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Job market shows signs for optimism in 2021: Labour chief

Most workers, businesses will see uptick even as sectors like aviation and tourism will remain in survival mode

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Labour chief Ng Chee Meng and Singapore National Employers Federation president Robert Yap join assistant news editor Toh Yong Chuan to discuss what the future holds for Singapore's job market.

The job market has shown signs for optimism next year, although some sectors will remain in the doldrums, labour chief Ng Chee Meng said yesterday.

The aviation and aerospace sectors, engineering clusters which support those sectors, as well as hospitality and tourism, are likely to stay muted, he said, noting that these are areas in "survival and sustainability modes".

But others like healthcare, biotech and logistics should trend positively overall, he said, while acknowledging that the local and global health situation will be a big factor in determining how the economy recovers from its low base this year.

"Generally, most workers, most businesses will see the uptick," Mr Ng said at a Straits Times webinar on job losses and opportunities in 2021. ST assistant news editor Toh Yong Chuan moderated the event.

The National Trades Union Congress' (NTUC) strategy for workers is to make them future-proof by keeping up with technology developments and adapting to the new skills required in the current landscape, he said.

"So whether you are in a challenged sector or in a growth sector, I would say, have a growth mindset regardless," Mr Ng said when he urged workers to seek out training opportunities to expand their skill sets to adapt to 2021 and beyond.

Echoing this view, Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) president Robert Yap said: "If (workers are) open minded, they adopt lifelong learning, are willing to skill and reskill, I think there is no problem in Singaporeans finding jobs."

He said robots do not necessarily replace human workers, but rather make jobs "more sexy" and more productive, and this translates into possibly better pay for workers.

Increased productivity means companies can better sustain their businesses which in turn leads to more jobs as well, Mr Yap added.

Both Mr Ng and Mr Yap also stressed that while workers need to constantly improve themselves, employers too must embrace transformation, in terms of evolving both their work processes as well as work environments.

Mr Yap said SNEF has been looking at how to transform workplaces so that they are age-friendly, so older workers remain relevant and companies can also take in older workers who are willing to be retrained.

Addressing a question on how Singaporeans can fill vacancies left by departing foreigners - non-locals accounted for the vast majority of Singapore's employment contraction over the first three quarters of this year - Mr Ng emphasised the importance of education and skills training.

"We must continue to innovate SkillsFuture on the personal level and also the enterprise level, riding on initiatives and innovations like the NTUC's company training committees to merge different interests so that businesses and workers are aligned.

"Moving in tandem, in this way, I think, would give us the best chance to succeed beyond 2021," he said.

(From left) Singapore National Employers Federation president Robert Yap and labour chief Ng Chee Meng at a Straits Times webinar yesterday on job losses and opportunities in 2021, moderated by Straits Times assistant news editor Toh Yong Chuan. Mr N
(From left) Singapore National Employers Federation president Robert Yap and labour chief Ng Chee Meng with Straits Times assistant news editor Toh Yong Chuan. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

But Mr Ng pointed out that while policy planning is focused on Singaporeans' interest, it would be "toxic to our overall well-being" if it were to reject foreigners.

"With 3.7 million Singaporeans running a $400 billion, $500 billion economy, we simply do not have enough Singaporeans," he added.

Agreeing, Mr Yap said that if Singapore wants to continue attracting the best global companies here, it needs to keep its talent policy open.

"Otherwise, it's going to be very difficult for us to continue to attract (them) because talent is actually global in a sense," said the SNEF chief.

Mr Yap also noted that it is important for Singapore to continue upgrading the skills of its people and foster the growth of more large Singapore companies.

"If you have more strong Singapore companies that are global, I think that the Singaporean core becomes a little stronger even at the higher end against all the other multinational companies," he said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 22, 2020, with the headline Job market shows signs for optimism in 2021: Labour chief. Subscribe