SINGAPORE — Companies that want to screen Employment Pass (EP) applications must meet certain requirements from Sept 1, including having at least three years of experience in carrying out authenticity checks on educational qualifications as well as accreditation checks on educational institutions.  

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) announced this on Wednesday (April 19) during a call for proposals from interested companies, as part of broader measures to enhance Singapore's work pass framework.

Last month, the ministry announced that it will require all employers to verify their EP applicants' diploma-level and above qualifications from Sept 1 to guard against fraudulent qualifications being submitted.

In its press statement, MOM said that the eventual list of selected background screening companies will be put up on its website.

The ministry is also studying the feasibility of other avenues of verification such as digital certificates.

"Today, MOM requires verification proof for applications that declare qualifications from institutions not found in MOM’s database of accredited institutions, but are recognised by the countries’ local government authorities," it said.

"To ensure that the qualifications declared are authentic, MOM is expanding this requirement to all EP applications where qualifications are declared to earn points under Compass (Complementarity Assessment Framework)."

Compass is a points-based system that scores EP applicants across four foundational and two bonus criteria to ensure the foreign professional better complements the resident workforce. It rolls into effect on Sept 1 as well.

EPs are given to eligible foreign professionals, managers and executives earning at least S$5,000 a month. 

Aside from verification from selected background screening companies, the ministry will also accept verification proof obtained from online portals of countries' governments or educational institutions.

"The verification requirement for renewal of existing EPs will be implemented from Sept 1, 2024," MOM added.

EVALUATION CRITERIA, PANEL FOR BACKGROUND SCREENING COMPANIES

Companies interested in submitting proposals must meet the following criteria:

• They can provide both authenticity checks on educational qualifications and accreditation checks on educational institutions
• They have at least three years of experience in providing background screening services in Singapore and globally
• They can demonstrate processes to ensure quality qualification verification standards are in place

"A panel comprising tripartite partners, business and HR associations will evaluate companies’ proposals based on factors such as cost and quality of services, time taken to verify qualifications, as well as the scale of operations and ability to verify qualifications in various countries," MOM said.

It added it will share more details on the selected companies and implementation process in due course. It did not provide a specific date.

Mr Sim Gim Guan, executive director of the Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) said it would work with MOM to ensure a "smooth implementation" of this new requirement as some employers may not be familiar with the associated process.

"SNEF expects that the fees will be kept affordable due to economies of scale, with more employers using such services," he added.

Mr Aslam Sardar, chief executive officer of the Institute for Human Resource Professionals, agreed, saying that the proposals will help companies "access cost-competitive services from a list of reliable companies pre-qualified by MOM".

Interested companies can find more details on the GeBiz website. The deadline for submitting proposals is 4pm on May 10.