Desmond Choo: Singaporeans must focus on upskilling to stay relevant in today’s economy

Singapore must focus on upskilling resident workers to ensure they remain relevant and adaptable in a changing economy, said NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Desmond Choo.

He emphasised this point in response to the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM) Labour Market Advanced Release for the second quarter (2Q) of 2024, which was issued on 31 July 2024.

Mr Choo was concerned that the low resident unemployment rate, coupled with the non-resident employment growth making up the total employment growth, indicated that the resident workforce might be reaching its structural limits.

“The synergy between industries, workers, and policymakers is essential to sustain this momentum,” he wrote in a Facebook post on the same day.

Mr Choo, who is also the director of NTUC’s policy division, pointed out that the labour market remained tight as indicated by the rise in resident employment.

He also observed “an upturn in manufacturing employment, which underscores the tentative recovery in the sector.”

The report found that work permit holders took up more non-executive-and-technician roles in construction and manufacturing, which are typically rejected by residents.

The Government also urges workers to upskill

The Government also appealed to workers to continue upskilling and be open to new opportunities.

Workers can use the CareersFinder feature on Workforce Singapore’s (WSG) MyCareersFuture job portal to explore career options and achieve their goals.

Mid-career workers can consider leveraging the Career Conversion Programme to receive 90 per cent salary support to undergo training to take on new job roles. They can take advantage of the higher salary support caps of $7,500 for mature or long-term unemployed workers or $5,000 for other workers.

Workers will be glad to know that all job roles are now considered, not just those in at-risk positions.

Mature workers can also consider WSG’s Mid-Career Pathways Programme for attachment opportunities, which offers a training allowance of up to $3,800 per month.

Meanwhile, jobseekers can turn to WSG and NTUC’s e2i’s (Employment and Employability Institute) career matching services to secure new jobs.

Jobseekers can also look out for e2i’s various job fairs and recruitment events. The Labour Movement Annual 2024 report stated that e2i organised around 250 such events in 2023, successfully placing over 23,000 individuals in jobs.

Labour Market Advanced Release 2Q 2024

The report indicated that total employment growth, excluding migrant domestic workers, surpassed that of the first quarter.

Total employment for residents and non-residents rose by 11,300, almost 2.5 times more than the 4,700 in the previous quarter.

This bodes well for resident jobseekers and suggests continued demand for labour in Singapore.

• Resident employment rate

While there was growth in the resident employment rate, it was slightly lower than in the previous quarter, reflecting the contraction of seasonal retail workers temporarily hired in the fourth quarter of every year to manage the year-end festive peak period.

MOM attributed the uptick to growth sectors, such as financial services, health and social services, information and communications, and professional services.

• Non-resident employment rate

Meanwhile, the non-resident employment increase accounted for all the total employment growth in 2Q 2024, following a decline in the previous quarter.

There was also a surge in higher-skilled non-resident work-pass applications amid declining S Pass and Employment Pass applications.

• Retrenchments and unemployment

The number of retrenchments remained largely the same as in the previous quarter, increasing slightly to 3,100 from 3,030. Business reorganisation and restructuring remained the key reason for layoffs.

There was also a slight dip in unemployment rates from 2.1 to 2.0 per cent affecting residents and citizens alike.

Overall, with MOM’s positive polls on hiring and wage expectations remaining unchanged in the third quarter of 2024, workers can expect employment and wages to continue growing in tandem with the anticipated economic growth.

MOM had earlier indicated that nearly one in two employers intend to hire in the next three months, with 28.6 per cent planning salary increases.

More details of the labour market situation in 2Q 2024 will be provided in mid-September with the release of the Labour Market Report Second Quarter 2024.