Attracting Talents Affected by Workforce Layoffs (PQ Reply by Minister Josephine Teo)

Attracting Talents Affected by Recent Workforce Lay-offs and Hiring Freezes into Civil Service

Fourteenth Parliament of Singapore – First Session for the Sitting on 20 March 2023

Question

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Prime Minister how does the Civil Service intend to attract talents to join the public service that have been affected by the recent workforce lay-offs and hiring freezes by big global technology companies.

Answer

Written answer by Mrs Josephine Teo, Minister for Communications and Information and Minister-in-charge of Smart Nation and Cybersecurity (for the Prime Minister)

The Public Service keeps an active lookout for tech talent keen on contributing to public good. Besides the Smart Nation Scholarship programme, we offer internships to tertiary students. Experienced tech specialists may be offered Smart Nation Fellowships to do short stints and work on innovative projects with us.

In addition, agencies conduct their own recruitment exercises and participate in joint recruitment efforts involving other organisations. We welcome persons of all backgrounds, including those who may have been laid off, as long as they meet the job requirements and are keen to serve the public.

A few months ago, the Government also launched the “Tech for Public Good” initiative to accelerate tech hiring for the Public Service. As part of the initiative, we set up a new microsite, techhiring.open.gov.sg, to publicise available tech-related openings across all agencies. Since then, we have conducted 15 career talks that attracted over 800 attendees. More than 100 positions have been filled.