About 3,000 ONE Passes were issued in Singapore in 2024, with 1 in 6 for new entrants

Top three sectors employing ONE Pass holders were financial & insurance services, information & communication, and professional services.

In 2024, about 3,000 Overseas Networks & Expertise (ONE) Passes were issued in Singapore, with one in six going to new entrants, according to Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng.

The Minister was responding to a Parliamentary query on 5 February 2025 (Wednesday), in which the following areas of interest were raised:

• The take-up rate of the ONE Pass since 2 January 2024
• The sectors employing ONE Pass holders
• The number of new entrants granted a ONE Pass without converting from an existing Employment Pass
• Planned improvements to optimise the ONE Pass and enhance employment opportunities for Singaporeans

Minister Tan shared that the top three sectors employing ONE Pass holders were:

1. Financial & insurance services
2. Information & communication
3. Professional services

To strengthen the effectiveness of the ONE Pass, MOM is collaborating with sector agencies to boost outreach efforts and raise awareness. ONE Pass holders are also encouraged to participate in local mentorship and networking initiatives, such as the Singapore Leaders Network, to exchange insights with local talent.

Ensuring meaningful career outcomes for ONE Pass through OMIP 

In a separate Parliamentary query on 4 February 2025, MOM addressed questions on the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme (OMIP), including its measurable outcomes over the next five years, safeguards against firms misusing it for routine business costs, and how Workforce Singapore (WSG) ensures career plans lead to meaningful employee development.

1. Launched in November 2024, the OMIP aims to:
2. Equip local employees with little or no overseas experience with regional and global exposure
3. Build strong overseas networks to support career growth
4. Help employers develop a globally competitive workforce to drive business expansion

To ensure meaningful career outcomes, MOM noted the following key measures that have been put in place:

• First, companies must submit a business growth or transformation plan, to show that the overseas posting will contribute to business expansion and is not part of the company’s business-as-usual operations.
• Second, companies must provide a comprehensive on-the-job training (OJT) plan describing the developmental skills and competencies that the trainee is expected to acquire by the end of their in-market training. Both the business plan and training plan must be approved by either WSG or the Singapore Business Federation, which is WSG’s appointed Programme Partner for OMIP.
• Third, to ensure the training leads to meaningful career outcomes, companies must prepare a career development plan (CDP) outlining the employee’s development over the next 24 months, including the potential career pathways that the trainee will have after completing the overseas posting. Companies must submit this plan in their application, and update the plan again when claiming reimbursement.

"To fulfil these criteria, employers and employees must do their part to follow through and make the most of their overseas training experience.

This is why WSG requires companies to get their trainees and their supervisors to acknowledge the CDP," the Ministry stated. 

The OMIP will run for two years until 2026, after which a review will assess its success based on:

a. The number of local employees successfully placed in overseas postings; and
b. The number of companies supported in expanding into new overseas markets.

READ MORE: A guide to Singapore's new ONE Pass: Eligibility, safeguards, and purpose 

Lead image / MDDI Singapore YouTube