Committee of Supply 2025 debate, Day 6: Koh Poh Koon on empowering workers in career health
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will empower workers to build career health at all stages of their lives, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon. Firstly, for the broad base of workers, it will help them in their career health and resilience by extending the use of the base tier of SkillsFuture Credits which comprise the S$500 opening credit and one-off S$500 top-up for career guidance services. Secondly, for those who have lost have their jobs involuntarily, the government will support them to bounce back into employment. It will set aside more than S$200 million for the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme and expects around 60,000 individuals to be eligible each year. This accounts for more than 60 per cent of those who are involuntarily unemployed. A "jobseeker support activities-based system" will guide them towards re-employment, along with other schemes for reskilling. Thirdly, for senior workers, employers have been urged to start preparing for the increases in the retirement and re-employment ages. To help senior workers save more for retirement, the CPF contribution rates for eligible workers will be raised while the Senior Employment Credit scheme will be extended to provide wage offsets to employers. A significant tripartite effort will be made to review and refresh the approach towards senior employment. Its workgroup will focus on empowering senior workers to be productive and employable longer and promoting age-friendly jobs and multi-generational workplaces. Fourthly, for migrant workers, the government will continue to support and improve their well-being, such as stamping out kickbacks. Dr Koh, who highlighted these plans in parliament on Friday (Mar 7), said MOM will continue to work closely with its tripartite partners and other stakeholders to develop a competitive workforce and support employers in their business growth.
The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will empower workers to build career health at all stages of their lives, said Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon. Firstly, for the broad base of workers, it will help them in their career health and resilience by extending the use of the base tier of SkillsFuture Credits which comprise the S$500 opening credit and one-off S$500 top-up for career guidance services. Secondly, for those who have lost have their jobs involuntarily, the government will support them to bounce back into employment. It will set aside more than S$200 million for the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme and expects around 60,000 individuals to be eligible each year. This accounts for more than 60 per cent of those who are involuntarily unemployed. A "jobseeker support activities-based system" will guide them towards re-employment, along with other schemes for reskilling. Thirdly, for senior workers, employers have been urged to start preparing for the increases in the retirement and re-employment ages. To help senior workers save more for retirement, the CPF contribution rates for eligible workers will be raised while the Senior Employment Credit scheme will be extended to provide wage offsets to employers. A significant tripartite effort will be made to review and refresh the approach towards senior employment. Its workgroup will focus on empowering senior workers to be productive and employable longer and promoting age-friendly jobs and multi-generational workplaces. Fourthly, for migrant workers, the government will continue to support and improve their well-being, such as stamping out kickbacks. Dr Koh, who highlighted these plans in parliament on Friday (Mar 7), said MOM will continue to work closely with its tripartite partners and other stakeholders to develop a competitive workforce and support employers in their business growth.
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