Singapore to unveil new scheme to support unemployed employees
- Josephine Tan
The Singapore government is set to launch a new re-employment support scheme by the end of the year to provide additional support to citizens who find themselves involuntarily unemployed.
Dr Tan See Leng, Minister of Manpower of Singapore, revealed the plan in his recent May Day message, emphasising the need to fortify support for employees navigating unexpected job losses amidst the rapidly changing economic landscape.
The forthcoming initiative, termed the “re-employment support scheme”, was initially unveiled by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his 2023 National Day Rally speech. The scheme intends to furnish retrenched employees with temporary financial assistance, enabling them to pursue skill enhancement endeavours conducive to securing sustainable long-term employment.
Dr Tan reiterated the government’s commitment to finalise the scheme parameters following a thorough review of global best practices. He outlined the Ministry of Manpower’s strategic priorities for the upcoming year, emphasising the importance of aligning workforce capabilities with future job demands and fostering equitable, progressive, and secure workplaces.
Key initiatives include incentivising employees to engage in skill enhancement programmes, such as augmenting support for Workforce Singapore’s Career Conversion Programme and launching the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme to provide global market exposure, reported The Straits Times.
READ MORE: New FWA regulations in Singapore aim to foster workforce retention
Dr Tan also underscored ongoing efforts to reinforce workplace safeguards, including forthcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation and Tripartite Guidelines on Flexible Work Arrangement (FWA) Requests. He said, “We will continue to work with tripartite partners to shape workplace norms in tandem with the upcoming Workplace Fairness Legislation that will strengthen protections for employees against workplace discrimination.”
“We also launched the Tripartite Guideline on FWA Requests, which reflects our shared commitment towards making FWAs effective and sustainable for both employees and organisations.”
