Oral Answer by Minister for Manpower Dr Tan See Leng to PQ on Support for Jobseekers and Employment Outcomes
NOTICE PAPER NO. 731 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1820 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui
To ask the Minister for Manpower what are the employability support given to help workers manage structural changes like digital disruption.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON 4 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1821 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Liang Eng Hwa
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the progress of the various career conversion and job matching efforts for mid-career PMETs; (b) whether the schemes have achieved the intended outcomes; (c) what are the frictions; and (d) what are the other upcoming support and initiatives.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON 4 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1842 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Dr Tan Yia Swam
To ask the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry intends to introduce additional measures to support workers who have lost their jobs as a result of prevailing national guidelines especially for industries such as the food and beverage and the construction sectors.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1859 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Ms Hany Soh
To ask the Minister for Manpower in respect of job vacancies being at an all time high of 92,100 in June 2021 (a) how many of these vacancies are not filled after six months; and (b) how can the Ministry help Singaporeans fill these vacancies for firms as soon as possible.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1862 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Yip Hon Weng
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what kinds of employment and training assistance are given to workers to cope with the structural changes in the economy such as the digital disruption; (b) how many workers have been given such employment assistance; and (c) which sectors do these workers predominantly work in.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1863 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Yip Hon Weng
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many seniors aged 60 years and above are getting the Ministry's assistance to help them hold on to their jobs; (b) what are the forms of assistance rendered to these senior workers; (c) how many of them need to pivot to jobs in other industries; and (d) what are the main hurdles that they have to overcome.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1864 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Yip Hon Weng
To ask the Minister for Manpower as Singapore transits to an endemic COVID-19 economy, what are the plans to help our workforce as well as Singapore companies shift their plans and strategies to meet the changes when the economy opens up gradually
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON 4 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1835 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Ms Yeo Wan Ling
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) whether studies have been done by the Ministry to understand the digital preparedness of our workers aged 40 to 60 years; (b) what are the support measures put in place to enable digitally-disadvantaged workers to take on job roles which have pivoted into the digital space.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 733 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1171 FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
MP: Mr Yip Hon Weng
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) how many gig workers like food delivery workers who wish to transit to regular employment have benefitted from Government schemes; and (b) what are the challenges involved in supporting this group.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 738 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 5 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1892 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui
To ask the Minister for Manpower what is the Ministry’s assessment on the effectiveness of job placement and training support that are currently provided to assist unemployed and under-employed workers, especially those who are in distressed sectors and those who are facing headwinds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NOTICE PAPER NO. 760 OF 2021 FOR THE SITTING ON OR AFTER 7 OCTOBER 2021
QUESTION NO. 1916 FOR ORAL ANSWER
MP: Mr Sharael Taha
To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) to date, how many workers in distressed sectors such as hospitality and aviation have (i) benefitted from the job redesign, reskilling programmes and Jobs Growth Incentive and (ii) taken up the Mid-Career Pathways Programme and the Professional Conversion Programme and successfully switched industries; (b) whether these programmes have been effective in reducing retrenchment; and (c) what more can be done to encourage more of these workers and employers to participate in these programmes.
Answer
1. Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will respond to these questions on employment outcomes and support for workers together, so that I can give a more holistic reply. I thank Members for the concern for our jobseekers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Update on Labour Market Situation and Employment Support Measures
2. On the whole, the labour market continued its gradual recovery in the first half of 2021. Although the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons reached a high of 1.63 in June 2021, many of these openings were in the Construction sector where the shortage has been due to public health border measures. There were also pockets of recovery in other sectors. Hence, resident employment grew and unemployment continued to ease. However, the labour market has clearly not fully recovered. Therefore, we remain vigilant, maintain our support measures for affected workers, and will continue to leave no stone unturned in helping all locals who need our support.
3. In particular, the $2.2 billion SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package has helped to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market since its launch in April last year. Thanks to the effort of our tripartite partners and the National Jobs Council, around 128,000 local jobseekers have been placed into jobs and skills opportunities as at end-July 2021.
4. The supported jobseekers reflect the profile of our workforce. Close to six in 10 placements into jobs and skills opportunities went to mid-career PMETs. Workforce Singapore (WSG) saw a large increase in placements through Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) with more than 14,000 locals supported. WSG and NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) expanded their service touchpoints, with 24 new SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres established islandwide, in every HDB town. We have also appointed Adecco as the first SGUnited Placement Partner, to offer another avenue for mature workers aged 40 and above, long-term unemployed jobseekers, or persons with disabilities, to access professional career matching services. Close to 44,000 jobseekers found jobs through these career matching services.
