Attempted misuse of work pass for foreign students or trainees ongoing for years: Industry insiders
Source: Straits Times
Article Date: 24 Jun 2025
Author: Tay Hong Yi
The Manpower Ministry revealed on June 19 that it has received 120 reports related to the abuse of the Training Employment Pass in 2025.
Errant employers and agents have for years attempted to illegally bring in foreign workers for rank-and-file roles such as dishwashers under a pass intended for foreigners to undergo short-term professional training here, said industry insiders.
They told The Straits Times that the Training Employment Pass (TEP) attracts misuse in this manner because it does not impose a levy or quota on workers, unlike the work permit or S Pass, which are meant for lower-skilled or semi-skilled roles.
The TEP has come under scrutiny of late, following allegations of such misuse.
This included a blog post by advocacy group Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2) in May flagging the issue, citing accounts from a rising number of low-wage workers holding the TEP who have approached it for help since December 2024.
The affected TEP holders had come forward with claims of being paid below the stated salary for their pass, asked to work before receiving their passes, as well as registered as “management executives” despite actually working in menial roles.
Responding to queries from ST, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) revealed on June 19 that it has received 120 reports related to TEP abuse in 2025, but did not provide for comparison the number of reports received in past years.
An MOM spokesperson also said an average of around 6,800 TEPs were approved each year over the last 10 years, with the majority of approvals for jobs in the services sector.
The ministry has stepped up enforcement efforts against employers who misuse the TEP scheme to circumvent the work pass framework, said the spokesperson.
The TEP allows foreign students or trainees from a company’s overseas office or subsidiary to undergo practical training for professional, managerial, executive or specialist jobs here for up to three months. Trainees must earn a minimum fixed salary of $3,000 a month.
The work attachment for student applicants must be tied to their studies. They must either be studying in an “acceptable institution” or earning at least $3,000 a month.
Trainee lawyers who are not permanent residents or Singaporeans are one group who have been approved to work here under TEPs, ST understands.
Another group, mentioned in a written parliamentary answer by Manpower Minister Tan See Leng in 2023, are those in clinical fellowship training programmes.
But Dr David Leong, managing director of human resources firm PeopleWorldwide Consulting, said some agents use the TEP to supply a steady stream of labour to employers grappling with acute manpower shortages, particularly in industries struggling to fill low-wage or undesirable roles.
“Some employers, unaware of the full extent of the agents’ misconduct, are unwittingly drawn into these schemes, believing they are addressing legitimate staffing needs.
“Others, however, knowingly collaborate with agents, taking advantage of the lax oversight to exploit workers for cheap labour, often in grueling or irrelevant roles.”
Dr Leong added he has consistently warned his clients against taking on workers brought in under a TEP, particularly for rank-and-file roles.
He added that private education institutions may also sometimes act as fronts for channelling workers into low-wage, temporary jobs under the pretext of training.
Speaking in his personal capacity, former MOM prosecutor Jason Chua noted that the non-renewable nature and short duration of the TEP makes it a relatively niche pass intended for skilled roles, compared to Employment Passes, work permits and S Passes.
“Also, the TEP is meant for foreign trainees to learn skills and apply it back to their home country.”
In contrast, the fundamental purpose of more mainstream work passes lies more in allowing the foreign worker to contribute economically, rather than learn, here, he said.
Reinforcing the intended scope of the TEP as being for skilled roles, Mr Chua said the TEP often gets confused with the Training Work Permit, which is reserved for eligible unskilled or semi-skilled foreign trainees or students to undergo practical training in Singapore.
However, these are subject to a levy, and still count towards an employer’s quota for work permit holders.
The short duration of a TEP limits the type of roles that errant employers can practicably assign TEP holders. These are typically labour-intensive roles where high staff turnover does not matter as much.
Mr Ethan Guo, TWC2’s executive director, told ST the TEP holders who approached it for help often were forced by employers to sign pay slips indicating they received their full pay, but actually paid them less.
“We even saw one instance where the pay slips were not even issued to or signed by the workers, but instead doctored digitally.
“There are also those who were not given work and therefore didn’t get any pay at all.”
Still, attempts to bring in low-wage workers under this pass have continued. A TikTok video first uploaded earlier in 2025 and subsequently deleted soon after media reports surfaced on the TEP, re-emerged in June.
In a voiceover, a male can be heard touting the “advantages” of the TEP, including savings from not needing a levy, as well as “more obedient” workers.
“The third (advantage) is that you don’t need to keep on your payroll ‘phantom workers’, so you wouldn’t need to live in fear of being caught, fined and have your finances frozen,” he said, adding that agents are able to help employers handle flights and accommodation as well.
Even though he acknowledged the short duration of the pass can be disruptive, the man added: “A lot of workers will be willing to come here.”
Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.
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