Be more selective in foreign PMET entry

I refer to the article “As graduate numbers grow, a hard truth: Not all degrees are equal” (May 23) on graduate underemployment. Mizuho Bank senior economist Vishnu Varathan put it in a nutshell: Local graduates may be facing competition from foreign graduates with or without experience.

And due to the liberal intake of foreign professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) over the past decade or so, many of these foreign graduates may have been recruited when young and would probably have held on to their jobs for many more years. Also, some of them tend to recruit workers of their own nationality. The end result is that some Singaporean graduates have missed out on job exposure and opportunities.

It is hoped that the authorities are now more discerning in issuing employment passes, especially in the PMET category. There are many PMET jobs in companies with 25 or fewer employees, which means they are exempted from the Jobs Bank advertising requirement. This headcount figure could be lowered.