Written Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on Data on Training Employment Passes and Training Work Permits Issued in Last 10 Years

NOTICE PAPER NO. 1616 OF 2022 FOR THE SITTING ON 10 JANUARY 2022
QUESTION NO. 2565 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER

MP: Mr Leong Mun Wai

To ask the Minister for Manpower in each of the last 10 years (a) how many Training Employment Passes (TEPs) and Training Work Permits (TWPs) have been issued; (b) what is the average duration of TEPs and TWPs respectively; (c) how many extensions have been granted; (d) how many TEPs and TWPs have been converted to other work passes upon their expiry; and (e) what are the average and median salaries of TEP and TWP holders.

Answer:

1. The Training Employment Pass (TEP) and Training Work Permit (TWP) are short-term passes to allow employers to take on foreign trainees or students for training.

2. The TEP is for eligible foreign students or foreign trainees undergoing training in Singapore. As specified on the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) website, TEP candidates must either earn a fixed monthly salary of at least $3,000 or be foreign students from a defined list of institutions. In addition, for foreign students, the training attachment in Singapore must be part of the student’s course of study. The TEP is valid for up to three months. MOM also works with sector agencies to grant flexibilities in certain cases, for instance, for clinical fellowship training programmes where durations are typically longer. Such flexibilities are provided judiciously, and the majority of the TEPs are issued for a validity of three months.

3. The Training Work Permit (TWP) is for eligible unskilled or semi-skilled foreign trainees or students on practical training in Singapore. While there is no minimum qualifying salary, TWPs are subject to the Dependency Ratio Ceiling (DRC) and levies, similar to Work Permit holders. The TWP is valid for up to six months and the average duration is therefore six months.

4. Both the TEP and TWP are non-renewable. There is no automatic conversion of TEP and TWP to other work passes upon their expiry. Employers have to apply for a work pass should they wish to take on the TEP or TWP holder as an employee, and the TEP or TWP holder must satisfy the prevailing work pass criteria on their own merit.

5. Table 1 shows the historical annual average of the statistics requested for TEPs and TWPs over the period of 2013 to 2021¹.

Table 1: Historical Annual Average (based on 2013 – 2021 data)