Madam Speaker,
I rise in support of the Budget. Let me begin, Madam, by looking outside of our little red dot. The world economy as we know it is still very much in flux. Unemployment and underemployment rates remain high globally. In the euro area, unemployment in January was 11.9%, simply put, 19 million people are out of jobs.
The young are not immune from the impact of economic slowdowns. The International Labour Organisation projects that young people are 3 times more likely to be unemployed than adults and currently over 75 million youths are looking for work.
This is what the ILO calls a “scarred” generation, facing a dangerous mix of high unemployment, underemployment and high working poverty.
In Singapore, we have so far avoided the pitfalls through a combination of sound economic policies and a hard working resilient population.
But is it anything to crow about?
Greece, Spain and even the UK have all seen rising discontent and pent up anger amongst disenfranchised youths, seemingly kicked out even from the rat race, without any sense of ownership in the society they live in.
It all boils down to a single thought – a lack of a sense of fairness.
Budget 2013 promises a better Singapore for the future. It takes into consideration the different profiles of our working demography. I echo the calls made by my fellow Labour MPs for our different worker segments. It again boils down to a sense of fairness for our workers, that they are valued and not just statistics.
But I make an additional call, Madam Speaker, for the young job entrants of Singapore. As we aspire for a better Singapore, as this Budget calls for, as we grow qualitatively and build an inclusive society, let us not forgot that our youths are not just beneficiaries of a better future Singapore but also co-owners, co-builders, co-drivers as well.
The future cannot be shaped in a vacuum, the future generations of Singaporeans must have a hand in the future success of our country. It is none more important that to ensure that they have a fair chance at being more than building-blocks, but co-creators of growth.
Over the past few Budgets, little mention has been made of our young job entrants and the challenges that they will face or to address their many varied aspirations holistically.
We have however, made some in-roads in recent years including the 'Max Talent' scheme for young PMEs in SMEs, entrepreneurship grants for young Singaporeans, progressive education and greater quality vocational training with additional pathways such as SIT and SUTD. But more remains to be done!
The next 3 years will be crucial ones for Singapore. As we continue to ensure we have a viable economic future, I hope that our young job entrants will have a fair deal.
I have 3 main areas of focus:
Fair Employment Market for Young Job Entrants
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for our fresh job seekers is what I call the "experience trap". A significant number of young graduates I spoke to recently expressed their disillusionment at a lack of opportunity.
This seemingly runs counter to the employees market we are supposed to be experiencing.
The hurdle is employers requiring minimum years of experience to get a job. It is an oxymoronic situation. If young job entrants are not given an opportunity then they will never get the experience required of them.
Contract work and long term internships are becoming the norm. A recent New York Times article on 01 March titled "The No-Limits Job" alluded to the fact that the notion of traditional entry-level jobs are fast disappearing. Longer hours, less job security. In addition, the concept of a 22-22-22 worker is emerging, no, it's not a Toto combination, but meaning a 22 year old willing to work 22 hours a day earning $22,000 a year. This is a frightening proposition.
I urge the government to consider more protection for young job entrants to better protect them over the next 3 years. I agree with the Honorable Member Mr Patrick Tay that protecting a Singaporean core for PMEs through robust labour market testing may be required.
But I also urge that young job entrants get a fair deal and fair employment, that they are not taken advantage of in pay or benefits, that they be better educated of their employment terms and be work-ready even while completing their education.
Future-ready workforce for future industries
I am heartened that the Budget calls for developing capabilities for new growth industries. The Future of Manufacturing and Satellite Industry Development Fund will commit close to $600 million over the next 5 years.
Yet, I am also apprehensive. If we look back into the not so distant past, we have similarly welcomed new growth industries into Singapore. However, the dilemma has been one of heightened investment but little downstream positive economic impact to the average Singaporean.
The early workers in these industries have tended to be skilled foreign labour to staff the start-ups. Singaporeans, especially aspirational young job entrants, are right to feel left out of the equation. Entrenchment of skill sets within these industries also create the impression that it is not possible to break into these industries.
As such, I urge our education, manpower, and economic agencies to work closely together to chart future growth markets.
This is so that we can prepare early for a future-ready workforce. So that young potential job entrants can chart for themselves a future that they will have a hand in shaping. That they are allowed to be at the forefront of the excitement of spearheading new industries.
