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Can Singapore do without foreign talents?
As Singapore becomes a globalized economy, increasing numbers of foreign talents are being hired to fill management positions. This has resulted in many Singaporeans feeling displaced in their own country and this has fuelled anti-foreigner sentiments.
The hard truth is that Singapore, and Singaporeans, need foreign talents. This is because businesses need talents, and business goes where the talents are. Without these foreign talents, Singapore’s attractiveness as an entrepot to Asia will diminish and foreign direct investment will find its way to other countries.
But aren’t Singaporeans not good enough?
Fuelling this anti-foreigner sentiment is the question of why Singaporeans are not good enough for these management positions. To answer this question, we need to understand three things:
Rapidly Evolving Business Environment. Digitalization is disrupting businesses at an alarming speed. To stay competitive, and even relevant, businesses need to transform and transform fast. More often than not, these transformations require knowledge and skills that businesses do not have, are unique, and are concentrated in a few countries around the world. Without these talents in Singapore, businesses have no alternatives but to…
