While account director Bryan Choong, 38, supports the measures announced in this year’s Budget to promote upskilling, he sympathises with those who may not feel the same way.

“Upskilling, especially to make a mid-career switch, does come with some risk,” said Mr Choong, who works in real estate. “You can give people SkillsFuture credits, but is it enough for them to jump out of their comfort zone?”

The father of two, aged seven and nine, adds that choosing the right course to pursue, supporting dependants while upskilling, and having a safety net for those who may have made a wrong career switch, might weigh on people’s minds.

That, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Law Rahayu Mahzam, is why changing mindsets towards upskilling, and having alternate pathways to success, are some of the longer-term goals of Budget 2024.

Beyond addressing immediate concerns, such as cost of living pressures and supporting families and seniors, Ms Rahayu said there is an “aspirational portion” to the Budget, which requires a mindset shift for Singaporeans to realise the long-term benefits.

She was speaking at a post-Budget dialogue at Fernvale Community Club on March 2. About 120 participants took part in the event, which was organised by government feedback and engagement unit Reach and Kiss92 FM, an English-language radio station under SPH Radio.

Ms Rahayu was joined by panellists He Ruiming, co-founder of financial blog The Woke Salaryman, and Howie Lau, managing director at local tech firm NCS Singapore. The session was moderated by Kiss92 FM DJs The Flying Dutchman and Angelique Teo.

“We are putting in the seeds, so that there are changes in the way we perceive things, there are changes in the way we see what success is for future generations,” said Ms Rahayu, who is also Reach’s advisory panel deputy chairperson.

“Hopefully this is something that can translate to better lives for Singaporeans in the long run.”

Embracing training, upskilling

A large segment of the hour-long session was focused on addressing one of the top issues on people’s minds: Job transformation and training for workers to progress in their careers amid manpower disruptions.

Ms Rahayu pointed to how Budget 2024 has rolled out various measures, such as a new SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme to better support mid-career workers, with a credit top-up of $4,000 for all Singaporeans aged 40 and above.

Subsidies will also be provided for this group to pursue another full-time diploma at polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), and arts institutions from the academic year 2025. A monthly training allowance will also be given to those who enrol in selected full-time courses from 2025.

Despite the carrots, Mr He said this approach might not always work. He questioned how far it would go in moving the needle for traditional small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to embark on change. 

He explained how such companies may be resistant to investing in tech and digital transformation, especially when the returns are not always guaranteed. “The inertia to change is quite big for a lot of SMEs.”

He added that employers might see such training as downtime for the company, and workers may not recognise the need or urgency to upskill, alluding to the dangers of workers stagnating in complacency and eventually losing out in the long run.

It all boils down to a willingness to change. Mr He cited how the pandemic had jolted firms into decisive action and catapulted their transformation journey.

One encouraging sign, he said, is start-ups investing in employee training on their own initiative. He personally sees training as a way to “reward staff and show them we are invested in their future”.

To make the process of upskilling less intimidating, he urged firms to consider doing it in “small steps rather than one big step”.

Mr Lau, who is a Reach advisory panel member, said that there is a sense of paranoia that prevails in the tech field because of the sector’s fast-moving developments.

This drives a need to develop multi-skilled employees, such as people with specialised skills and soft skills in problem-solving and communication, to stay ahead of the curve.

In some cases, training can lead to “a little bit of a catch-22 situation”, said Mr Lau. 

While companies want to train their workers to be more productive, the danger is that they may resign and seek better opportunities elsewhere. But increasingly, companies will recognise that it is a “necessary evil”.

More ways to succeed

Social mobility was another issue discussed. The panellists noted the significance of the new ITE Progression Award. 

ITE graduates aged 30 and below who pursue, and complete, a diploma programme will be eligible for two government top-ups worth $15,000.

Mr He said that with the Government investing more in education, it has a far greater potential for higher returns. This helps ITE graduates to “move up the value chain”.

Outlining the rationale behind the ITE Progression Award, Ms Rahayu said that the government hopes to change the definition of success and also provide “many alternative pathways to success”.

“We think that ITE graduates should have as much success and capability to proceed upward in life, very much like their diploma and their graduate counterparts,” pointed out Ms Rahayu.

She added that measures like these to help close the inequality gap are key “building blocks” for the future.

To Mr Lau, these Budget measures are best seen as the latest serving of “vitamins and supplements” – helpful boosters that can be used if individuals and companies see fit.

These are good-to-haves, but one might not necessarily need to take it if it doesn’t meet their needs, he said.

Attitudes towards AI

Against the backdrop of lightning-fast developments and ever-increasing capabilities in the artificial intelligence (AI) space, it was announced that Singapore will invest more than $1 billion over the next five years for AI, into AI compute, talent, and industry development.

“The good news is that most countries are not particularly known for AI,” said Mr Lau. “There’s an opportunity for Singapore to really push ahead.” 

This could also create more skilled workers in the pipeline, especially as the tech industry is always short of talent. “This will create new opportunities for everyone,” said Mr Lau. “The bigger excitement is in the future-proofing.”

Mr He noted that job loss may be more frequent because of technological disruption. So, he said, there is a need for a safety net, with financial support for people during involuntary employment.

He cautioned that some might try to take advantage of such support measures and abuse the system, so the measures need to be carefully calibrated to ensure people can tide over difficult periods.

On the fear of AI replacing jobs, Ms Rahayu said that people can either choose to despair or adopt a willing attitude to seize the opportunities.

She said: “The Government is cognisant of this incoming wave of change… Change is uncomfortable, it's inevitable, but it is not impossible. 

“We are giving you the support, but you need to take that step forward, and we can walk this journey with you.”

This article was produced in partnership with Reach, Ministry of Communications and Information