One of the keys to Singapore’s incredible economic transformation in recent decades lies in the willingness and ability of companies and workers to embrace restructuring to keep abreast of change. This is not a natural state of affairs, but one nurtured by a government employing Industry Transformation Maps to prod firms to enhance productivity and develop people’s skills. Much success must also be credited to the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) for championing efforts to open up pathways for progression and pushing for the tripartite scaffolding needed. Case in point: Labour MPs in last week’s debates on the President’s Address, led by NTUC deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan, kept the national focus on expanding job opportunities, enhancing career support and supporting job redesign.

This follows the model mooted in February by NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng for almost 50,000 plumbers, electricians and air-con technicians. There is urgent work ahead: More than half of these tradesmen are aged above 50, and there is a struggle to attract young hires. There are details to be ironed out, including the extent of the ambition to improve job prospects, whether negotiated wage ladders will be involved, and what enforcement mechanism the authorities will use. Would this be a hard stick – like the licensing conditions in the cleaning, security and landscaping sectors under the Progressive Wage Model (PWM) – or a softer nudge, where adoption is voluntary but encouraged by other means?