Curious, the man asked the stranger what he was looking for. A big shiny key, came the reply.

The former decided to join in the search, but despite scanning the entire area repeatedly, both men could not locate the key.

Bewildered, the man asked the stranger whether he was certain he dropped it under the lamppost.

No, came the reply from the stranger. He was searching for the key at that particular spot as the bright lights made it easier to conduct the search there.

Recounting this simple anecdote at the May Day Rally on Thursday, labour chief Lim Swee Say said it typified the behavior of many countries - that is, to look for easy solutions to solve difficult employment issues.

But this is not the the Singapore way, he said. Here, people are prepared to head to the dark corners to hunt for tough solutions, he added.

'We know that easy solutions will not work,' Mr Lim said. 'We are prepared to bite the bullet and tackle the problem.'

Fortunately, a whole bunch of 'lost keys' have already been found, Mr Lim said.

These include initiatives rolled out by the labour movement over the last few years to train and educate workers of all ages and collars.

Lowly-skilled Singaporeans, for example, can head for employability camps to upgrade themselves, while out-of-work professionals can join the Professionals Conversion Programme to chart new careers in new and growing industries.

He said such measures to skill up Singaporeans are important, given that high energy costs and rising inflation will likely result in a global economic slowdown The Singapore approach, he said, is to strengthen the employability of workers of all kinds, from the elderly to women looking to return to the workforce.

Only by having such an inclusive workforce can all Singaporeans benefit from the country's progress, Mr Lim said.