Response to Calls for More Proactive Initiatives to Safeguard Employment

14 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Manpower how will the Ministry address calls for more proactive Government initiatives to safeguard employment in Singapore, including inter-Ministerial collaborations to promote effective skills development, financial assistance for businesses and workers as well as retraining and upskilling support for retrenched workers.

Dr Tan See Leng: The Government's strategy to safeguard employment in Singapore is to create good jobs and to equip our workers with the skills to take on these jobs. This will meet the needs of our businesses as well as the aspirations of our workers. We adopt a two-pronged approach in our efforts.

First, we keep our economy competitive and seek to capitalise on new opportunities in and beyond our region. We do this by pursuing sustained, productivity-driven growth across our economy. The Government has launched the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) to drive transformation across 23 industries. To help employers respond and plan for business transformation, the Government has also launched the Jobs Transformation Maps to provide job-level insights on the impact of technology on the industry and workforce. With these insights, businesses can then redesign more productive jobs.

Second, we invest heavily in equipping Singaporeans with the skills to take on the jobs that we are creating. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) works with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Trade and Industry to identify the current and future skillsets required and curate programmes to equip Singaporeans with these skills. This includes programmes, like Workforce Singapore's Career Conversion Programmes, which provide course fee and salary support of up to 90% for workers to move into new job roles or sectors that have good prospects and opportunities for progression; as well as SkillsFuture Singapore's SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme, which supports mid-career individuals in acquiring industry-relevant skills to improve employability, with funding subsidy of up to 90% of course fees.

As indicated in the Forward SG report, the Government will also do more to strengthen the career health of Singaporeans by improving job matching and helping them better plan for long-term careers through access to better data and information about jobs and skills.

Third, we provide targeted support for retrenched workers who face difficulties finding a new job. These support measures have been addressed in the reply to the Member's Parliamentary Question on 29 February 2024 on support for retrenched workers. [Please refer to "Addressing Public Anxiety over Job Security and Re-employment Challenges", Official Report, 29 February 2024, Vol 95, Issue 127, Oral Answers to Questions section.]

MOM's statistics show that our efforts to safeguard employment have been successful. Resident employment has expanded annually – even through the recent pandemic – and our labour force participation rate remains high at 68.6%. In 2023, the resident unemployment rate was stable and low at 2.7%. The resident long-term unemployment rate also remained low at 0.7%. Real wages have grown over the longer-term, underpinned by sustained productivity growth. The Government will continue to work with the tripartite partners to press on with business and workforce transformation that will lead to better outcomes for our workers, employers and the overall economy.