Press Note
Singapore
Source by:- CNA News Hub
20 Dec 2025, 07:03 AM
Too much home comfort? Singapore needs more citizens to work abroad and gain international exposure
There are many advantages of staying grounded in Singapore, especially as working overseas may not necessarily pay better, but experts say that the advantages of gaining international work experience will pay off handsomely in the long run.
Singaporeans stand to lose in the long term as companies look globally for talents with cross-border work experience to take up leadership roles. (Illustration: CNA/Samuel Woo)
Barely two years old, Singapore startup HomePay is already operating across borders and has its sights set on further expansion.
Eight staff members of the renovation payment platform are based at its Singapore headquarters, while a team of about 25 developers is based in Jakarta. The company’s chief technological officer (CTO), Mr Muhammad Fadhil Kamal, typically flies to the Indonesian capital about four times a year to manage the team there, staying for about a month each time.
With expansion to Malaysia in the pipeline, the fintech company told CNA TODAY that during recruitment, it assesses applicants’ willingness to be deployed overseas.
“If they want to impress you, they’ll say ‘yes’, but you can tell by their reaction that it’s not ideal for them,” said Mr Muhammad Fadhil, 29.
“They’ll say ‘I want to go’, but the moment you tell them it would be for a month or two, and a few times a year, their face will change.”
Mr Muhammad Fadhil said that applicants who are eager for an overseas assignment seem fewer than those who would rather stay in Singapore. But as a new father himself, he empathises with candidates’ reluctance to leave their families for prolonged periods, he said.
Indeed, despite Singapore’s reputation as a global and open economy, and its residents being regarded as well-travelled, international work experience remains uncommon among workers here, many of whom are hesitant to leave home.
According to a Ministry of Manpower report in November, only 3.1 per cent of Singaporean and permanent resident workers have had overseas work stints of at least six months.
This was the first time the ministry had tracked and released the figure, noting that global companies seek workers with global or regional experience to take on leadership roles.
Mr Muhammad Fadhil Kamal (left), typically flies to Jakarta, Indonesia about four times a year to manage his team there, staying for about a month each time. (Photo: Muhammad Fadhil Kamal)
“This points to the need for sustained efforts to broaden the international exposure and leadership readiness of our local workforce,” the report said.
Manpower and hiring experts, such as Ms Samantha Tan from Jobstreet by Seek, agreed that this is a pressing issue.
“As more organisations work across markets, there is a strong demand to acquire talents with cross-functional capabilities, cultural and multi-language fluency, as well as soft skills like adaptability and comfort working with distributed teams so that organisations can operate more effectively in this broader business landscape,” said Ms Tan, who is the human resource business partner at the online employment marketplace.
But why do so few Singaporean workers have international exposure in the first place?
Labour economist Walter Theseira said that generally, workers would seek employment overseas mainly due to economic reasons such as better job prospects or higher earning potential.
“The problem for Singaporeans … is that there’s simply no economic reason to work overseas, especially in the region,” said the associate professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).
Jobs here pay better than their equivalents in neighbouring countries and even in some developed countries after accounting for expenses and taxes, labour and manpower experts noted. Thus, it is hardly attractive for Singaporeans to leave the comfort of their homes and families to work abroad.
Compounding this is the structure of Singapore’s labour market, where seven in 10 workers are employed by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These businesses generally have neither the resources nor the overseas presence to post employees abroad.
While Singaporeans may be content to stay put due to what Assoc Prof Theseira described as a “happy problem”, manpower and business experts cautioned that the workers will, as they climb the career ladder, be increasingly compared not with fellow Singaporeans but with a global pool of talent.
As corporations looking to fill global or regional leadership roles increasingly seek employees with demonstrated experience of working across various markets, Singaporeans who have not stepped out of their comfort zone may be disadvantaged.
CHALLENGES IN POSTING WORKERS OVERSEAS
From navigating foreign regulations to managing payroll across borders and supporting employees with family concerns, these are some of the “real pain points” in posting Singaporean workers overseas, Ms Julia Ng said. She is the chief workforce development officer with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF).
“These issues can stall decisions even when funding is available,” she added.
