The economy is undergoing both a cyclical as well as a fundamental, structural slowdown in which consumer habits and production patterns change, Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament on Monday (Apr 4).
The Singapore workforce will need to be adaptive to avoid structural unemployment in this slowdown.
He cited the example of a retail worker who has been displaced due to e-commerce or online shopping.
"The problem is not the total number of jobs available in the economy. The real question is: How do we help the person who is displaced at the retail line get into another job that has been created? It will be too far-fetched to expect someone who is displaced at the retail scene to be able - with minimal training - to go into the e-commerce space of data management space," hes said.
To ensure minimal structural unemployment, he said the labour movement will work closely with employers and the Government.
"At this point in time, we are at a critical juncture of our economic transformation. How do we restructure our industries to create the jobs of the future? How do we ramp up the capacity to upskill our workers to equip them with the skills of the future?" he said.
He highlighted 3 key ways in which workers can be supported. These are:
1. Provide career guidance. Counselling to be redoubled. An announcement from the NTUC and Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) can be expected later in the year.
2. The Government will make sure relevant courses are available so that workers can utilize and maximize their SkillsFuture credit.
3. There will be a "second-skilling" of workers, especially those past 40, to ensure that they are equipped in the event of a retrenchment.
Source: CNA
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