SINGAPORE - The taskforce by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) released nine recommendations to better support professionals, managers and executives (PMEs). They are:

1. Enhance fair employment practices through

• Improving human resources standards

• Strengthening enforcement on errant companies that adopt unfair practices

An online survey of 1,000 PMEs over 40 years old in July found that 26 per cent said they experienced discrimination at work while 24 per cent said they perceived discrimination when applying for jobs. It also noted that 67 per cent felt a key reason for finding it hard to get a job was because companies were not being open to workers over 40.

2. Strengthen the Singaporean core through

• Differentiating foreign worker access by occupations

• Enhancing the Employment Pass application review process

• Facilitating skills transfer to local PMEs

3. Widen support for PMEs

This can be done through reviewing the legislation on their representation. A tripartite work group can be set up to look into the scope of union representation of PMEs.

4. Strengthen unemployment income support for PMEs by

• Introducing a support framework to provide supplementary income relief and assistance to those who are involuntarily unemployed, supported by active labour market policy. Active labour market policies refer to initiatives that encourage people to stay employed, such as ensuring that people are actively sending out resumes or attending job fairs before they can qualify for handouts.

• Providing an additional tier of support for all union members and/or vulnerable mature PMEs

5. Assist mature PMEs to transit to meaningful employment through

• Short-term salary support for companies who hire them

• Supporting training courses and mentorship programmes for relevant roles

• Fast-track training programmes with certification

6. Build Singaporean leadership bench strength by

• Supporting leadership development programmes for Singaporean PMEs

• Facilitating global development of Singaporean talent

7. Provide customised career coaching support to PMEs

Supporting and expanding the funding of career coaches with NTUC or SNEF, allowing them to guide PMEs in companies.

8. Develop structured jobs and skills plans for PMEs

This can be done through leveraging the company training committees under NTUC to help upskill workers in line with business and industry requirements.

9. Strengthen the nexus between tripartite partners to prepare the workforce for economic transitions and investment pipelines

• Repositioning the existing Job Security Council under NTUC as a joint NTUC-SNEF Job Security Council to strengthen the jobs ecosystem

• This joint body can work with the Ministry of Manpower and the relevant government agencies to improve employment prospects and create good jobs for Singaporeans

• Ensuring that training needs are incorporated into the curriculum of institutes of higher learning, in tandem with the fast-changing economic landscape