5. Members have asked about specific worker segments. Let me address these questions.
Displaced Workers from Distressed Sectors
6. Dr Tan Yia Swam, Mr Edward Chia, and Mr Sharael Taha were concerned about workers displaced from distressed sectors. We are supporting such workers in various ways.
7. The first, and most important priority, is to save jobs. The Jobs Support Scheme has disbursed more than $27.6 billion as of September 2021, with most support going towards the hardest-hit sectors. This is helping companies preserve their workforce’s skills and competencies. We are continually recalibrating our support based on each sector’s specific needs and recovery trajectory. The most-affected sectors such as F&B Services, Retail and Hotels have also rolled out Job Redesign Reskilling programmes with WSG’s assistance. They are using the downtime to train and upskill existing workers to take on redesigned and enhanced job roles, as part of their industry transformation. We have reskilled and redeployed close to 9,000 workers through these programmes.
8. Second, we stand ready to support some of the workers who may have to leave their jobs. The number of retrenchments rose to about 26,000 in 2020, although the incidence of retrenchment remained lower than past recessionary years. Retrenchment numbers have improved since the fourth quarter of 2020, and decreased to 2,340 in the second quarter of 2021. This is comparable to levels seen in 2018 and 2019. Notwithstanding Phase Two Heightened Alert earlier this year, affected sectors, such as F&B Services, Retail Trade and Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, did not see elevated retrenchments, as more employers put workers on short work-week or temporary layoffs instead. We also closely monitor post-retrenchment outcomes – amongst all retrenched residents, the six-month re-entry rate was 64.4% in the second quarter of 2021, an improvement from 61.6% in 2020. This is also comparable to pre-COVID re-entry rates in 2018 and 2019.
9. The tripartite Retrenchment Taskforce follows up with every notified retrenchment, by proactively reaching out to the affected workers and offering them employment assistance. This includes providing information kits on career resources, briefings on available employment facilitation, and one-one-one coaching by WSG and NTUC-e2i’s career coaches.
10. Third, we encourage companies who need workers to create jobs. We provide the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) to support employers expand local hiring. From September 2020 to May 2021, we supported 58,000 businesses to hire more than 400,000 locals. Four in 10 were in growth sectors such as Wholesale Trade, Professional Services and Information & Communications, while one in five were in the recovering F&B Services and Retail sectors. Encouragingly, half of the JGI-supported hires were not employed at the point of hire, and six in 10 earned the same or higher pay as their last drawn. I recently announced the extension of JGI to March 2022, to secure the labour market recovery and support our local jobseekers. JGI provides additional support when employers hire mature workers, persons with disabilities and ex-offenders. Each of such hires could attract up to $36,000 of JGI support. I strongly encourage and urge our companies looking to recruit to not delay their plans and bring forward their hires.
Senior Workers
11. Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about support for senior workers to stay in their current jobs or to pivot to new jobs in other industries. We should be encouraged by the resilience of our senior workers. Notwithstanding the recession, the employment rate of those aged 60 and above increased slightly from 38.5% in 2019 to 39.0% in 2020.
12. As mentioned in my response to Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Ms Jessica Tan just now, the Government has introduced the Senior Worker Support Package in 2020, with a budget of $1.5 billion, to support employers in hiring and retaining senior workers over three years. I will not go over the details a second time.
Platform Workers
13. Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about platform workers. They are a diverse group and we are committed to supporting them in their plans. Many say they prefer such work because of the flexibility and autonomy it affords. For them, our recently-established Advisory Committee on Platform Workers will consult widely and examine how they can be better supported.
14. For those looking to transit to regular employment, WSG and NTUC’s e2i offer career matching services including career coaching, employability workshops and job fairs. For example, in 2021, NTUC’s e2i conducted several Career Reinvention Workshops in collaboration with National Private Hire Vehicles Association and NTUC LearningHub to help platform drivers explore new career pathways. In addition, digital services like the MCF portal can be accessed at all hours of the day. The whole range of SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package support is also available to them. We know that it is challenging for platform workers to transit to regular employment, and WSG will continue to put in its best effort to support their job search.
Challenges in Job Matching
15. Ms Hany Soh, Mr Yip Hon Weng and Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about how jobseekers are matched to job vacancies. Mr Speaker, our labour market exists in a constant state of dynamic flux and creative tension. It would not be possible to match all job vacancies with jobseekers perfectly. We understand and appreciate this when we or our loved ones are looking for a job. It helps to have wider options and to choose the best option that is available. But, if vacancies are accumulating and not filled, it also indicates that the labour market is having difficulty finding the right talent for the vacancies. Our latest available data from 2020 show that about 27% of job vacancies were unfilled for six months or more. This is actually down slightly from the pre-COVID situation.
