The rhetoric on the “LED” programme to reduce reliance on foreign labour should be measured by the jobs’ statistics which are missing  

I refer to the article “5,200 firms tap govt scheme to stay lean” (Straits Times, Nov 18).

It states that “About 5,200 companies have benefited from a government programme to help firms reduce their reliance on foreign labour, adopt manpower-lean initiatives, create better-paying jobs and drive productivity and growth through technology.

The update released yesterday comes two years after the Lean Enterprise Development (LED) programme was introduced in October 2015.

They were also encouraged yesterday to access a new scheme to source trainers locally and from overseas to help workers pick up skills and knowledge that may be lacking in Singapore.”

Since the “programme (is) to help firms reduce their reliance on foreign labour” – the only way to be certain that this objective is being met, maybe to disclose the jobs’ statistics.

For example, how many of the jobs posted in the National Jobs Bank actually went to Singaporeans?

Why are the jobs’ statistics not broken down into Singaporeans and permanent residents, instead of being lumped together as “locals”?

As to “A three-year moving average shows that out of every four extra PMETs employed in the past three years, three were locals. Five years ago, the figure was lower: one local out of every two extra PMETs” (“Parliament: Local PMETs facing brighter job prospects, says Lim Swee Say”, Straits Times, Nov 6) – Why is it that there was no mention of the actual number of PMET jobs created in the last three years?

If we account for the estimated 90,000 new PRs and 60,000 new citizens granted in the last three years – how many of the jobs to locals went to Singaporeans?

Leong Sze Hian