Tan See Leng
Singapore
“We are aware of the Singapore Workplace Report 2026, produced by the Singapore Institute of Directors and Gallup, and we are studying its findings.”
“The Taskforce for Responsible Retrenchment and Employment Facilitation (Taskforce) actively reaches out to all retrenched local employees. In 2025, 77% of Mandatory Retrenchment Notifications (MRNs) were submitted at least seven days ahead of the employee's last working day and 73% of MRNs were submitted at least two weeks ahead.”
“From 2022 to 2025, vacancy rates for technical maintenance roles in the real estate services sector, which includes facilities management, have been lower than the overall job vacancy rate, except in 2025 (see Table 1).”
“The Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) works with sector agencies to determine the courses which are required by the respective industries. The SWDA currently funds more than 100 courses, spanning a wide range of mental health-related fields.”
“In the first quarter of 2026, the profile of retrenched residents aged 50 to 59 was broadly similar to the profile of all retrenched residents, predominantly comprising professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) and were mainly from wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, financial and insurance services and profession…”
“In 2025, around 4,200 resident professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) aged 45 to 59 were retrenched, higher than 3,200 in 2024 and 3,500 in 2023. Their six-month re-entry rate remained stable at 48.5% in 2025, compared with 48.9% in 2024 and 50.1% in 2023.”
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“We will leverage SNEF’s business advisors and NTUC's CTCs to help businesses adopt AI in ways that drive growth and enhance job roles, prioritising technologies that augment human capabilities and not replace them. We will harness our tripartite partners' strong links with workers, unions and employers to drive broad-based AI training across sectors and career stages, so that no worker is left behind as AI reshapes our journey. In those technologies or businesses that have to undergo restructuring, we will work with the businesses to help pivot, upskill and reskill the workers. We will also pay special attention to students and younger workers who are anxious about AI's impact on entry-level jobs. The IHLs continue to enhance their curriculum to keep pace with AI advancements. All IHLs will offer selected AI-related courses for their alumni at a significant discount for a year, starting in the second half of this year. Graduates entering the workforce can also tap on MOE's SkillsFuture Work-Study Programmes, which combine classroom training with on-the-job training at companies to build both the skills and experience that employers value. Assoc Prof Jamus Lim called for the expansion of youth apprenticeship pathways. We agree. Structured learning must be complemented with real workplace experience. We will continue to work with sector leads, like the Monetary Authority of Singapore and IMDA to support apprenticeships in high growth sectors, learning from our experience from programmes, like GRIT, we stand ready to refine and to expand these programmes, if necessary. Mr Speaker, Sir, let me conclude. Singapore has weathered deep disruptions before, from the Asia Financial Crisis to SARS, to COVID-19.”
“Our AI-enabled growth must be anchored in fairness, resilience and shared opportunity and this is not something that would happen naturally. Mr Vikram Nair asked what safeguards we have to ensure that workers are treated fairly as AI adoption increases. The Government has developed frameworks, such as Model AI Governance Framework for Agentic AI and AI Verify to establish clear responsibilities for actors across the AI supply chain, giving clarity to AI developers and users on responsible practices, including HR technology solution providers. And Mr Saktiandi Supaat rightly pointed out that AI adoption is uneven at varying speeds across sectors, worker segments and businesses of different sizes. Without deliberate effort, the gains from AI could flow to some while others are left behind. In China, the courts have ruled that it is illegal to replace employees with AI purely to cut costs. Senior Minister of State Desmond Tan and Mr Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari spoke about the work NTUC has done in recent years to equip workers with AI-related skills and supporting workforce transformation. These are exactly the kind of capabilities we should draw on to ensure that more workers and businesses know what support is available and that AI adoption can accelerate across the economy. And this is why we supported wholeheartedly NTUC's proposal to form the Tripartite Jobs Council. The Tripartite Jobs Council will take a coordinated tripartite approach to mobilise enterprises and workers towards fair and resilient growth in an AI era. As Assoc Prof Terence Ho noted, AI must augment workers, not replace them.”
“Workforce Singapore compliments the Jobseeker Support Scheme with hands on wraparound support to improve the quality of their job search. And we are cognisant of the fact that prolonged unemployment can harm a worker's longer-term career prospects and that is why the financial support is time bound. It tapers downwards because we believe that the first two to three months when the worker is involuntarily unemployed is when the impact is most felt. So, what we do is we try to raise the level in the initial part to encourage workers, to provide that lift and when it tapers downward, we hope that the workers will be able to find the right jobs for them. But we hear calls. Mr Ng Chee Meng and Mr Patrick Tay proposed to raise the JS scheme income threshold to better support higher-income individuals. We will look at how the scheme can be improved and we will study this carefully. We also hear Mr Ng Chee Meng's call for earlier notification of retrenchments to the Government, before employees' last working day, and Mr Mark Lee's reflection of businesses' concerns on this. We want to strike the right balance. Tripartite partners are already discussing shortening the retrenchment notification duration under the ongoing Employment Act review. We, on our part, would like to see notification to the Government happening before or by the last day of work of the affected workers as far as possible, because then this would also enable a timelier employment facilitation support to workers. To Mr Kenneth Tiong's suggestion on strengthening protections for displaced workers, the Employment Act already provides broad-based protections by establishing procedural safeguards, like notice periods and dispute resolution avenues. This applies to all types of displacements, not just due to AI.”
