Alternative Entry Pathway (AEP) Programme

The Alternative Entry Pathway (AEP) programme allows responsible and progressive firms to take greater ownership in identifying and selecting better quality new Construction WPHs. Firms can propose recruitment pathways to directly bring in workers who have relevant experience in specific trades or who have undergone customised training or who possess vocational certifications.

Currently, all new Construction WPHs must pass their Skills Evaluation Certificate (Knowledge) or SEC(K) before working in Singapore. This ensures that they have basic trade knowledge and craft-skills competencies.

The mandatory pre-entry SEC(K) testing in source countries will cease for China and Thailand in January 2027, before being extended to all source countries in January 2028. Under the new process firms may bring in new Construction WPHs directly to obtain SEC(K) locally. Firms could also tap on AEP to bring in better quality new Construction WPHs.

BCA worked with the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) to allow new Construction workers to enter Singapore without SEC(K) under AEP pilot, where they will be  required to pass SEC(K) locally to renew their Work Permits. AEPs that perform well and demonstrate ability to bring in better quality new Construction workers during the pilot stage will be mainstreamed. In the future, when the overseas testing requirement is removed from January 2028, new Construction WPH who enter via mainstreamed AEP pathways will not be required to obtain SEC(K) locally.

What pathways are available to the industry under AEP?

The following pathways are supported under the AEP programme –

1.       Vocational Certification: Firms can bring in new Construction WPHs who possess vocational certification offered by vocational institutions recognised by source country governments.

2.       Employer-led Process: Firms can submit a proposal on a process to select and bring in better quality new Construction WPHs. This could include a robust selection process at source that includes interviews, practical skills assessments, or screening for criteria such as previous experience in relevant trades. Firms can also propose an in-house training plan for new workers to be skilfully deployed upon arrival in Singapore.

• Greater flexibility to bring in better quality new Construction workers via employer-led processes, where firms have more ownership and responsibility over recruitment pathways not limited to only practical skills assessments

• Better match between the trade that the new Construction WPH has experience in and is assessed in Singapore and eventually deployed to

• Shorter time needed to bring in new Construction workers, as WPHs brought in via AEP need not undergo pre-entry SEC(K) testing at source but can take the SEC(K) in Singapore.

Firms that wish to tap on AEP to bring in new Construction WPHs must submit a proposal to BCA to pilot either the Vocational Certification or Employer-led Process pathway.

If the AEP pilot is approved by BCA, the applicant firm can bring in new Construction WPHs via their approved AEP pilot.

New Construction WPHs brought in via an AEP pilot do not need to have SEC(K) at source countries before entering Singapore. However, they will be required to obtain SEC(K) locally to validate if their skills are on par with existing skills standards and to be allowed for Work Permit renewal.

If an AEP pilot is successful, BCA will recognise the pathway by mainstreaming it. As the trade skills of new Construction WPHs entering via the mainstreamed AEP pathway have been proven to be on par with existing standards, the WPHs need not obtain the SEC(K) locally.

After overseas testing at PRC and Thailand ceases from January 2027, how can firms tap on AEP to bring in new Construction WPHs from PRC and Thailand?

Firms can bring in new Construction WPHs from PRC and Thailand via the Vocational Certification pathway. BCA will be mainstreaming vocational certification from PRC and Thailand, and the list of BCA-recognised certifications will be released when ready. As the skills of WPHs possessing mainstreamed vocational certification have been proven to be on par with existing standards, new Construction WPHs who possess these certifications entering Singapore will not be required to obtain the SEC(K) locally.

Alternatively, firms that wish to source for new Construction WPHs from PRC and Thailand beyond the BCA-recognised vocational certification, can also submit a proposal to BCA to pilot their own Employer-led Process pathway. The proposal must demonstrate how firms intend to select and train better quality new Construction WPHs in specific trades. If BCA approves the Employer-led Process pilot, new Construction WPHs from PRC and Thailand entering via pilots will be required to attain SEC(K) locally as per the existing AEP pilot requirements.