EP applicants generally take on the positions of professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMET) in Singapore.
With COMPASS, Ministry of Manpower (MOM) hopes to enable businesses to hire high-quality foreign professionals while improving workforce diversity and building a strong local core. The point system is designed to ensure that all EP applicants can contribute the right skills, knowledge, and expertise to the company and Singapore.
The government will apply the COMPASS evaluation in addition to the standard requirement under which applicants must meet the minimum qualifying salary for EP applications.
COMPASS will apply to new candidates starting from 1 September 2023, and applicable to renewals from 1 September 2024.
COMPASS evaluates EP applications based on a set of individual and firm-related attributes, with four foundational criteria (individual salary and qualifications, company diversity and support for local employment) and two bonus criteria (for jobs on the shortage occupation list, and for strategic partnership with government).
In order to pass COMPASS, the EP candidate would need a total of 40 points and more.
Individual attributes | Firm-related attributes | |
Foundational criteria | C1. Salary | C3. Diversity |
C2. Qualifications | C4. Support for local employment | |
Bonus criteria | C. Skills bonus For candidates in jobs where skills shortages exist | C6. Strategic economic priorities bonus For partnership with the Government on ambitious innovation or internationalisation activities |
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Points for each criterion | Assessment |
20 | Exceeds expectations |
10 | Meets expectations |
0 | Does not meet expectations |
Source: Ministry of Manpower
Candidates must fulfil the qualifying salary, which increases with age and varies according to sector. Points are earned by meeting sector-specific benchmarks for local PMET salaries. For example, candidates with a salary that is equal to or exceed the 90th percentile of local PMET salaries in the sector will score 20 points for the Salary criterion.
To earn points on this criterion, candidates are required to hold academic qualifications from accredited institutions. A qualification from a top-tier institution earns the maximum points (20) while a degree-equivalent qualification earns 10 points.
Candidates without degree-equivalent qualifications can still pass COMPASS by earning points on other criteria.
More points will be given to applications where the candidate’s nationality forms a small share of the firm’s PMET employees.
The firm can score the maximum 20 points if the proportion of its employees with the same nationality as the candidate is less than 5 per cent.
A candidate will score 10 points if the proportion is between 5 and 25 per cent, and no points if the proportion is more than 25 per cent.
However, an application scores 10 points by default if the firm employs fewer than 25 PMET employees. This is to not penalise smaller firms with fewer PMETs.
COMPASS recognises employers’ efforts to build up a strong local pipeline. A firm with a relatively higher share of locals among PMET employees compared to its peers in the same subsector will earn a higher score.
If a firm’s percentage of local PMET employees is at least 70%, the application will score 10 points regardless of where the firm stands within their subsector.
Similar to the criterion above, an application earns 10 points by default if the firm employs fewer than 25 PMET employees.
According to MOM, companies will require access to skilled talent as Singapore moves to capture new economic opportunities.
The Shortage Occupation List (SOL) recognises EP holders in occupations requiring highly specialised skills that are currently in shortage in the local workforce. To be released by March 2023, the SOL is determined by a robust tripartite evaluation process that takes into account quantitative evidence of labour shortage and local workforce development efforts.
Candidates will earn 20 points if their job are in the list. However, it will be reduced to 10 points if the share of candidate’s nationality among the firm’s PMETs is one-third or higher.
COMPASS values companies that are undertaking ambitious innovation or internationalisation activities in partnership with the Government.
An application will earn an additional 10 points if the firm participate in selected programmes run by government agencies, or meet specific criteria, and demonstrate commitment to developing the local workforce.
Employers will need to continue to analyse and review their workforce ratio and diversity against these criteria and make adjustments to meet the requirements stipulated under COMPASS. If you need any assistance on the preliminary analysis, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
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A candidate is exempted from COMPASS if they fulfil any of these conditions:
Come September 2023, employers will be able to get an indicative COMPASS score for their prospective EP candidate through the Pre-Assessment Tool (PAT) before submitting an application. PAT will offer insights on how an applicant is likely to score on each of the COMPASS criterion.
With the implementation of COMPASS, post-secondary diploma and above qualifications declared to MOM will have to be supported with verification proof. This requirement applies to new EP applications from 1 September 2023, and renewals from 1 September 2024. Employers who need points from these qualifications in COMPASS have to declare them in the EP application. Otherwise, there is no need to declare qualifications.
Employers who wish to use educational qualifications to support their EP applications must provide verification proof for diploma-level and above qualifications as stated below:
If the qualification's | You need to provide verification proof for |
Awarding institution cannot be found in application dropdown list | Both:
|
Awarding institution can be found in application dropdown list |
|
MOM will only accept verification proof from sources listed below:
Details | Timeline for release |
Additional information on foundational criteria, including: | December 2022 |
Additional information on bonus criteria, including: | March 2023 |
Pre-Assessment Tool | September 2023 |
Planning ahead is essential for businesses to navigate the significant changes in the employment policies. You are encouraged to plan early and factor in the time required for additional verification checks into your current hiring timeline. If you need assistance, at Mazars, we can help your business prepare for the new COMPASS framework and rework your recruitment strategies. Contact us today to learn more on how we can help.
Foreign nationals intending to enter Singapore to take up employment or to engage in business activities must obtain the relevant pass from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). Here is everything you need to know about employment and immigration requirements in Singapore.
In the Budget 2022 announcement on 18 February, Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced that the minimum qualifying salary will be raised by S$500 for Employment Pass and S Pass applicants from September this year.
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