“I think all of us should appreciate the importance of supporting enterprise transformation, not as a blanket, boiling the ocean strategy, but differentiated, precise and targeted sector-by-sector, company-by-company supporting their enterprise transformation. Even though it is more tedious, I believe it is also in the long run, more sustainable. Lastly, we have strengthened transition support for workers who are displaced, so that they can bounce back stronger. The Government cannot protect every job but we will certainly do our best to support and protect every worker because every worker matters. So, with AI transition, work processes will reorganise and change, jobs will also change and some jobs may get replaced. Going through transitions can be challenging. But I assure all of our workers that you will not walk alone. We have recognised for some time that we must strengthen our support mechanisms as the pace of change accelerates. This is why we launched the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme (JSS) last year. This is as part of our refreshed social compact under Forward Singapore. The JSS provides temporary financial relief and job search support to involuntarily unemployed individuals. It has made a difference for many Singaporeans, helping them to regain their footing and to return to work with confidence. Perhaps Mr Andre Low may have some misperception about the scheme. It is not a redundancy insurance because it does not just merely provide a cash payout for displacement. It is a support for re-employment. The JSS supports workers in their re-employment journey. It provides a degree of financial support for the lower- and middle-income precisely so that they do not rush into the first available job that may not be a good fit.”
“Chambers play a particularly important role in connecting firms with the right expertise and resources. That is why we have appointed the Singapore Business Federation and SNEF as anchor programme partners for the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package so that integrated workforce transformation support can be brought directly to firms, and we can help to accelerate AI adoption across sectors. We are also supporting the Labour Movement's efforts to transform businesses and workers. The Government topped up the NTUC CTC Grant by around $200 million in 2025 and extended the grant to 2028. More recently, we worked with NTUC to expand the grant to better support Queen Bee companies to drive cluster-level transformation. Notwithstanding the fact that I stepped out for a short while to answer a call, I am heartened to hear Mr Ng Chee Meng's sharing of how CTC has helped many businesses transform, while improving the lives of workers. I particularly note his exhortation and his suggestion to further expand the CTC initiative and share his ambition to elevate the CTCs to a tripartite level. We look forward to working with tripartite partners to jointly explore ways to make this a reality. There are calls for us to go beyond project level interventions, to make a more structural shift in financial incentives for companies to invest in workers. Structural mechanisms, the likes of what Mr Andre Low called for, already exists. Grants, like the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit, create direct financial incentives for companies to invest in the capabilities of their workers. We will continue to review and enhance such support as part of the work of the SWDA.”
“By tying subsidies to training, we are better able to target those who are more serious about levelling up the use of AI and we help them to make optimal and responsible use of such powerful tools. As Assoc Prof Terence Ho and Mr Alex Yeo shared about earlier on, we hope Singaporeans will tap on the resources available and be proactive in their learning journey. As Minister of State Jasmin Lau shared, IMDA will also be expanding the TechSkills Accelerator programme to develop AI-bilingual workers, starting with accountancy, legal and HR professionals. [Please refer to "Clarification by Minister for Manpower", Official Report, 6 May 2026, Vol 96, Issue 30, Correction By Written Statement section.] More details will be shared in due course. Third, to support businesses, I have also emphasised time and again that we have set aside over $400 million for the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. I do not want to go too much into it because I believe I have already covered in most of my Second Reading speech yesterday. But Mr Yip asked whether the grants could be tied to worker outcomes conditions. Today, businesses tapping on the Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign+), are required to support workforce outcomes, such as wage growth and retention as part of their transformation plan. Later this year, eligible businesses will also receive $10,000 under the redesigned SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit and this can be used to offset out-of-pocket costs for eligible workforce transformation programmes, including those under the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. We agree with Mr Mark Lee that trade associations and Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package addresses these issues while ensuring that the workforce is brought along on the journey.”
“We agree with Mr Ng Chee Meng that the intelligence that we have in gleaning and harvesting all the data in the SWDA, this intelligence must continue to be built on a foundation of trust, and we look forward to working closely with our tripartite partners to ensure that our assessment of the labour market continues to be grounded and also current. This will be an important part of how we stay ahead of disruption and support workers driven by AI changes. This includes platform workers facing the deployment of AVs, as Ms Yeo Wan Ling highlighted. MOM and SWDA, they are already working closely with the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and tripartite partners to strengthen transition pathways for these drivers, ahead of actual AV deployment. I want to add that actually, as a proxy, it is SWDA. But actually, it is SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore working closely with MOT currently. Second, we will do more to improve Singaporeans' AI literacy. Today, there are over 1,600 AI-related courses on the MySkillsFuture website. We will introduce diagnostic tools for individuals to assess their current level of AI readiness and find courses which suit their needs, deliver proven training outcomes that are aligned with employer demand. From the second half of this year, Singaporeans who enrol in the selected SkillsFuture AI courses will receive six months of free access to premium AI tools. This will help them to apply classroom learning to their daily lives and work. Mr Kenneth Tiong suggested to make this access universal, without condition. That was something that the Government considered carefully. But not all Singaporeans require frontier agent-grade tools. For many, free versions are good enough and widely available.”
“And that is why we constantly prepare ourselves. We have the goal to enable more businesses to succeed. At the same time, where their workers use AI to do better jobs, rather than be replaced by AI. Where their work becomes more fulfilling, more meaningful, not less. And where the benefits of AI are shared between the businesses themselves and the workforce. For workers seeing a more flexible pace of work, AI can enable new forms of flexible work and fractional work done by small teams or even "solopreneurs". Beyond flexibility, AI can also reshape who participates in our workforce, including seniors, as Ms Poh Li San spoke about. And we will explore how to scale flexible work models through the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment. Dr Hamid Razak spoke about the hesitation and anxieties he heard from the ground, especially among older PMEs who wonder if their skills still have a place. And Mr Yip Hon Weng also asked for businesses to be better supported. Let me share what Government is doing to prepare individuals and businesses for this transition. First, we are reforming our workforce and skills support system to deliver more timely and effective support. As I shared after a five-hour debate yesterday on the Second Reading of the Skills and Workforce Development Agency Bill, this formation of SWDA will bring the skills and employment facilitation capabilities of SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore under one roof, making it more seamless, more integrated for individuals and employers to obtain the appropriate support.”
