Indians Bring In Skills Which Complement the Singaporeans' Skill Sets

By: Rachita Sharma, special Editor | Monday, 9 May 2022

Indians currently form about nine percent of the total population in Singapore. This makes it the third largest ancestry and ethnic group in the country. With the earliest Indians arriving in the country in early 1800s to present day Singapore, the Indian community has had a massive impact on the country and its indigenous Malay culture as a whole.

The contribution of the Indian diaspora on the country's infrastructural and economic development as well. In the days of yore it were Indian convicts who lay the very foundation public roads, monumental buildings, bridges etc. between the early 1800s and 1873, Indians quiet literally built early Singapore. As time moved on, mass settlements of Indian began.

Early in the day young Indian men would come to the island nation as workers or soldiers. The population however remained transient. It was only by mid-20th century when a permanent Indian diaspora came into being. That was the time when the Indian population in Singapore also became well balanced in terms of age and gender.

For the past 100 years or so, the Indian population in Singapore has remained close to the nine percent mark. This community has also been a major contributor towards labour force, professional class and business community alike.Cut to today, the Singapore corporate and business landscape is seeing several Indian origin professionals and entrepreneurs rising up.

In fact between 2005 and 2020, the number of Indian Employee pass (EP) holders increased significantly (from 13 to 26 percent). While Indian professionals do enjoy the perks of being well versed in English, they have also benefited from the exponential growth experienced by the Singaporean digital economy. Trends in the global demand and supply for tech talent have also contributed to Indians making a mark in the Singapore corporate world.

Speaking about the same in the Parliament, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng, said, "The simple point is that while we have a good Singaporean talent pool, our pool is not large enough to fulfil all of the needs, the breadth and the depth of these enterprises. And very often also foreigners bring in skills which complement the Singaporeans' skill sets as well.

The operative word here is skill set. A slew of Indian entrepreneurs, technocrats and business leaders have successfully carved a niche for themselves in the burgeoning Singapore economy. The current edition of Women Entrepreneur Magazine shines the spotlight on some such women leaders of the Indian origin who have leveraged their skill and passion to climb the ladder of success. We hope their stories inspire you.

Do let us know your thoughts.