But hiring and labour experts also pointed to another factor: SMEs make up the overwhelming majority of businesses here and employ about 70 per cent of the workforce.
Ms Ann Marie Christopher from headhunting firm Ethos BeathChapman (EBC) said: “Many operate with lean teams, limited overseas footprints and tighter cost structures, which makes long-term overseas secondments difficult compared with large multinationals that have formal mobility programmes.”
For instance, homegrown medical technology firm Lucence offers a mobility programme to bridge its Singapore and United States teams by placing top performers from one market to the other.
Mr Jack Ang, head of people at Lucence, describes the mobility programme as valuable but “not without trade-offs”. The firm has to deal with complex administrative and bureaucratic requirements that are time-consuming to navigate.
“Cost is another factor, not just in relocation, but also in housing, insurance and travel support. These add up, particularly when trying to scale the programme,” Mr Ang said.
Mr Jack Ang, head of people at Lucence. (Photo: CNA/Raj Nadarajan)
Even at multinational corporations (MNCs) such as Trip.com, where there may be more opportunities for cross-border deployments, these international assignments are still limited by resources and need to be justified by strong business needs.
Ms Tiffany Chan, country human resource manager for the online travel portal, said that in 2024, about 70 per cent of its employees in Singapore had a chance of at least one short instance of “simple business travel”.
However, it is only the management-level employees or those already holding regional or global roles who would have “more opportunities to be based abroad for a prolonged period”.
The online travel agency platform recently joined the Overseas Market Immersion Programme (OMIP) of government agency Workforce Singapore (WSG). The programme offers government co-funding for employers to post inexperienced employees overseas for an extended period.
This co-funding has played a “huge factor” in enabling the company to post non-managerial employees overseas, and Trip.com has since depolyed two such employees for six-month periods each.
“Previously, the objective of sending business leaders on overseas assignments was more driven purely by business needs,” said Ms Chan. “With the OMIP programme, we are able to look into the next generation of leaders and send them abroad for talent development and prioritise that.”
Ms Tiffany Chan, country human resource manager for online travel portal Trip.com. (Photo: CNA/Alyssa Tan)
Costs and red tape aside, companies, especially small ones, often do not post employees overseas simply because there is no compelling reason to do so.
Mr Chris Ang, chief executive of crane and heavy equipment company Pollisum Group, said: “In Singapore, we’re fortunate to have universities and institutions that offer high-quality upskilling, leadership and management programmes.
“Because of this, there’s often no strong push factor to send employees abroad unless the learning opportunity is truly unique or unavailable locally.”
His company used to send members of its management team for a leadership course organised by e-commerce giant Alibaba that was held only in China.
“Later, when the programme became available in Singapore, we continued sending additional managers to the local run,” Mr Chris Ang added.
In deciding whether to send employees on overseas postings, companies must also take into account the workload left behind in the Singapore office.
Referring to professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs), Mr Keynes Yeo, who is the founding partner at design agency Greydient Lab, said: “Sending a PMET-level employee overseas for professional development can create a temporary gap in the employee’s original locally based role, which someone else within the organisation needs to cover.
“In some cases, employers may need to take on additional manpower to ensure business continuity.”
A spokesperson for the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises said: “To encourage more SME participation, there is a critical need for manpower support to backfill roles and ease operational strain.
“Reducing the administrative burden through simplified application processes and advisory support would also greatly improve uptake.”
While international companies may have more resources for mobility programmes, the fact that many have set up their regional or international headquarters in Singapore means that leadership and senior roles are located here, too, business experts said.
Thus, it is often employees from overseas offices who are keen to move to Singapore to work, rather than the other way around, they added.
SOCIAL FACTORS HOLDING SINGAPOREANS BACK
Even when there are opportunities to gain overseas work exposure, not everyone is willing to seize them.
Ms Ho Weng Si, senior vice-president for industry manpower development at the Economic Development Board (EDB), said: “Many face practical concerns such as limited information about relocation, uncertainty about settling into a new country, and challenges with reintegration upon returning to Singapore.
“These considerations may outweigh the appeal of overseas exposure, even when Singaporeans recognise its value for career advancement.”
