We thank Mr Eric Yip Kok Leong (Help retrenched young seniors get back into the workforce, Feb 21), Mr Robert Cheng (Ageism: How stereotyping stands in the way of hiring seniors, Feb 23), and Ms Ho See Ling (Put more thought into how training can get good jobs for mid-career workers, Feb 29) for their feedback calling for better employment support for mid-career and senior workers.
As we press on with our economic transformation, jobs will continue to evolve. The Government’s approach is to invest heavily in skills development of the local workforce to enhance every Singaporean’s long-term employability.
We also keep the labour market tight through our foreign workforce policies to ensure that businesses can access the talent that they need, but at the same time invest in training local workers.
We support Singaporeans through the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme and Career Conversion Programme which cover both upskilling and employment facilitation for job seekers.
The Career Conversion Programme has been enhanced to support those in more senior positions. The recently announced SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme will provide greater support for mature workers aged 40 and above to reskill and upskill to improve their job prospects.
For Mr Yip, SkillsFuture Singapore has reached out to him and the training provider to address the issues raised.
Besides skills upgrading, we also lean forward to assist those who are retrenched. The Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation works with companies to provide retrenched workers with immediate assistance, such as career matching services by Workforce Singapore (WSG) and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i).
The Ministry of Manpower is developing a scheme to provide temporary financial support for involuntarily unemployed Singaporeans as they look for a new job. More information will be announced later this year.
Overall, results of our efforts have been encouraging. In September 2023, the resident unemployment rate was stable and low at 2.8 per cent, and the resident long-term unemployment rate remained low at 0.7 per cent.
Everyone has a part to play in making workplaces inclusive. We agree with Mr Cheng and Ms Ho that we need to collectively tackle ageism, even though we have a relatively high labour force participation rate for seniors among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.
The upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation will strengthen protection against age discrimination in the workplace.
But mindset change cannot be legislated. With an increasingly ageing workforce, we must recognise the invaluable contributions that senior workers can make and embrace them as an important part of our workforce.
Rachel Lam
Director, Workforce Strategy and Policy Department
Ministry of Manpower
Leong Wei Jian
Director, SkillsFuture Division
Ministry of Education
