Speaking in Parliament during a debate on President Halimah Yacob’s address, Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said that the Government is considering the introduction of a re-employment scheme to help displaced workers make ends meet.
Introducing re-employment support for displaced workers could plug a crucial gap in ensuring that they are better equipped to pick up new skills and change careers, experts said after the Government flagged this possibility.
Such support, along with moves to revamp the SkillsFuture programme and professionalize blue-collar work, could create “happier workers all around”, human resource and labor experts told Singapore’s TODAY.
They were commenting on several proposals announced by the Government on Monday to provide better social support and skills training for workers here.
Such a “targeted” scheme could reduce the strain on displaced workers while encouraging them to upskill and search for jobs, Mr Wong said.
The Government is also looking to professionalize blue-collar jobs to narrow the wage gap across professions as well as revamp the SkillsFuture programme, said Wong, who is also Finance Minister. He said that the aim, he said, is for Singapore to become a “full-fledged learning society — from cradle to grave”.
Better job matches through re-employment scheme
Human resources experts and labour economists said that such a re-employment scheme would give workers greater peace of mind when job hunting, instead of worrying about their finances.
Re-employment benefits typically involve providing retrenched workers with direct financial assistance until they find another job. The benefits may be funded by the Government or through insurance premiums from employers or workers. However, Wong did not spell out the details of the plan in his speech.
In his speech, Wong said that in designing a re-employment scheme, the Government would want to avoid making it more attractive for displaced workers to stay unemployed rather than return to the workforce.
Adrian Tan, a human resources analyst, said that a re-employment scheme would give workers more time to job-hunt and a higher chance of securing a role for which they are better suited.
Adrian Choo, a career coach, said that one way the Government could do this is to limit the funding provided to displaced workers to a period of three months.
The Government should also clarify which type of workers they aim to support, and tailor re-employment benefits accordingly, added labor economist Walter Theseira.
Support aimed at higher-earning professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) would need more funding to align with their greater expenses, he said.
Conversely, this financial support could be lower for low-income workers who may have lower expenses, said Associate Professor Theseira, of the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS).
In such a situation, he added that if Singapore implements unemployment insurance programmes, higher-earning workers should pay higher insurance premiums to qualify for a higher pay-out.
Revamping Skillsfuture and narrowing the wage gap
On revamping the SkillsFuture programme, experts said that the courses on offer could be diversified.
Choo, the chief executive officer of human resources company Career Agility International, said that the courses on offer under the programme could also include more practical artisanal or trade skills such as carpentry or leather-crafting.
This would be useful for mid-career workers, including white-collar ones, to pivot to other types of industries, or let people make a living out of their hobbies, he said.
Experts were also supportive of the proposed professionalisation of blue-collar jobs, although they said that it would have to go beyond providing accreditation for skilled workers.
Tan, the human resources analyst, said that professionalizing blue-collar jobs and reducing the wage gap would be an important benefit.
The move would mean that those not suited to white-collar jobs but inclined to pursue them merely because of their higher wages would be more likely to consider a craft that better suits them, he said. He added that this would result in “happier workers all around.”
In his speech, Wong had suggested professionalizing skilled trades such as electricians and plumbers by allowing them to be accredited for their skills, and by setting a clearer progression ladder as they take on more responsibilities.
Such efforts could help blue-collar workers earn more as professionals, he said.
On this, Choo proposed that the Government progressively stop cheaper, foreign labor from taking up semi-skilled jobs such as carpentry.
Although such a move would be unpopular as it would require paying more for labor, it would provide Singaporeans with more opportunities in such industries and help to narrow the wage gap with white-collar workers, he said.
He also suggested that the various industries set up their own professional bodies in the form of guilds to decide on the skills and training that their professions need, rather than letting the Government do so.
These guilds could then decide on what other value-added work could command higher prices, and consequently higher wages for workers in their industries.
Sherwin Ignatius Chia, a senior lecturer from the SUSS human resource management programme, said that consumers must also be willing to pay more for the professional services of skilled workers.
However, Michael Heng, the director of recruitment firm People Worldwide, called for a mindset change across society so that experience is recognized over paper qualifications as “experience is the best predictor of future performance”.
In response to queries from TODAY, Desmond Choo, the assistant secretary-general of the National Trades Union Congress, said that the professionalization of blue-collar jobs is part of the labour movement’s focus on expanding career opportunities for Singaporeans.
The proposal for re-employment support would also give peace of mind to those losing their jobs and wanting to upgrade their skills and look for suitable employment.
Similarly, revamping the SkillsFuture system will ensure that workers can develop new skills, or deepen existing ones to stay relevant and competitive in the labor market, said Choo. — TODAY
