Prepare workers for new roles before retrenching: Josephine Teo
Ministry of Manpower to work with economic agencies, companies to retrain workers before they are retrenched
In an ideal world envisaged by Mrs Josephine Teo, workers will be well poised to take on new roles in the same company, even as their old ones are being phased out.
To strive to get there, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will work more closely with economic agencies and companies to retrain workers for emerging roles being created in their companies before they are retrenched.
In her first media interview since being appointed Manpower Minister on May 1, Mrs Teo said she has asked for more Professional Conversion Programmes (PCP) to be geared towards such redeployment.
Currently, the government-funded PCP scheme, which helps workers get the necessary skills training for various growth industries, caters more to jobseekers who are already out of work.
It is administered by Workforce Singapore (WSG).
Last year, about 3,800 professionals, managers, executives and technicians moved into new occupations or sectors through the PCPs.
Shifting the focus of PCPs to redeployment "would work better not just from the individual standpoint but also help the companies meet emerging manpower needs", said Mrs Teo.
SAVE TIME
She noted that companies will save time on having to hire new people, if they can retrain their existing staff to switch roles.
To identify the new jobs, the MOM will work more closely with agencies such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Economic Development Board to talk to companies and find out their transformation plans.
The move is in line with her top priority - to ensure Singaporeans who want to work have a job.
While the labour market has improved compared to last year, said Mrs Teo, jobs and skills mismatches are bound to become more common, with restructuring picking up pace.
Last year, 25,000 jobseekers were helped under WSG's Adapt and Grow initiative which includes the PCPs - 20 per cent more than in 2016.
Of this, almost half - 40 per cent - involved "mismatches", which required further intervention such as training to close a skills gap. The remaining needed only career matching services.
The MOM has identified the built environment sector as one of six industries that hold the promise of growth, in which it will focus efforts on retraining workers and matching people to jobs. Minister of State for Manpower Zaqy Mohamad will oversee efforts in this area.
The other five industries, chosen last year, are healthcare, infocomm and media, wholesale trade, professional services, and financial services.
Work group on older workers to meet this week
With Singaporeans living longer and standards of living improving, there is a need to relook the issue of whether they have enough to retire on, said Manpower Minister Josephine Teo.
A work group set out to address this and other issues faced by older workers will meet for the first time this week.
At an interview on Thursday last week, Mrs Teo said one in two Singaporeans aged 65 today is expected to live beyond 85, and one in three will live beyond 90. This means people will spend longer in retirement and so will need to save more during their working years.
Mrs Teo added that she has asked the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers to look into whether changes are needed on the retirement age of 62 and re-employment age of up to 67, and if so, when they should be made. It will also relook the impact of Central Provident Fund contribution rates on retirement adequacy of older workers.
She added that she hoped the group would be able to "shed some light on their initial thoughts" by the time Parliament debates the budgets of each ministry during the Committee of Supply debates next year.
Mrs Teo, labour chief Ng Chee Meng and Singapore National Employers Federation's (SNEF) Dr Robert Yap are advisers to the group, which includes members from the ministries of Manpower, Education and Health, as well as the National Trades Union Congress and SNEF.
Mrs Teo also gave an update on the review of the Employment Act announced in January.
She said her ministry is planning for the proposed changes to be introduced in Parliament for debate before the end of the year. "We are making good progress, I think we're on schedule to get it passed before the end of the year," she added.
Currently, professionals, managers and executives earning more than $4,500 a month are not covered under the Act, but with the review, they may be accorded the same basic protections like receiving their salary on time. - THAM YUEN-C
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