroad were most likely to have been professionals (45.2 per cent) or managers (30.7 per cent).
Manufacturing, finance and information and communications technology were the three most common sectors for overseas stints.
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