4.5. Summary

Might Singaporeans be better positioned for top jobs in Singaporean or Singapore-based companies? The empirical evidence does not indicate that this is so. Among the handful of Singapore TNCs that were interviewed, the same ‘War for Talent’ model dominates, which privileges foreign hiring at the top levels. One HR manager in the banking and finance industry in Singapore was candid that the hiring of foreign talent for top positions was a recent development. She shared:

Probably in the last maybe ten years, we started recruiting a little bit more foreigners. Probably in the first 30 years, it was really predominantly local. (HR Manager, Banking & Finance, Singapore)

Similarly, with the exception of one biotech SME, the five other Singapore-based local enterprises and start-ups in our sample were similarly engaged with the ‘War for Talent’ model.

4.5. Summary Based on the comparison of corporate talent models of TNCs in Singapore, India and China, as outlined in this chapter, we do not find support for TNCs’ claims that they operate based on a universal talent management system across their different subsidiaries. Under certain conditions, particularly in the context of a significant labour shortage, as in China, TNCs do adjust their corporate talent model. We also argue here that the alleged Singaporean talent deficit cannot be viewed as simply the result of the lack of particular behavioural competencies, but a case of how Singaporeans are not favourably positioned within the internal labour markets of TNCs. This is a consequence of the relatively less elitist feature of Singapore’s university system that does not enable TNCs to readily lock into it using their preferred ‘War for Talent’ model. However, there is little to suggest that Singapore is better off shifting to a more elitist local university system. Rather a longer-term strategy of encouraging and incentivising TNCs towards a more inclusive corporate talent model will have far more equitable outcomes for the Singapore workforce as a whole. The deficiencies of the ‘War for Talent’ model in creating a talent pipeline in the context of rapid change provide a valuable starting point to foster change in corporate practices.