“The second demands more from the Government, more from employers and also more from workers, but it treats all of our fellow Singaporeans as capable adults, with futures worth investing in, not as a population to be managed through transfers. And Members of the House, I believe the second vision is possible, because as AI transforms how we work, some jobs will evolve. Some jobs may disappear, but if we are able to get everyone on the same ship moving together, I believe we will prevail. And as Mr Mark Lee and Ms Yeo Wan Ling said, it also creates new opportunities for businesses and workers. Our duty and our focus will be to help all of our workers and our businesses to seize them. So, we should never build the case in this debate on angst and on apprehension. Our approach is not to fear the future, but let us forge the future ourselves, because that is the true Singapore spirit. We have seen through each wave of technology and economic restructuring with this very spirit, but we are not complacent. MOM is closely monitoring AI's impact on our workforce. Our inaugural survey of the firms shows that AI is currently augmenting, rather than replacing labour in Singapore. Only about three in 10 firms have adopted AI currently, and amongst the firms that have adopted AI, only a small minority, about 6%, reported reduced headcount. More commonly, firms are redesigning jobs, they are creating new AI-related roles, indicating that AI is changing how work is done, how they are being re-organised, rather than reducing jobs. And seven in 10 firms using AI are already seeing productivity gains. However, as I have said, we should never be complacent. We must be prepared that as AI adoption gains pace, momentum and scale, the impact on jobs would be greater.”
“Both Mr Giam and Mr Low's proposals rest on a more pessimistic premise, that Singaporeans are essentially passive passengers in the AI transition, without agency to seize the opportunities and can only rely on support for a journey they cannot steer. I cannot hold on and I will not hold on to such a premise. Both your proposals are not empowerment. To me, it is a settlement. Resigned to the fact that mass displacement is inevitable and that the best we can do is soften the blow. We should have more confidence in the tenacity and the adaptability of our fellow Singaporeans. Redistribution alone is insufficient if workers are excluded from the economy. Singapore's tradition has been to invest in people rather than to compensate them for the circumstances; and that is our true policy tradition, rather than what the Member, Mr Low, had described. The better use of any surplus generated by AI adoption is to fund accessible and effective upskilling that amplifies Singaporeans' value. And to that end, the Government has spent over $10 billion over the last five years on local workforce initiatives. The choice before us, Members of the House, is between two very different visions. One says you get a handout and then, with that, a small share of the pie that the machines produce. Whereas, on the other hand, we feel that you deserve to grow the pie with the machines and share in our economic prosperity through good jobs and good wages. The first vision initially may seem generous, but ultimately, caps and diminishes your broader end objectives.”
“As a result, while we will walk into uncharted waters into an uncertain future, we can do so with some confidence and we are not totally unprepared. Various Members have raised concerns over the impact of AI on job displacement and many have also put forward thoughtful suggestions on how we can better support workers and businesses through this transition. We hear your concerns and we welcome the suggestions raised by Members on both sides of the House. There is, in fact, broad agreement across this House on what we are trying to achieve, which is inclusive growth for all in this AI transition. Where we may differ, is in how we get there. Our approach has always been to invest in our people, keep our workers economically valuable and shape how the gains from AI are created and shared. Rather than dwell on fears, on apprehension, we want to be able to inspire and motivate our workforce to continue to grow. Mr Gerald Giam and Mr Andre Low highlighted structural threats to inclusive growth. I appreciate the seriousness with which they have engaged on this issue. We recognise the conundrums. The question is: where and how to intervene? Mr Giam proposed a National AI Equity Fund to pay every Singapore Citizen $500 funded by the companies that benefit from AI. Mr Low similarly proposed a payout for those displaced through redundancy insurance. I recognise the need to strengthen our systems to ensure that no one falls through the gap in this transition. And I agree that the broad sharing of productivity gains does not happen automatically, because markets alone will not guarantee good social outcomes. Let me be clear. The Government has always known this and has always been acting on it.”
“It could not offer empathy, it could not empathise, it could not understand nuance, nor could it generate policy responses that capture the essence of what workers are really experiencing. And this is what no algorithm can replace. [Mr Speaker in the Chair] The Motion before us makes four commitments. The Government and MOM take each one seriously – all of them as foundations to build on and to go beyond. Mr Ng Chee Meng spoke about the transformative impact of AI on our workforce. The Government has long recognised AI's potential. Our current efforts build on a strong foundation of work already done in this space. We formed our first National AI Strategy in 2019, well before the introduction of ChatGPT and we embarked on national AI projects in areas such as education, healthcare, logistics, security and municipal services. When large language models exploded onto the scene in late 2022, making AI accessible and general-purpose, we refreshed our strategies with the National AI Strategy 2.0 in 2023 and developed plans to invest over $1 billion in AI compute capabilities, talent and industry development. And this included establishing AI Centres of Excellence and growing the number of AI practitioners. As AI picked up speed and interacted with major shifts in our external environment, we convened the Economic Strategy Review last year to sharpen our response. And more recently at Budget this year, we formed the National AI Council chaired by our Prime Minister to drive the practical transformation of our economy using AI. At every step, we have acted proactively with our tripartite partners to drive concrete action and transformation across the sectors.”
“Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me begin by acknowledging what many Singaporeans are feeling right now – uncertainties, anxieties, a sense that the ground is shifting beneath their feet; the world feeling less predictable than what it used to be, with trade tensions, fragility in supply chains, wars in the Middle East and the sharp rise in oil prices. Closer to home, Members of this House have spoken about something that weighs on the minds of all of our fellow Singaporeans: the anxiety that AI may erode our skills, our experience built up over years or even take over our jobs. This anxiety has been sharpened by news of large tech firms announcing lay-offs attributed to AI adoption. These are legitimate concerns and we take it seriously. And a change of this magnitude is indeed unsettling. But AI can and will create opportunities that we cannot yet fully imagine. Of course, it will, at the same time, also bring about disruptions that we cannot fully foresee. But there are, at the same time, early signs that gives us reason for cautious optimism. Recent global surveys show that two in three companies that made earlier AI-driven cuts are already rehiring. Why is that so? Because they found that AI could handle the predictable and the routine, but customers still wanted human judgement, empathy and the genuine connection that AI could not provide. Let me offer a small illustration of my own. In the preparation for my speech today, my team used AI to help refine the work to me. It surfaced useful references, including our MOM's newly released study showing only about 6% of firms in Singapore have reduced headcount due to AI adoption. But one thing it could not appreciate was the impact and the anxiety that many, many workers feel.”
“About 20% of active Central Provident Fund (CPF) members benefitted from higher CPF contributions, from themselves as well as their employers, when the CPF Ordinary Wage ceiling was raised from $6,000 in 2023 to $8,000 in 2026.”
“The Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM) supports employees with the enforcement of their salary claims agreed under a Settlement Agreement or established through Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT) orders. An employee who does not receive payment by the due date can approach TADM, which will engage the employer on the payment obligation. Upon TADM's intervention, most employers would comply with the agreements and Court orders. If the employers remain recalcitrant, TADM can advise the employee on the application process to the Courts to enforce the Court order. The Ministry of Law had earlier announced that a new Bill will be introduced later this year on reforms to streamline the enforcement of civil judgments, including orders by the ECT. More details will be announced by the Ministry of Law in due course.”
“The requested figures are in the appended table.”
“The Central Provident Fund (CPF) members who wish to reinvest their CPF Investment Scheme-Ordinary Account (CPFIS-OA) sale proceeds, including any capital gains, from their CPF Investment Account can already do so within two months of sale without being subject to the $20,000 OA balance threshold. The additional CPFIS-OA investment limits on stock and gold due to their inherently riskier nature, will nonetheless continue to apply.”
“Under the Employment of Foreign Manpower (Work Passes) Regulations, employers of migrant workers cannot offset overtime payment from fixed monthly allowances specified in the employment contract. Migrant workers who encounter such practices should inform the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). MOM will engage the companies concerned and, if necessary, take enforcement actions, including issuing warnings and imposing fines. So far, the number of such complaints has been small. Migrant workers who face a shortfall in overtime payment should file a claim with the Tripartite Alliance for Dispute Management (TADM). Those with valid salary claims, including shortfall in overtime pay, can remain in Singapore to seek alternative employment until their claims are resolved at TADM or at adjudication at the Employment Claims Tribunals (ECT). For those who prefer to return to their home countries, remote mediation by TADM and adjudication by the ECT can be arranged. Migrant workers can also approach the Migrant Workers' Centre for legal assistance.”
“The Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board (CPFB) regularly publishes data on the CPF Investment Scheme (CPFIS) participation and CPFIS-Ordinary Account performance. The data requested by the Member can be found on CPFB's website.1”
“The Member may refer to the combined oral reply delivered on 5 May 2026. [Please refer to "Survey Finding of Workers Being Overqualified for Their Roles and Implications on Career and Wage Progression, and Underemployment", Official Report, 5 May 2026, Vol 96, Issue 29, Oral Answers to Questions section.]”
“The age threshold to qualify for the Migrant Domestic Worker (MDW) levy concession for seniors was increased from 65 to 67 in 2019 in light of the increasing life expectancy and improving health of Singaporeans. Seniors below 67 years old who require assistance with at least one activity of daily living (ADL) continue to qualify for the MDW levy concession for Persons with Disability, in view of their caregiving needs. ADLs include washing, dressing, toileting, feeding and walking or moving around. We have no plans to lower the age threshold and will continue to monitor and review the levy concession eligibility to support households with genuine caregiving needs in a targeted manner.”
“In the past three years, the number of resident entrants into the Food and Beverage Services sector was 16,100 in 2023, 14,700 in 2024, and 14,000 in 2025. These entrants were broadly evenly distributed between full-time and part-time roles. The breakdown is shown in Table 1.”
“Expenses for physiotherapy and occupational therapy services are claimable under the Work Injury Compensation Act when they are prescribed and billed in a hospital or by a registered medical practitioner in a private clinic. Services directly billed by therapists in private clinics are not claimable. This ensures appropriate medical oversight of the worker's treatment plan and avoids excessive escalation of healthcare and work injury insurance costs.”
“More than 20 resident workers have benefited or are expected to benefit from projects approved through the Capability Transfer Programme in 2024 and 2025, bringing the total number of residents supported to date to more than 1,000. The companies that received funding support are from the precision engineering and environmental services sectors.”
