Fostering an inclusive and resilient job market in Singapore

Employees in Singapore must take responsibility for their own careers and build resilience to seize opportunities, urged Minister of Manpower Tan See Leng.

Speaking in a parliamentary session, he outlined how employees can take charge of their “career health” by staying aware of career prospects, taking deliberate and purposeful steps to stay competitive, and having the tenacity to bounce from setbacks.

To support career development and create a more inclusive labour market, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has announced a series of new tools and policies that aims to ensure that all segments of employees can benefit from economic growth and to help Singaporeans improve their own career prospects and resilience.

One key initiative to be introduced in the third quarter of 2023 is CareersFinder, a new feature on the government jobs portal, MyCareersFuture. This will provide personalised job and skills recommendations, drawing on government data on skills adjacencies and job transitions in the labour market.

READ: More help on the way for employees in Singapore

MOM will also work with the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to redesign skilled trades, offering better salaries, clear career and skills progression ladders, and other ways to attract, retain, and reward employees.

To encourage flexible work arrangements, tripartite guidelines will also be introduced by 2024, requiring employers to consider such requests “fairly and properly”. However, Minister of State for Manpower Gan Siow Huang cautioned against legislating these guidelines, saying that implementing them in a rigid manner risks creating an acrimonious workplace culture that affects productivity.