Speech at Singapore Opportunity Index Launch and Recognition Event

Minister Dr Tan See Leng, Orchard Hotel

1. Good afternoon, everyone. It is really wonderful and heartwarming to see so many of our employers, HR leaders and tripartite partners gathered here today. Your presence today encourages and inspires us, and reflects a shared belief in something fundamental: that people are at the heart of every successful organisation. 

2. Last October, we introduced the Singapore Opportunity Index, in partnership with the Burning Glass Institute and the Singapore University of Social Sciences. For the first time, there is a measure that gives employers and workers, hopefully, a clearer, a data-driven yardstick to understand how opportunity is created across careers.  

3. Today marks an important milestone in this journey. We are recognising the Top 300 employers who stand out among about 1,500 organisations assessed for delivering strong workforce outcomes.  

Career Health and impetus of SOI  

4. Before I talk about what it means to be in the Top 300, let me share why the SOI matters. 

5. The nature of our work is changing rapidly. According to the 2025 World Economic Forum Future of Jobs report, workers can expect that two-fifths of their existing skill sets will be transformed, become obsolete or outdated over the next five years, driven by AI and shifting business needs. In this environment, I don’t think it is possible for us to preserve jobs exactly as they are. What we can do is build workers’ resilience, and adaptable careers over time. I always quote my tripartite brother, Chee Meng, that “rather than saving jobs, we should protect our workforce”.

6. This is where the SOI makes a difference. It shines a light on how organisations can create opportunities for their workers. It shows some objective measure that employers can shape opportunity every day through deliberate human capital choices – ranging from recruitment, hiring practices, development pathways, and job design. These decisions have an accumulative impact over the course of an individual’s career and make a real difference to whether they progress, stagnate or thrive. 

7. But building the career health of our workforce cannot rest solely on employers alone. We hope and exalt all our workers to take ownership of their career development and actively seek out their growth opportunities. This shared responsibility is at the heart of Career Health SG, our national movement to help every Singaporean build a resilient and fulfilling career.

8. The SOI works hand in hand with the Career Health movement. It supports this shared effort by providing the transparency that empowers workers to choose employers offering pathways aligned with their aspirations. At the same time, it enables employers to benchmark their practices against objective standards.

Top 300: No Single Formula for Success

9. This brings me to why you, our Top 300 employers, deserve special recognition today. 

10. Being part of the Top 300 is not a small achievement. You represent the top 20 per cent of the largest employers in Singapore and you have earned your place through excelling across five critical dimensions of opportunity that matter most to our workers. In today’s competitive talent market, being on the SOI sends a strong signal: that your organisation delivers real opportunity and real growth. 

11. Your success also tells a compelling story about human capital excellence in Singapore: there is no single magic formula for creating career opportunity. Although all of you share a fundamental commitment to people, you have that special ability to create opportunities in distinctly different ways that reflect your unique strengths, contexts, as well as your firm’s strategic priorities. 

12. This is precisely why the SOI will award multiple badges to recognise multiple pathways to excellence. Beyond the Top 300, we celebrate three distinct models of excellence.  

13. First, Career Launchers who excel at bringing fresh talent into Singapore's workforce.  Second, Career Builders who develop their people for advancement within and beyond. And third, Career Anchors who create stability and environments so that our employees can thrive over the long haul. 

14. Excellence can take many forms – whether through mastery in one area, or by adopting unique blended approaches. But the commonality among all of you is that deliberate design.  

15. Take Murata Electronics as an example. They stand out as a Career Anchor. Recently, Murata partnered the Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) on a pilot project to re-design jobs within its company. Ten cross functional teams came together to re-shape and create more value-added roles for the future. They also developed a skills framework which helps its workers know what they need to learn, and how they can progress. It has strengthened staff retention in the organisation.  

16. Another example is Rainbow Centre. As a local SME, they remind us that creating opportunity is not about how big you are, but how intentional you choose to be. Rainbow Centre developed its own leadership framework and built it into everyday practices. For example, they introduced learning grants and mini sabbaticals to give long-serving staff the chance to learn, recharge and come back ready for their next chapter at work. In doing so, Rainbow Centre shows how employers can help people keep growing, keep them motivated and to continue making a difference.

17. We will hear more stories like these later this afternoon. These examples remind us that when organisations choose to invest in their people’s growth, they do more than build careers, they strengthen their own foundations for long term success. 

Call to Action  

18. Now, this brings me to how we can build on the foundation that our Top 300 have established. We hope that the SOI can go beyond a recognition programme to become a catalyst for transformation across our entire human capital ecosystem. 

19. I encourage all of you to start by looking forward. This is a start. Use your SOI data to strengthen partnerships between business leadership and HR teams. Use it to make sharper decisions about hiring, career development, as well as pathways. At the same time, look outward. Benchmark yourself against what is your industry best practices and learn from top performers in your sector. Later this afternoon, Matt Sigelman from the Burning Glass Institute will share how to interpret your SOI scores and turn them into practical action. 

20. I encourage you to join Singapore's recognised community of HR practitioners certified by IHRP. This gives you access to exclusive resources and networking opportunities, all of which will strengthen your ability to harness your workforce data to drive human capital excellence. 
 
21. Once you've improved your own skills and practices, don't stop there. Share your best practices with other companies, help mentor smaller organisations, and keep raising the bar for everyone. And when you lead by example, you will also help improve how all of Singapore develops its people. 

Closing  

22. We always say this, Singapore has no natural resources. Our only resource is people. Let me close by congratulating our Top 300 companies once more. You have shown what is possible when organisations make human capital a strategic priority. 

23. Today is a small milestone. The future of work is being written today, in the decisions you make about your people, in the opportunities you create, and in the standards you set. Together, we will write that future together with ambition and a strong belief that when we invest in people, we invest in Singapore's greatest strength. Our people is our country, Singapore’s, greatest strength.  

24. Thank you.