“In 2025, Singapore's overall workplace safety and health performance improved to record-low fatal and major injury rates of 0.96 and 15.7 per 100,000 workers respectively. Construction, manufacturing, and transport and storage contributed to more than half of workplace fatal and major injuries in 2025. This is not surprising, since these sectors involve work activities that are inherently of higher risks, such as working-at-height and operation of machinery and vehicles. Nevertheless, all three sectors have seen steady improvement over the years. In addition to conducting regular inspections in these sectors, the Ministry of Manpower has introduced targeted measures to strengthen deterrence. For example, since 2024, the installation of video surveillance systems has been mandatory at construction sites with contract values of $5 million or more. In 2025, we also tightened the licensing conditions for approved scaffold contractors (ASCs). ASCs that accumulate five or more composition fines for contraventions related to scaffold work or working-at-height will have their license suspended for three months. Harsher penalties are already imposed for repeated breaches. For a repeated conviction for causing death, the maximum fine is doubled to $400,000 for errant individuals, over and above any imprisonment and $1 million for corporate entities. In addition, companies in the construction and manufacturing sectors are issued demerit points for safety breaches. Accumulation of demerit points may lead to debarment from hiring migrant workers and disqualification from participating in tenders for public sector construction projects.”
“Employees under a contract of service, including those on fixed-term contracts, are protected under employment legislation, such as the Employment Act, the Central Provident Fund Act and Work Injury Compensation Act. However, fixed-term contract workers could be disadvantaged in terms of benefits, such as annual and medical leave, which revert to minimum levels upon contract renewals. This is why the tripartite partners had issued the Tripartite Advisory on the Employment of Term Contract Employees, which sets out good employment practices for employers when engaging employees on term contracts. Employers who adopt progressive practices on the employment of term contract employees are also recognised via a Tripartite Standard. The tripartite partners will continue to review our good practices concerning fixed-term contracts, including as part of the on-going review of the Employment Act, to safeguard our workers' interests while providing adequate flexibility for our businesses.”
“Re-entry durations have remained broadly stable. On average, retrenched residents took about 2.6 months to find new jobs in 2025, slightly longer than 2.5 months in 2024.”
“From June 2025 to March 2026, the Ministry of Manpower received around 6,100 Mandatory Retrenchment Notification submissions. Of these, 1,170 were submitted later than the requisite period of five working days after affected employees were notified. This represents a compliance rate of about 80%, which is an improvement from the 2022 to 2025 average of about 70%.”
“Based on the latest available comparable data for 2023 and 2024, the median wage among fresh graduates in Singapore was higher than most major East Asian economies. When adjusted for purchasing power, Singapore's median wage among fresh graduates was higher than China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, but slightly lower than Hong Kong. The observed wage differences, after adjusting for purchasing power, reflect differences in economic structure and the types of activities undertaken across economies. Singapore's economy is more akin to Hong Kong's, with a greater concentration in high value-added industries and services, and deeper integration into global supply chains. Singapore also hosts a strong base of multinational corporations and regional headquarters, which play an important role in job creation. These firms compete internationally for talent and offer competitive wages to candidates who possess the skills and qualifications that the jobs demand. To sustain wage growth for our fresh graduates, we must continue to grow good jobs in Singapore by attracting investments, raising productivity and supporting growth sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, as well as the green and digital economy. At the same time, we will continue to equip our fresh graduates, in schools and after entering the workforce, with industry-relevant skills that supports sustainable wage growth.”
“We work closely with tripartite partners, such as the Food, Drinks and Allied Workers Union, to reskill workers facing displacement and redeploy them to new jobs. The Government has various programmes to help workers in food manufacturing re-skill into new growth roles either in the same company or another company. These include Career Conversion Programmes, the Mid-Career Pathways Programme and the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme. These various programmes cater to different profiles of workers, ranging from those who are ready to enter a new job to those who need additional training to support their transition.”
“The Progressive Wage Model (PWM) for the food services sector is not expected to have a long-term adverse impact on retrenchments in the sector. Since the introduction of the PWM for the sector in 2023, the number of workers covered under the Food Services PWM increased from 49,000 in 2023 to 53,000 in 2025. While there are retrenchments in the sector, these can be due to many factors, including the overall economic situation, rising energy costs and food ingredient prices, enterprise restructuring and market competition. The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) is closely monitoring the situation and will work with other agencies to consider appropriate support if necessary. To the Member’s second question, all companies with 10 or more employees are required to submit a Mandatory Retrenchment Notification (MRN) to MOM within five working days of informing any employee of their retrenchment. This often occurs before their last working day, allowing the provision of employment facilitation support before the employee leaves the company. The Tripartite Partners are currently discussing the reduction of MRN notice period. The outcome of the discussions will be released when ready.”
“The Ministry of Manpower has observed only a slight increase in fixed-term contracts of less than one year among resident employees from 1.6% in 2024 to 1.7% in 2025. This was largely driven by sectors, such as accommodation and food services, where short-term and seasonal hiring is common. Over the past decade, the share of such contracts has remained low and on a general downward trend, with permanent employment continuing to account for over nine in 10 resident employees. Taken together, the data do not point to a broad shift towards "just-in-time" hiring that would undermine workers' longer-term employment outcomes.”
“The Government is actively monitoring trends in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption. Different countries have adopted different approaches to regulate the use of AI tools in employment. Some jurisdictions, such as the European Union and the United States, have implemented legislation, while others, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, have published non-binding guidelines. However, the effectiveness of these measures and their impact on businesses and workers are not clear. Hence, under the overarching ambit of the National AI Council and together with tripartite partners, we are studying the use of AI tools by businesses and its impact on employment, before deciding the most appropriate approach for Singapore. We aim to create an enabling environment for AI tools to be deployed in a responsible manner, while allowing businesses and workers to benefit from the efficiencies that AI can bring. In this regard, employers must comply with the fair and merit-based employment practices in the Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) and the upcoming Workplace Fairness Act (WFA) in the deployment of AI tools.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has been tracking the employment stability of migrant domestic workers (MDWs) based on the first six months of employment, which provides an indicator of a match between the employer and MDW. The average retention rate of MDWs who have stayed with the same employer for at least six months has been stable at around 64% for the last five years. Early cessations of MDW contracts are typically due to mismatches in expectations of the job scope and working conditions, and communication barriers between employers and MDWs. To address these mismatches, employment agencies, the Centre for Domestic Employees (CDE) and various voluntary welfare organisations provide important mediating support between the employer and MDW. CDE conducts two interviews for first-time MDWs during the first year of their employment, to help them settle into their new working and living environments. To help MDWs better communicate with their employers, non-profit organisations, such as the Archdiocesan Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Brahm Centre and AIDHA offer basic language training for MDWs in English and Mandarin. MOM has no plans at present to introduce new regulatory measures for MDW employment. We will continue to monitor the trend of early cessations of MDW employment contracts and review our measures if necessary.”