A survey by Jobstreet published in 2023 highlighted that although a significant number of Singaporeans were willing to work abroad, the proportion had declined. That year, 64 per cent of them expressed such willingness, down from 66 per cent in 2020 and 87 per cent in 2018.
Those willing to make the move pointed to financial, economic and general career considerations as top impetuses to do so.
Conversely, those preferring to stay in Singapore gave as their top considerations the inability to take along family members, the cost of relocation and concerns about safety and security.
Mental health therapist Avanti Nim Rastogi, 37, knows intimately the challenges of being abroad, having studied and worked for eight years until her early 20s in the United Kingdom.
In a 2023 survey, Singaporeans unwilling to work abroad gave as their top considerations the inability to take along family members, the cost of relocation and concerns about safety and security. (Photo: CNA/Raj Nadarajan)
Besides certain inconveniences such as having to navigate less reliable public services and having to be “constantly mindful of personal safety”, what affected her the most was loneliness.
“Despite having friends, the long commutes and their established personal communities often meant that I felt emotionally isolated,” she said.
“I missed my family and close friends back home, and I came to understand that living somewhere that does not feel like home can carry a persistent sense of being an outsider – a lack of true belonging.”
Still, she appreciated the privilege of being exposed to a “markedly different” society outside of Singapore, and said that her experiences ultimately set her on the path to becoming a therapist, a vocation that she finds deeply meaningful.
Ms Christopher from headhunter firm EBC said: “Singapore offers strong domestic career opportunities, reducing the need for relocation.”
Relocation may also not be a lucrative move in the immediate term.
Mr Ben Neumann of Vialto Partners, a global talent mobility advisory firm, said: “Singapore employees also enjoy higher rates of pay compared with (those in) many overseas locations and, coupled with a favourable tax regime, may result in them experiencing a fall in net pay by relocating overseas.”
Assoc Prof Theseira said he personally knows of a Singaporean who accepted an overseas posting only because he could lease his home here to a tenant to make up for the income shortfall.
“Being able to rent out his property in Singapore made a huge difference, because I think without it, he would not have found it so compelling to maintain his overseas post.”
Mr Neumann said another reason Singapore workers’ exposure to international work is at a more “modest” level is that residents here have a more “structured sequence of life events and career pathways compared to their peers overseas”.
“For example, many Singaporeans move quickly from education to full-time work, while also managing milestones such as National Service for male citizens, housing decisions and family responsibilities,” he said.
“Taken together, these commitments often lead many young professionals to prioritise building stability locally in their early years, which can naturally delay or limit the window in which they consider longer-term overseas assignments.”
By contrast, workers in other comparable economies have fewer fixed commitments at their age, giving them more freedom to take up overseas opportunities at an earlier stage, Mr Neumann added.
Mr Muhammad Fadhil, the CTO for fintech startup HomePay, is among Singapore’s professionals seeking to balance the pursuit of overseas exposure with the responsibilities of new fatherhood. He has been cutting down the frequency and duration of his trips to Indonesia since his wife got pregnant and gave birth to their newborn two months ago.
With HomePay planning to expand into Malaysia in the near future and Mr Muhammad Fadhil likely to be based there for a long time to set up operations, he said his family has started to consider their options.
These include whether his wife should take a career break, the child’s caregiving and education arrangements, and what to do about their new Build-to-Order flat, which has not yet met its minimum occupancy period for resale.
Even when there are opportunities to gain overseas work exposure, not everyone is willing to seize them. (Photo: CNA/Alyssa Tan)
EFFORTS TO PUSH WORKERS ABROAD
The loudest clarion call in recent years for Singaporeans to head overseas and gain global work experience perhaps came from the Forward Singapore report published in October 2023.
In the report, the government acknowledged that employers look for workers with global or regional experience to fill leadership roles. It also indicated its intent to work with various stakeholders to encourage more Singaporeans to venture overseas as part of their career development.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong delivered a similar message during his Budget speech in February this year.
“To compete for leadership roles with regional and global responsibilities, Singaporeans must gain overseas experience – managing operations in different countries, navigating diverse cultures and working seamlessly across borders,” he said, adding that the government will be setting aside more resources to achieve this goal.
A few new initiatives have been rolled out towards this end.
