Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can do more to retain their talent in a competitive job market, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck. Mr Teo suggested long service rewards and a variable pay based on performance results as some examples.

He was speaking at the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (ASME) Forum at the Institute of Technical Education College East on Wednesday. "Some SMEs, because of their small size, are unable to implement many good HR incentive schemes - that can be understood. But you can always customize and implement HR practices based on your scale of operations and number of staff," he said.

Speaking further on high turnover rates in SMEs, Mr Teo also urged young workers to carefully consider their career prospects before job hopping: "We all need to hone our skills with a particular trade over a period of time, and we will get better and our skills will be more marketable. When you go from one job to another, you will cut short your learning and there will be a learning gap."

The ASME Forum, which is into its second year, aims to raise the profile and awareness of SMEs among ITE students, and provide them with employment opportunities.