“The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) recognises the importance of rest for migrant domestic workers (MDWs) and has progressively strengthened safeguards over the years. Since 2023, we have mandated that MDWs must be given at least one rest day a month that cannot be compensated away. The vast majority of employers are in compliance with the mandatory rest day policy. Out of the 300,000 MDWs in Singapore, MOM has taken enforcement action against just about 90 employers each year for failing to comply with the monthly rest day requirement. The majority of employers provide more than one rest day a month for their MDWs. In terms of well-being, 99% of MDWs reported being satisfied with their level of emotional support in MOM's last survey in 2021, an increase from 93% in 2015. MOM has no plans at present to introduce further changes to the rest day policy. We will continue to monitor rest day compliance and refine our policy measures where necessary.”
“Core to the success of this entire exercise requires mindset change – and I did make that a very clear point when I first started my speech. We have, over the past few years, rolled out many initiatives, including Career Health SG. The case we exhort, we encourage all of our Singapore residents to do is to really take an interest in their own career health, going into their own Career Health to update their own training and look at what are the adjacencies in terms of the skills training that will be required to keep up with the latest development in the industry and economic development. When they continue to keep up, our portal will also be able to push courses to them, because we would have triangulated from trade associations and chambers, from the employers, from industry as to how the industry is moving, in what directions they are moving. Regardless of what we do, some sectors will face a sunset phase. This happens in all businesses. And for them, this would then allow them to decide whether they want to upgrade themselves in a different industry, allow them to pivot across. As long as they go on that Career Health, going on to CareersFinder, SWDA will work with them every step of the way. 8.27 pm”
“I have provided just now in my round-up speech about the impact of the career conversion programmes, which is organised by WSG, and I did not add NTUC Company Training Committees' success rates as well. I do not have it with me. The Secretary-General will be able to provide that. But suffice to say, to further add on to your other colleague, Mr Giam's earlier point, the SWDA's integrated intelligence function will provide forward-looking signals on what roles and what skillsets are in demand, so then this will allow students and even their families in the IHLs to make more informed decisions. SWDA will also make the jobs and the skills intelligence accessible through its digital platform, through the multiple career advisory touchpoints. And guidance is available at the point of decision making, not only after they have entered a particular job itself. So, with that, I believe that that matching should be even more pervasive, and it will reach out to a wider segment of the population. On top of that, we are not just focusing on the workforce. We are also focusing on the employers. I have also announced at Budget this year, we are enhancing the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package and the grants will tie the companies to specific deliverables with regard to job redesign. The details will be further shared once SWDA comes into existence in July. I hope that gives the Member that reassurance.”
“Today, SWDA will leverage on MOM's labour data. The different engines that we have, the different portals that we have within the umbrella of the Government, provide significant opportunities for AI-powered recommendations. First and foremost, on the jobs and skills that is needed and this will help users to better plan for the upskilling and career needs. NTUC has its own AI career coach, which, just now, one of the labour Members of Parliament shared. On top of that, the Career and Skills Passports with the skills that have been recorded can be more precisely mapped to the different sectoral skills framework to allow for a more differentiated, a more precise matching. A lot of that enhancement of that data coming together will allow us to, therefore, be able to provide a shorter time to matching, and at the same time a more precise matching and more targeted towards skills-based hiring, compared to what it is currently, and we will continue to measure that and provide regular updates.”
“I do not have the exact statistics in terms of what the Member was talking about. And I would ask him to also point me perhaps to the statistics that say that all the advertisements in MyCareersFuture are just a paper exercise. If he can highlight any specific company or instance of companies posting on this particular portal as a paper exercise, we will not hesitate to investigate the company. But rather than make a blank statement, come up with the specifics. With regard to poaching risks, I want to also share a different perspective. Companies that invest in the training of their workers, whether they work through the NTUC Company Training Committees or they work through our job redesign package, work through WSG's Career Conversion Programmes, have seen better retention for their employees. In fact, many of the companies that engage in this type of training tend to attract more talent into their companies against companies who do not. I have been in private sector all my life. A certain amount of poaching exists, even amongst doctors, medical professionals. They move from groups to groups, but that does not mean that because of that, the entire industry is, therefore, at risk of being undermined or competed away. Perhaps, I can share more of these insights separately. Perhaps, inviting Mr Tiong to file a separate Parliamentary Question at another Sitting, given the fact that we have just finished five hours of this debate.”