I suggest a widening of the programmes jointly promoted by NTUC and SPRING Singapore, such as the Core Executives Programme and Management Associate Partnership for fresh graduates from our universities and polytechnics in these new growth sectors. To institutionalize a way forward to ease their entry into these sectors.
But not just future-ready for future industries. This can apply to current industries as well. In the OPEC cluster which is still a growing and vibrant one, ITE graduates are being well engaged through the NITEC course in Chemical Process Engineering as well as the Higher NITEC in Process Plant Design and other related courses.
In the Electronics & Precision Engineering sector, though not yet a popular choice amongst young job seekers, is in reality a sector full of opportunities and where young job entrants can make meaningful careers for themselves. Beyond focusing on the "sexy" jobs, all jobs should be seen as good jobs for growth.
As such, I call on the government to continue to focus on new industries and at the same time rejuvenate existing core industries and ensure all young job entrants have fair opportunities to be part of the growth of our economy.
Fair Chance to Take Chances
As our society progresses, so opens new pathways and new opportunities. Many more young job entrants are exploring new possibilities and creating waves.
Yet, we are perhaps still a nation stuck in a traditional mode of industry, an economy still focused on the end state of material gain and GDP growth.
Young Singaporeans often relate that they feel stifled, that the values of a generation of helicopter latchkey parents have driven them to only concentrate on what is economically in their best interest.
But as the experience of creativity in other countries tells us, such as the US where pathways are created where there were none, where the expression of the young are also a major driver of local economies, we may be better placed if we encouraged more options for young job entrants to explore. A better Singapore should be one of vibrancy and multiple routes for young Singaporeans to take.
I am glad that the SUTD and SIT have been set up to allow additional avenues especially for our polytechnic students to go further with their aspirations.
However, in spite of that this year's Budget again focuses on the traditional core of work, such as manufacturing, electronics, data analytics, finance, maritime. I urge the government to seriously consider the aspirations of our young in shaping a future economy. Let our young Singaporeans, our young job entrants, have a fair chance at taking a chance.
I ask that Enterprise One do more to help young aspiring Singaporeans to explore those options, to reduce the red tape and give greater guidance.
I also propose that a National Youth Incubator Fund be set-up, to allow young Singaporeans to propose ideas to better prepare Singapore for the future and allow them the funding to testbed their ideas.
Mdm Speaker, before I conclude, I beg your indulgence to share about two inspiring young Singaporeans I met recently who have very different aspirations.
Jonathan is 21 this year and serving with the Police K9 Unit. He had a rocky start to his education. He failed his PSLE, retook and went from EM2 to EM3. He persevered, passed the second time and went on subsequently to ITE where he did well and excelled in the course of his choice, graduating with a NITEC in Community Care & Social Services.
Inspired by his late mother who passed away from cancer in October 2008, he feels it is a privilege to live her legacy of serving the community. A chain smoker in his secondary school days, he quit and not just that, he became an "I QUIT Ambassador" for HPB to motivate others to quit.
For his community efforts he was awarded the Star of SHINE by NYC last year.
He aspires to be a social worker and to be there for others. He also aspires to be a world class illusionist, to use magic to motivate others.
In his words and I quote "I want to give back to the community, society, nation and the world my 200%"
The second is Tay Jia. 19 this year, she studies at Ngee Ann Poly. She is an active volunteer with the Thye Hua Kwan Moral EIPIC Centre as well as the National Library Board.
Tay Jia loves children, and she aspires to be an educational psychologist eventually. In her words and I quote "I have a passion for interacting with children and I aspire to be able to make a difference in their lives. I feel that it is a challenging yet rewarding career."
Her hope is for a future Singapore with a resilient economy providing career opportunities and learning resources to groom active and thoughtful people for a better tomorrow.
Some may say idealistic, I say, we need to give more opportunities to young Singaporeans like Tay Jia and Jonathan.
Mdm Speaker, 3 years from today, I hope that we can find ourselves in a better Singapore where young Singaporeans have fair employment, are future-ready and like Jonathan and Tay Jia be given a fair chance to pursue their dreams.
We must value every young job entrant but not just every young job entrant but value every worker in this transition and transformation process. With that, Mdm Speaker, I support the Budget.