WSG’s Overseas Market Immersion Programme is one such example, launched in November 2024.
SBF, appointed by WSG as the programme manager for OMIP, told CNA TODAY that 110 companies with internationalisation plans have taken part in the programme since its launch.
“About 70 per cent of placements have involved redeployment or upskilling of existing staff, while 30 per cent have been new hires. Approximately 69 per cent of participating companies are SMEs, which reflects the programme’s accessibility and relevance to smaller firms,” Ms Ng from SBF said.
Mr Kenneth Wong, director for the trade and lifestyle division at WSG, said that the participants were posted to various ASEAN countries as well as other parts of Asia, including China and Japan.
“Both SMEs and MNCs have found the scheme useful in providing local employees with global exposure in a bid to support talent development and build up their expertise in operating in foreign markets,” he added.
While OMIP targets the broader base of middle managers with little or no prior overseas experience, the Global Business Leaders Programme (GBLP) is aimed at senior leaders. Launched in late 2024, the GBLP is administered by EDB.
When asked, EDB did not provide any participation figures for the programme, but said that it has partnered with MNCs across a wide range of industries, from aerospace to precision engineering.
“GBLP participants have been posted to countries such as Latvia, the Netherlands, Indonesia, the US and China, taking on roles such as head of region for quality assurance, head of business operations, and general manager of overseas manufacturing plants,” Ms Ho from EDB said.
She also highlighted other initiatives to make it more conducive for Singaporeans to take up overseas postings.
For example, in response to practical concerns in navigating relocation, an Overseas Transition Support (OTS) programme was launched in September.
“OTS is a structured, end-to-end programme that supports Singaporeans on the full journey as they prepare to go overseas, while they are in the market, and when they return to Singapore,” Ms Ho added.
Companies, too, are playing their part to help their relocated employees settle in well, both in the office and beyond.
Mr Ernest Phang, managing director for group human resources at OCBC bank, said: “We understand that relocating overseas can bring uncertainties, from family considerations to cultural adjustment.
“To address this, we offer comprehensive support, including home and school search and local orientation, just to name a few, to help make the transition as smooth as possible.”
RISKING AN EXPATRIATE CRUTCH
Manpower experts such as Ms Christopher from headhunting firm EBC said that there has been a clear increase in demand for Singaporean professionals with meaningful global or regional experience.
“As Singapore strengthens its position as a regional and global hub, employers are increasingly seeking leaders who can operate beyond a domestic context, manage cross-border stakeholders and work closely with global headquarters.”
She added that candidates for senior roles are now benchmarked against regional and global peers rather than just Singapore talent, making international work exposure “no longer ‘nice to have’ but increasingly expected”.
The Economic Development Board said that there are initiatives to make it more conducive for Singaporeans to take up overseas postings. (Photo: CNA/Alyssa Tan)
Assoc Prof Theseira from SUSS noted that while Singapore generally has an educated and highly trained workforce, workers elsewhere “have gotten incredibly more skilled, much more quickly, and also have not raised their wages to the same level (as us).”
And with some of them having overseas work experience to boot, it is only natural that companies take such exposure into account when comparing the former against Singaporean workers.
If the government were to force global companies to hire more costly Singaporeans over equally qualified workers from the region, it would be akin to a tax on investors and companies, which might then consider relocating their operations elsewhere, he added.
Ms Tan of Jobstreet by Seek stressed that ultimately, the low proportion of Singaporeans with overseas work exposure reflects “structural constraints” on the part of both employers and employees, which cannot be overcome by market forces.
“To move the needle, employers and policymakers need a more coordinated, long-term talent strategy that treats international exposure as a shared investment,” she said.
“Clearer signalling that global experience, whether physical or virtual, is valued in career progression, alongside stronger support systems, will be critical.”
If the issue is left unaddressed in the long term, Ms Christopher from EBC cautioned that fewer Singaporeans will be represented in regional and global roles.
“If more Singaporeans don’t gain international exposure, we risk a leadership gap where regional roles continue to go to expats rather than local talents,” she said.
“Companies may continue to import senior leaders rather than promoting global talents, and Singapore will risk being seen as an execution hub rather than a leadership incubator.”
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