“We hope to work together with every Singaporean to build a sturdy "career-ship" – so that at every stage of your career journey, you can steer its direction with greater confidence and find your own development path amidst changes. (In English): The formation of SWDA is more than a change in the machinery of our Government. It is a statement of intent – that Singapore will never leave its workers alone in navigating an increasingly complex labour market. That we will build systems worthy of the trust Singaporeans place in them. That we will measure ourselves not by the number of courses run or amount of grants disbursed, but by whether people can find good jobs, grow in their careers and face the future with confidence. We are doing this at a moment of uncertainty. AI and technology are reshaping industries faster than we can predict. The global economic headwinds are real. The past certainties about career paths and job security are giving way to something significantly more fluid and they are generating more anxiety, more apprehensions for many of us. But if you look at our history, Singapore has never thrived by waiting for the storm to pass. We thrive by building better ships. The SWDA is one such ship – built to carry our workers and our economy through whatever comes next. I look forward, I invite all of you to come on board and let us sail together. Mr Speaker, with that, I seek to move. [Applause.]”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. In Chinese, please. (In Mandarin): Accelerating technological development and the constantly changing international economic environment are making our labour market increasingly complex. Skills and career development are like rowing against the current – if you do not advance, you will fall behind. If Singaporeans do not proactively upgrade their skills and plan their careers early, they will inevitably find themselves struggling to keep pace in the labour market and may even miss out on valuable opportunities. If businesses do not keep up with the times and continually innovate, they will inevitably fall behind in market competition. Today, Lianhe Zaobao reported that five polytechnics presented the SkillsFuture Lifelong Learning Awards to a total of 15 recipients. This included two individuals aged over 50 among them – Mr Wang Boyu Peter and Ms Serene Soh Sze-Mei. When interviewed, Ms Soh said something that captured the essence of it all: "Age is not an issue. As long as you are willing to take that first step, you can still embark on a new career." Mr Wang and Ms Soh are role models for lifelong learning. We can learn from their proactive and determined spirit of self-improvement, as we adapt to the rapidly changing demands of the labour market. The merger of WSG and SSG will combine the strengths of both agencies, providing Singaporeans and employers with more comprehensive and effective support. The establishment of SWDA will be an important milestone in our nation's human capital development. It will serve as the engine for career health and lifelong learning. Whether you are just entering the workforce, looking to switch careers or hoping to take your career to the next level, we will journey with you.”
“I think I will need about 10 minutes. 8.09 pm”
“We will redeploy officers where their experience is most valuable and we will develop those who need new skills to take on new roles. Our people have been the backbone of SSG's and WSG's achievements. SWDA's success will depend on all of them and on bringing them alongside with us. Mr Speaker, may I say a few words in Mandarin?”
“Beyond the Board, we also plan to engage international experts, so that our labour market programmes are informed by global trends and by effective interventions elsewhere. The composition of the Board will be announced ahead of SWDA's establishment. Moving on to the last group – transition and continuity. Mr Mark Lee, Ms Elysa Chen, Ms Jessica Tan and Mr Saktiandi Supaat have asked about the impact of the transition on existing schemes, applications and commitments. I would like assure Members that SSG's and WSG's operations will be fully undertaken by SWDA from Day One. We will ensure uninterrupted service delivery and the existing grant and employment assistance commitments will be honoured. To the concerns raised by Mr Mark Lee, Mr Shawn Loh and Ms Yeo Wan Ling about potential overlaps, over time, we will work to rationalise programmes and streamline touchpoints to simplify the user journey. Specific to Mr Yip Hon Weng's and Assoc Prof Terence Ho's questions on whether MyCareersFuture and MySkillsFuture will be streamlined, we will holistically review the user journey across digital touchpoints to build a more seamless user experience with better signposting to guide users to the appropriate digital services. Mr Saktiandi and Mr Yip also asked about how the roles of SSG and WSG employees will change, while Ms Elysa Chen asked how front-line officers will be equipped to adopt a holistic instead of scheme-by-scheme mindset. We will organise SWDA by stakeholder segments so that those at the frontline can provide more holistic support across jobs and skills for their clients. As SWDA builds a more integrated operating model, roles and structures will evolve. We have identified suitable roles for all officers and we are committed to managing this with care.”
“For example, about nine in 10 Career Conversion Programme participants remain employed 24 months after embarking on the programme, and about six in 10 of those who participated in these Career Conversion Programmes earn more than their last drawn salaries. For employers, we will look at outcomes on adoption of progressive practices in areas, such as job redesign, on-job-training and skills-first hiring. As a first step, we have introduced the Singapore Opportunity Index to provide transparency to job seekers on employers who promote opportunity and deliver strong career outcomes for their workers. So, to Ms Chong's point, we are tracking such indicators and we will continue to do so. We will continue to tweak and refine and up the ante. At the economy level, SWDA will contribute to a more inclusive labour market with high resident labour force participation and sustained wage growth. Median wages have grown over the last decade and we will do our best to extend that growth trajectory. While not so easily measured, we also want to engender a culture of lifelong learning and career health to take root in the DNA of the Singapore workforce. On my last two points, just bear with me. The seventh point on governance. On the SWDA Board, Mr Saktiandi asked about its composition and the knowledge it will bring. Mr Sanjeev Tiwari asked whether there will be worker representation. The Board will draw from diverse backgrounds – public sector representatives, senior business leaders from multinational corporations and local enterprises across different sectors and key partners, such as NTUC, SNEF and the trade associations and chambers.”
“Ms Yeo Wan Ling called on SWDA to establish regular contact with stakeholders to remain plugged in with ground realities. NTUC and SNEF and their networks – they have and they are formidable resources – and SWDA will leverage with their resources, their network, to intervene more decisively ahead of upcoming disruptions or downturns. This is also why we recently announced, just last week, on Friday, the set-up of a Tripartite Jobs Council, co-chaired by NTUC, SNEF and MOM to bring our collective capabilities to bear on the challenges and the opportunities brought by AI. Many Members today also spoke about AI. Ms Yeo Wan Ling spoke about the importance of treating workers as co-creators for AI adoption to ensure better outcomes. Ms Eileen Chong spoke about making job redesign a priority when companies integrate AI into their workflows. Later this evening, depending on what time we end or tomorrow, this House will discuss how we can work together in an era where AI transformation is increasingly pervasive. And I will speak about the importance of concurrent enterprise and workforce transformation in making AI adoption more human-centric. Moving on to the sixth point, which is on what measurements of success do we look at. Several Members indeed asked us, how would we measure SWDA's success? For individuals, our ultimate goal is to help Singaporeans enter into good jobs and progress in their careers. We will measure SWDA's effectiveness in doing so through indicators, such as time to placement and wage growth, in addition to training and placement numbers. We already track these outcome indicators today to measure the effectiveness of our interventions.”
