Budget debate: MPs call for new industrial policy, structured transitions as AI reshapes jobs

SINGAPORE – With artificial intelligence reshaping careers across industries, MPs who joined the second day of the Budget debate called for a life-cycle approach to supporting Singaporean workers.

NTUC deputy secretary-general Desmond Choo called for a new industrial policy for entry-level jobs, rather than trying to preserve routine work in the age of AI.

Increasingly, junior roles must entail supervision and auditing of AI’s output for truth, and providing context and empathy that machines cannot replicate, said Mr Choo, who co-chairs the Economic Strategy Review’s (ESR) Committee on Managing Impact of Restructuring.

“This is a higher-value role. It is also a harder role because it assumes a level of maturity and skill earlier in one’s career,” he said.

One way to incentivise firms to transform their entry-level jobs is to take a leaf out of the apprenticeship systems of Germany and Switzerland, which extend beyond trades to banking, insurance and advanced services, said Mr Choo, who is also Minister of State for Defence.

In these systems, the state and industry work closely to standardise training such that apprentices are productive from the get-go. In Singapore, the Government can provide co-funding for a defined period, given that such roles build longer-term national capability, said Mr Choo.

Conversely, clinging to the past will put Singapore at risk of a hollowed-out pipeline of mid-level talent, given that companies are likely to choose fewer junior workers and more AI if left to market forces.

“If we act now to recreate the entry-level job, we can turn this disruption into an opportunity,” he said.

Even before they enter the workforce, Associate Professor Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) said, education at the tertiary level must evolve away from rote learning and solving known problems to honing soft skills like empathy, networking, judgment and creativity.

The WP MP also called for smaller class sizes at the primary school level and cautious use of EdTech, citing research that shows that children learn best from another human, rather than a device.

High-stakes exams, long a mainstay of student evaluation here, will also be less relevant in an AI age, Prof Lim added, as he called for a mindset shift away from exams and towards continual assessments.

Labour MP Wan Rizal (Jalan Besar GRC) noted that mid-career workers often struggle with risk management and face a time crunch when it comes to refreshing their skills to take on redesigned jobs, given caregiving and financial commitments.

Training without a clear picture of what roles such workers can realistically take on also leads to frustration, added Dr Rizal, who is director for stakeholder management at NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute.

He called for career coaching and confidence building to be embedded in Singapore’s transition support frameworks so that workers not only get technical training, but also guided momentum towards reemployment.

Ms Poh Li San (Sembawang West) proposed that the Government co-fund workers for reskilling every 10 years, starting from when they reach 30 years old.

This “back to school every 10 years” will help workers remain relevant so they do not end up displaced and discontented, she said, urging action soon, particularly for workers in their 50s and 60s who may otherwise become a “lost generation” that will have to depend on state support.

“We no longer can count on our initial degrees bearing us through our careers without supplements,” she said. “Continuous education is a way of life, no matter our professions.”

NTUC deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan and Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Changi GRC) proposed thoughtful job redesign, such that older workers have more pathways into roles where their experience is a strategic advantage, such as becoming trainers, mentors and safety supervisors.

“In an ageing society, enabling seniors to remain productive, respected and fairly paid is not just manpower policy. It is central to inclusive growth,” said Mr Sharael.

More broadly, labour chief Ng Chee Meng urged the Government and employers to partner the labour movement’s efforts to train and upskill workers for a changing landscape. This includes NTUC’s AI-Ready platform, which provides union workers up to 50 per cent off subscription costs for eligible AI tools.

Nominated MP Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari said that ultimately, workers will be confident in the future if they see three things clearly: that if they learn, there will be a job at the end; if their role changes, there is a fair process and early help; and if they work longer, that the work is sustainable and their retirement is secure.

Mr Tiwari, an NTUC central committee member and general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Public Employees, said the task before tripartite partners – the Government, employers and unions – is to translate policy into predictable pathways at the firm and worker level, and to have norms that protect both workers’ adaptability and their well-being.

“The future of work must not be something workers endure – it must be something that they can look forward to, having that assurance that the future will be better,” he said.