The multi-cultural Singaporean workforce is highly educated, highly motivated and highly productive. It is also proficient in English – the language of international business. Singapore has a large base of engineering talent, with the number of engineers in universities and polytechnics expanding steadily each year, in addition to the sizeable pool of skilled technicians.

An open immigration policy has served to enhance Singapore’s talent pool. This gives companies the opportunity to source for the best personnel from anywhere in the world.

 

In addition, a vast array of training and scholarship programmes are frequently developed by the government in tandem with industry partners and educational establishments. Such initiatives ensure that the workforce is future-ready. All this has helped produce a labour force that is ranked No.1 in the world over the last 30 years. (Business Environment Risk Intelligence's 2008 Labour Force Evaluation Measure report).

 

Rapid business innovation requires world-class R&D facilities and expertise. The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) ensures that Singapore has both in ample supply. With twelve research centres dedicated to a multitude of technological disciplines, Singapore attracts a world class community of researchers and specialists from the US, Europe and Asia Pacific region.

 

In the last decade, Singapore has successfully grown its R&D base, drawn top scientific and creative talent and nurtured R&D collaborations between the public sector and private enterprise. Today, Singapore holds global leadership positions in areas of manufacturing such as electronics and petrochemicals. The city-state remains an attractive base for complex manufacturing activities, in tandem with its move towards a more knowledge-centric and research-based economy. This emphasis on innovation and capital-intensive activities and a globalised workforce has shaped Singapore into a city-state where Chinese and Indian companies can internationalise, where American and European companies make their entry into Asia, and where views on the future of this dynamic and fast-evolving region can be forged.