SINGAPORE – Once regarded as a luxury, overseas exposure for local talent is fast becoming a key way to hedge and thrive in a tough job market, in an upended global trade regime.
In fact, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong dedicated part of his Budget 2025 speech to signalling the urgency of getting more Singaporeans to gain this exposure, to be competitive for good jobs with international scope that large firms and multinationals anchor over here.
The Ministry of Manpower previously told The Straits Times that global companies here have indicated a need for more Singaporeans to take on overseas stints at an early stage in their career, so there is a pipeline of workers ready for leadership positions.
This is because leaders in organisations that choose Singapore as regional or global headquarters often need to make decisions with cross-border impact, a responsibility that requires direct experience outside of home turf.
There are signs that young Singapore workers are keen to rise to the challenge.
nearly two in three Singapore workers are willing to relocate for work,
the bulk of whom were aged below 30 – yet only a fraction of these workers have actually done so.
Admittedly, the move requires a shift in expectations around job aspirations and individual purpose, as well as a realistic understanding that personal finance norms around taxes, budgeting, home ownership and wealth accumulation will need changing.
It is a lot to take in, but for a start, I can share what I have learnt from the years I have spent talking to people and covering this topic as manpower correspondent for this news outlet.
Not everyone sets out wanting a pathway to overseas stints, whether long-term postings or work travel based out of Singapore.
Working towards that first posting is the hardest, with subsequent opportunities usually coming easier after one gains a track record.
Still, you can start by basing your job search on some simple principles, if you feel inclined to work abroad.
The nature of the sector, the structure of the employer and the skills required for the job all matter.
Some employers, job roles and sectors structurally permit more global mobility for a wider range of roles than others, despite onerous visa sponsorship requirements for foreign talent.
We start with the obvious: globally scarce, niche technical roles employers jostle to hire for.
These include sustainability professionals and artificial intelligence engineers, whom developed economies often allow employers to directly hire from abroad with relatively lower barriers owing to the outsized impact they bring.
By definition, these skills are rare, needing talent with a substantially higher skill level and experience, in quicker time and in greater numbers than what domestic talent pipelines can provide.
For most other workers, observers I have spoken to advocate looking for an employer here with demonstrated support for global mobility due to both business needs and career development ethos.
Popular technology and finance employers here regularly move workers around in key functions, such as in software engineering or investments, but may have less need to do so for corporate support functions such as human resources (HR).
However, there are other less-visible sectors that provide broader opportunities.
In particular, large, established multinationals in pharmaceuticals, fast-moving consumer goods, advanced manufacturing, energy, commodities, maritime and logistics have intricate supply chain links that often require shifting talent worldwide.
To this end, many have structured talent rotation opportunities across job functions and geographies, as well as compensation policies that help dull any financial impact.
Then there are the hospitality and food and beverage sectors, where cultural diversity and foreign language skills are appreciated.
In the media sector, some news outlets and industry publications may require frequent work travel.
As for the nature of the role, if not niche and deeply technical, it should be one with a regional or global scope.
Those in corporate support roles not commonly seen as highly mobile at a more junior level, like in HR, are not left out of the party with the right employer who values a Singaporean presence on the ground. For instance, earlier in 2025, sovereign wealth fund GIC had an opening for an HR analyst to be based in New York for a one-year assignment.
Ambitious local small and medium-sized enterprises in sectors like chemicals, energy and manufacturing are starting to ramp up their overseas job offerings too.
A robust suite of initiatives by the Government and industry bodies adds to what progressive employers already provide internally.
Just earlier this week, new programmes were launched by the Singapore Leaders Network (SGLN) and its various partners to equip those who take the leap with the necessary communication skills and support them with the networks needed to thrive.
The SGLN is a networking group backed by the Economic Development Board and managed by the Human Capital Leadership Institute. It was set up in 2022 to help Singaporeans prepare for global corporate leadership roles.
Enterprise Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Workforce Singapore and others have schemes for Singaporeans looking at other pastures too.
Part of the reason why so much effort is needed to spur the leap is the potential opportunity cost versus career payoff for Singaporeans, compared with those in other economies.
As I have written before, Singapore’s combination of salary levels, taxes, healthcare, education and work opportunities – as well as food – is formidable, even if under pressure in the current climate.
This means needing to recognise that take-home salary might see a dip, while expenses balloon for rent, healthcare, groceries and other necessities.
Employers have also long cut back on lavish expatriate packages, requiring a shift in lifestyle and budgeting.
There are other fundamental issues, such as home ownership at early ages, often with a minimum occupation period, that ties down young Singaporeans smack in the early career years in which international experience tends to pay off most.
In a March 2023 written parliamentary reply, the Ministry of National Development revealed that the median age of first-timer family applicants for flats at the point of key collection was in the early 30s.
The applicants potentially committed to the flat years earlier after accounting for construction time and generally have to live in it for five years or more, even though home owners can apply to suspend the minimum occupation clock for long-term overseas postings.
In contrast, while the median is not available, the average age of first-time home ownership in the US is nearly 40.
An expatriate senior corporate executive once told me how remarkable home ownership in Singapore is. He bought his first home well into his 40s – not because he could not afford one, but because job postings took him across continents in a series of rented housing.
So all this means that the Singaporean seeking to work overseas may well face potential lower or similar take-home income after higher taxes and cost of living, and has to willingly put off home ownership to rent instead.
Then there are caregiving and family norms, with a system set up to predominantly focus on care by the immediate family located in close proximity, in view of Singapore’s small land area.
All in, this is an investment in your own career with a potentially high – but by no means certain – upside.
But this is the price of staying ahead for Singaporean talent, and employers have shown how much they value such experience, even if there is more opportunity cost for us than those in most other economies.
That said, the personal growth and exploration towards being a more well-rounded person, and reward of building a new life with new people in a new culture remain priceless.