MOM’s Addendum to the President's Address at the First Session of the 15th Parliament

1 The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) champions human potential for a thriving Singapore. Our future economy is being reshaped by global trends and the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Workers will live longer, with more diverse career aspirations and evolving needs across life stages. Our future workplaces will need to support technology-enabled jobs and multi-stage careers. Amid these challenges and disruptions, we must collectively shape a future of work that enables growth, fulfillment, and diverse pathways to success.

Navigating the Future of Work

2 MOM’s priority is to empower Singaporeans to thrive in the new economy. We will help them unlock their potential by deepening skills and expertise, mapping career pathways, and connecting them to opportunities that make the most of their abilities.

3 Through the Economic Strategy Review and National AI Strategy, MOM will support broad-based AI literacy and AI adoption across the workforce. As part of the SkillsFuture movement, MOM will drive the Career Health SG initiative to help Singaporeans navigate the fast-changing job market with confidence. We will grow a more vibrant ecosystem of career guidance, training and employment facilitation to support a diverse workforce. We have also launched an Alliance for Action on Advancing Career & Employment Services to co-develop innovative solutions with the private sector.

Supporting Career Longevity

4 As Singaporeans live longer, their careers will increasingly span multiple stages. MOM will help citizens adapt to this change by encouraging flexible work, promoting multi-generational workplaces, and enabling better balance between work and personal priorities. The Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment will reimagine ways to drive career longevity, engage Singaporeans on their aspirations and partner forward-thinking employers to co-create innovative age-friendly jobs and multi-generational workplace solutions.

5 As seniors remain active in the workforce for longer, they will also be able to save more for retirement. MOM will continue to strengthen the Central Provident Fund (CPF) system, so that those who contribute consistently to their CPF will be assured of meeting their basic needs in old age. We will raise the Basic Retirement Sum for future cohorts to help Singaporeans build up more savings for their retirement years. At the same time, we will continue to provide support for those who, despite their best efforts, may not be able to set aside enough – through schemes like the Workfare Income Supplement, the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme, and the Silver Support Scheme. We will also continue to provide options for those who want to save more in their CPF.

Expanding Opportunities for Workers

6 MOM will support businesses to build talent in three ways. First, adopting skills-first hiring to unlock new talent pools. Second, creating rich career development and progression opportunities within the firm to stretch and retain talent. Third, uplifting the human resources profession. We have launched the Tripartite Workgroup on Human Capital Capability Development to drive this work. In an age of AI-driven automation, we will also help enterprises transform with their workers, rather than to do without them, through initiatives like the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package.

7 We will support Singaporeans in gaining global exposure for professional development and future leadership, through programmes like the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme. At the same time, we will refine our foreign workforce policies so that businesses can bring in talent that complements our Singaporean core, and ultimately create more jobs and opportunities for our people.

Ensuring Inclusive Growth

8 MOM will strive for growth that is fairer, safer, and more inclusive. We are raising standards through the Workplace Fairness Act, to assure employees and jobseekers of fair treatment. We will also reinforce workplace safety and health, and ensure we remain on track towards our 2028 goal of reducing fatal injury rate below 1.0 per 100,000 workers.

9 We will update the Employment Act to ensure adequate protections for different groups of workers, to keep up with new workplace and technological trends, while streamlining compliance for businesses. Platform workers are now covered under the Platform Workers Act, and a trilateral platform has also been set up to address challenges faced by platform workers. With increasingly diverse forms of work and work arrangements, we will study how to better support platform workers, self-employed persons, and freelancers in terms of workplace protections, reskilling, and career pathways.

10 MOM will keep opportunities open to all. For those who face setbacks, we will help them bounce back with confidence. We have introduced the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme to help those who have lost their jobs find their way back to employment. Lower-wage workers can look forward to continued wage increases under the Progressive Wage Model and more support to upskill and reskill via the Workfare Skills Support. We will also professionalise skilled trades, so that our economy provides multiple pathways to success.

Building An Empowered Workforce and Thriving Workplaces

11 MOM will work with other government agencies and stakeholders to build an empowered workforce and thriving workplaces. We will support Singaporeans to face future challenges and chart out their future paths for success.