16. In September, I set up the Jobs Taskforce to coordinate efforts across key government agencies to enable more locals to take up in-demand jobs with good wages and prospects in key sectors of our economy, such as Financial Services and Info-communications and Technology. The Jobs Taskforce will work with tripartite partners and employers to make the labour market function even better.
17. Some vacancies take longer to fill because the wage or working conditions are not as attractive as other options available to jobseekers. If they remain persistently unfilled, the business may need to redesign the job role, or even review their strategy. WSG offer Job Redesign support under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG-JR), which was launched in December 2020. Through PSG-JR, enterprises can receive support to work with pre-approved Job Redesign consultants to redesign work processes, tasks, and responsibilities. We welcome enterprises to come onboard to troubleshoot any difficulties they face in hiring new workers and growing their businesses.
18. Other vacancies may persist because the employer is hoping to get someone who is already fully trained and ready to jump straight into the job from day one. We are helping employers go beyond the "plug-and-play" approach by supporting CCPs. Employers who have adopted this approach have found that people recruited through CCPs are a good fit. About nine in 10 of people placed through CCPs remained employed after 24 months, and about seven in 10 earned more than their last drawn salaries.
19. Finally, some vacancies persist because of a shortage of skills in the workforce and among jobseekers. Our industries are digitalising rapidly, and as pointed out by Mr Yip Hon Weng, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Edward Chia, digital competencies are highly sought after.
20. Mr Yip Hon Weng has asked about the number of workers who have been given employment assistance to cope with digital disruption. As digitalisation accelerates, it has affected jobs to varying degrees. First, many jobs would require workers to acquire basic digital literacy skills, such as learning how to use digital communication platforms to market a product. Second, some jobs will require workers to learn how to implement digital technology, such as Robotic Process Automation, to automate processes or perform more complex analysis. Third, there will be growing demand for deep technology skills, which will bring us into the next bound of digital transformation.
21. Many workers in the first category will make this transition seamlessly. However, some will need additional support. Hence, we work with unions, Trade Association and Chambers (TACs), companies, and education institutions to scaffold their learning. Under the SME Digital Reboot programme, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and NTUC LearningHub will work with 500 SMEs to provide workers with training in areas such as digital marketing and digital communication. Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) also drives digital adoption among vulnerable segments under the SG Digital Office, while the National Library Board runs a range of Digital Readiness programmes on digital work skills, competencies, and emerging technologies.
22. Moving on to the second category, where we will see more workers becoming implementers of digital technology. This is already happening rapidly in sectors such as Logistics and Manufacturing, where digital technology is embedded in the physical world, or what we term as Industry 4.0. To help workers and companies ride on the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0 to transform and digitalise, WSG has partnered with the Singapore Business Federation to launch the Industry 4.0 Human Capital Initiative (IHCI) to encourage companies in these sectors to trial and adopt Industry 4.0 technologies early, while developing their workforce’s digital competencies to ensure that workers can grow alongside their companies. Thus far, close to 90 companies have come on board IHCI, with an additional 210 expected to do so by September 2022. Parallel to this effort, the unions and employers have also established more than 600 Company Training Committees, where they work closely together to drive business and workforce transformation, including in digital competencies.
23. The third category of jobs, where deep tech skills are required, is also where we see some of the highest demand across the economy. IMDA’s TechSkills Accelerator (TeSA) initiative serves to meet this demand, having placed and trained more than 10,000 locals in good tech jobs since 2016, with 2,500 placed last year in 2020. Locals placed through TeSA have taken on jobs such as Systems Analysts or Data Scientists, across sectors including Information & Communications, Financial Services, Professional Services, Manufacturing, and Wholesale Trade and Retail.
24. I know that business and workforce transformation can be daunting. That is why we have set aside close to $10 million to develop Jobs Transformation Maps, or JTMs for short. The JTMs are detailed sectoral manpower studies that map out the impact of technology and digitalisation on individual jobs over the medium-term. They serve as a useful compass for employers, in particular our SMEs, and workers to prepare for future jobs and skills. We have already launched three JTMs – Human Resources, Logistics, and Financial Services. 12 more are in progress.
Conclusion
25. The road ahead will continue to be uneven and bumpy. However, I am confident that with the Government and tripartite partners continuing to work closely, and just as importantly, with your concerns and collective efforts, we will be able to help our businesses and workers to emerge stronger together.