The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI) also wants them to give these workers the necessary training.

The chamber has 120 trade associations and 4,000 corporations on its members' list.

SCCCI vice-president Patrick Lee said the chamber will look into holding seminars to educate members on the government schemes available to companies for hiring older workers.

'They think it's going to affect their cost,' said Mr Lee, adding that export-oriented firms are most worried about losing their competitiveness.

Another concerned group is the small and medium-size enterprises, which make up 80 per cent of the chamber's membership.

They have fewer employees and feel squeezed between retaining older workers and rejuvenating their workforce, said Mr Lee.

By offering job matching services, for example, the chamber can help find jobs for older workers that companies cannot retain, he added.

Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen said last night that the chamber could play an important role in getting its members to employ older workers.

The members should also change their work processes and keep their older workers, he said at the chamber's Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations.

'The labour market is getting very tight...There will be many jobs chasing after workers. To help your businesses, you should make full use of your older workers.'

His call comes at a time when major changes are being made to the Central Provident Fund system to ensure that Singaporeans who are living longer make provisions for their own retirement.

Dr Ng noted that it has been traditional for children to support their parents in old age, in keeping with Confucian values of filial piety.

'This is a virtue that we must preserve,' he said.

But by 2030, there will be just four younger people to support each older person aged 65 and above. He compared this to the situation in 1960, when the ratio was 23 to one.

Said Dr Ng: 'We also have to be realistic: There are fewer younger people to depend on.'

Mr Tey Kok Cheng, managing director of Kembla Air-Con, is open to hiring older workers. 'They are hard-working, experienced and can give good suggestions,' said Mr Tey, who assigned a worker aged over 60 to the lighter job of taking charge of stores.