SINGAPORE - Singapore's future workers will need hard, technical skills to get jobs and remain employable.

But they will also need softer, social skills to stay happy and engaged in their jobs, said labour chief Lim Swee Say on Saturday, on the sidelines of a community event held at the Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan.

And under the new SkillsFuture initiative, announced by Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam in his Budget speech earlier this week, workers will get a firm helping hand to attain both, said Mr Lim, the secretary-general of the National Trade Union Congress (NTUC).

"We are going to work very closely with our tripartite partners to mobilise the workers because we want as many workers as possible to benefit from this programme," said Mr Lim.

He also welcomed the Government's move to raise the salary ceiling for Central Provident Fund (CPF) contributions from $5,000 to $6,000, a suggestion NTUC had proposed earlier.

"CPF is an important social safety net for our workers," he said. "Over the years, our real income has been going up, so we feel that the $5,000 ceiling, set some years ago, ought to be updated."