“SSG works with about 500 training providers, while WSG has only a handful of appointed partners for career matching and guidance. So, with this merger, SWDA will broaden this network beyond training providers to include more recruitment agencies, online job portals and other ecosystem players to diversify services. The goal is for workers and employers to have more options and better support, even as we safeguard and uplift the quality of service provision. Moving to the fifth group, which is more proactive and more anticipatory support. In a more volatile global environment, the needs of worker and employer segments evolve very rapidly. Ms Elysa Chen, Ms Jessica Tan and Mr Mark Lee asked how SWDA would play a more proactive and anticipatory role, to prepare workers and businesses ahead of disruptions. Data will be the critical enabler – SWDA will tap on various data sources, including MOM's rich labour market data, demand signals from job postings as well as training take-up. We can splice and fuse the data in new ways to triangulate and distil fresh jobs as well as provide skills insights. These insights can then be applied to personalise services and deliver more targeted support proactively. We seek to leverage these insights to help more individuals enter into good jobs, build careers with better prospects and extend their career trajectories. As I explained earlier, SWDA will also work with the broader career and employment services and training ecosystem to create more value out of shared data, through analysis or building of value-added services. Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked about the relationship between SWDA, NTUC and SNEF, and if SWDA will engage them in devising and executing its plans.”
“Against the backdrop of recent global developments, such as trade tariffs and the Middle East oil crisis, the SNEF and the Singapore Business Federation have provided timely insights on hiring sentiments and business outlook through dipstick business polls. This helped to inform the Government's policy responses. Second, they will serve as key programme partners that will increase the breadth and depth of SWDA's coverage. The Singapore Business Federation and SNEF, for example, have already been appointed as anchor programme partners for the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package. This is our response to Assoc Prof Terence Ho's question about how SWDA will scale impact across the large number of SMEs in different industries. The third point, they will serve as multipliers, amplifying outreach to employers and driving mindset change on workforce transformation. SNEF has been co-leading tripartite efforts, such as the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment and the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development, and can support efforts to engender mindset shifts towards the hiring of senior workers and HR practices. Members may be wondering how SWDA's approach to working with partners will be different from before. There will be two key shifts. First, what we partner on. Today, most partnerships are focused on training. WSG has also partnered on job matching, career guidance and job redesign but these partnerships have been more targeted and scoped. With SWDA, we will expand and deepen these partnerships to spur new innovations, raise the quality of career and employment services and training. Our initial efforts have begun through pilots under the AfA-ACES and we will continue to build on these. Second, who do we partner with?”
“And then to address Ms Chong's question about how we will support skill-based HR practices, we have recently introduced tools, like TalentTrack and TalentTrack+, which help employers assess the skills readiness of their workforce and identify suitable training interventions. Mr Gerald Giam also asked how will SWDA coordinate with the economic agencies under the MTI. Today, WSG and SSG already work closely with MTI and sector agencies through established inter-agency coordination platforms. With the merger, we will build on these mechanisms to deepen this coordination even further, tightening the nexus between jobs and skills and between enterprise and workforce transformation. Mr Giam, perhaps it is late in the evening and he may have forgotten, I personally have a stake in this because I am also a Minister in MTI. So, I wear two hats. Perhaps I am the political officeholder that he is talking about striding two Ministries because I am also the current Manpower Minister. So, the Member can be assured on this point. Mr Shawn Loh, Mr Mark Lee, Ms Elysa Chen and Ms Jessica Tan asked whether and how SWDA will work with the trade chambers and associations, industry bodies and sectoral partners. Let me reassure them, reassure all Members, that they will be key partners of SWDA in supporting employers and they will play three important roles. It will not be limited to these three roles, but they will play three very important roles. First, as advocates for the manpower needs of their respective sectors. TACs and industry bodies will help SWDA to sharpen its workforce development programmes.”
“As Mr Melvin Yong suggested, we are also studying ways to provide stronger support for more flexible work models, such as fractional work, that may better cater to their needs. Mr Yip asked specifically about the role of NTUC and e2i. e2i operates 27 out of 31 touchpoints island-wide for career matching and advisory. NTUC is spearheading the Company Training Committee initiative, which involves $300 million funding to drive enterprise and workforce transformation. Echoing Mr Desmond Choo, the Labour Movement will continue to be a strategic partner of SWDA in translating national strategies to practical support by providing high-touch support to different worker segments through employment facilitation, training and workforce transformation. For employers, they also have diverse needs depending on their industry size, sector and business development plans. Mr Mark Lee asked whether support will be differentiated for SMEs and large enterprises and whether SWDA will retain sector-specific expertise. SWDA will tailor its strategies to better suit the different profiles of the companies that it serves. In line with suggestions from Ms Yeo Wan Ling, Ms Eileen Chong, Mr Melvin Yong, Mr Shawn Loh, Mr Mark Lee and Assoc Prof Terence Ho, SWDA will also explore ways to step up support for job redesign and on-job-training so that training is customised to different workplaces and different business models, helping our workers to take on higher-value-added jobs. Ms Yeo Wan Ling called for SWDA to support more companies in job redesign and workforce transformation, just like FairPrice Store of Tomorrow at Punggol. This will indeed be a priority for SWDA.”