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Mr Speaker, thank you for allowing me to join the Debate
The Budget theme “charting our new way forward together” is especially apt for a group of Singaporeans with the most vested interests – our younger Singaporeans. They are also part of “Generation Covid”. It is a loose moniker covering people from late childhood to early adulthood who are coming of age during this Pandemic. This Generation faces unique challenges. Covid has changed the workforce, workplace, and aspirations. New opportunities abound but also new threats lurking. Technology has accelerated the creation of higher end jobs but also commoditized lower end ones. Skills erosion is happening faster than ever. Young workers preparing for a changing economic order before Covid, now find themselves facing a vastly altered order.
Generation COVID
Recently, Young NTUC commissioned a study involving 1,500 young Singaporeans from age 16 to 35. Perhaps unsurprisingly, two out of three youths are anxious about the employment landscape, finding it challenging to navigate. Only one in two youths are certain of their career path and believe that they are provided with adequate career opportunities. They also have opportunities beyond the reach of earlier generations. Some worries I have heard from younger Singaporeans include how fundamental economic shifts will impact their job prospects, and inflationary pressures. They want to pursue the future with passion and energy but are faced in a nebulous environment.
Generation COVID are the future leaders of Singapore. We need to address their anxieties and worries. And importantly, work with them to fulfil their potential to the fullest. I do appreciate that I am perhaps unable to adequately understand the predicament faced by Generation COVID fully. For a start, I would like to explore their concerns from three aspects: jobs, education, and changing aspirations.
Jobs & Education
First, jobs and education opportunities. Some members of this Generation find their skills eroded substantially even before they graduate. Others are graduating into depressed sectors such as tourism-related industries. Yet others majoring in oil and gas are entering the decarbonization era. Reskilling and rapid adaption is the new game.
A. Expanding the Reach of SkillsFuture
First, we can consider expanding the reach of SkillsFuture. The use of SkillsFuture credits has shown a strong uptake in the past year. Courses related to skills in the IT, Healthcare and Professional Services sectors see the highest demand alongside good employment outcomes .
Generation COVID would similarly benefit greatly from SkillsFuture. This is especially for those who have graduated but find themselves unable to tap on growth opportunities due to a mismatch of skills. Young NTUC’s survey shows that a majority of youths find skills workshops useful. The much shorter economic cycles requires us to consider lowering the minimum age for SkillsFuture. In addition, we can also increase subsidies for targeted SkillsFuture courses, especially those that support Young Singaporeans to venture into growth economies.
Because of the shifting skills landscape, many younger Singaporeans will possibly need a more significant skills upgrade via a second subsidized diploma or degree. There is merit to such bigger moves because some skills acquisition just cannot be done through micro-courses. Currently, every Singaporean enjoy one bite of the cherry – one subsidized diploma and/or degree per person. With a shrinking cohort of Singaporeans every year, there is already capacity within the IHLs for people seeking a career boost.
B. Mentoring Opportunities
Currently, hard, technical skills are already baseline expectations. These can be taught within educational institutions or academies. However, there is a greater industry emphasis on soft skills such as career management and interpersonal skills. Some of these soft skills are not transferable through courses and are perhaps better picked up through the sharing of experiences.
Thus, there is great demand for structured mentorship in today’s workplace to assist our youths in navigating the professional workspace. Our mentorship will be especially valuable for Generation COVID’s younger people from lower and middle-income families. Some of them might not have easy access to mentors unlike their better-off counterparts. We have some nascent endeavours such as Young NTUC’s LIT Mentorship. There is also WeConnect 2.0, an initiative by the Mentoring Alliance for Action (Singapore). But for the Singaporean workforce to differentiate itself from competitors, we must see mentorship as a national capability. It is also part of the ethos espoused by this Budget – Singaporeans looking out for each other. We must still preserve the ground-up mutual help movement. At the same time, creating national centres of excellence for mentorship can accelerate and boost the impact of mentorship. Tripartite partners such as NTUC and SNEF can develop such centres because of their deep industry connections.
C. One-Stop Career Guidance Centre
Ironically, the new opportunities from the post-Pandemic world would also have made career navigation a lot more difficult. The current model of navigation starts from the school in the form of career guidance offices to national placement centres such as e2i or Career Connect. The transition is not seamless and might not also meet the needs of younger workers. Young workers have often asked about the possibility of a one-stop centre that houses career counselling, mentorship, internships, and employment opportunities. I can imagine that even the approach to career navigation might be quite different if it primarily serves younger workers. Can the government consider working with Tripartite partners to develop such a capability?
Changing values and aspirations
Next, on how we can better tailor our policies to Generation COVID, shaping Singapore into a country they are proud to call home.
Mr Speaker, Generation COVID are perhaps the most outspoken, educated, and progressive citizenry in the world. In Singapore, the SG Youth Action Plan has shown us our youth’s vision for Singapore in 2025 – social inclusivity, sustainability, mental well-being, and the need to strengthen our social compact.
Indeed, Generation COVID youths are different from the youths we were – they hold different aspirations for Singapore and have a stronger sense of social justice and activism. Many of them are interested in political and social causes, actively seeking avenues to be heard, to contribute meaningfully to such discourse. During the Pandemic and even now, many youths have founded and expanded mutual aid networks to help the less fortunate around us.
They also hope that their professional work aids in the advancement of social causes. Increasingly, we see our younger people seeking the expression and advancement of such issues not only through their personal lives, but also their professional work. This intersection of work and social activism is both exciting and less understood.
A. Creating Spaces
We have an urgent need for deeper conversations to chart the way forward. This brings us back to the theme of Budget 2022 – charting the way forward. We must first seek to understand Generation COVID’s views on a deeper level, by creating safer spaces for them to candidly share their thoughts, views, and aspirations for Singapore. What is their desired workplace, and work culture? What is the new compact with our younger workers? NTUC is working towards a deeper understanding of the aspirations and needs of our younger workers. We welcome partners to join us on this journey. This is that critical first step in building a new and sustainable compact with our young workers.
B. Mental Health (Workplace)
To many of our Generation COVID, greater strides must be taken to tackle mental health issues. As part of a generation who ascribe greater significance to having a purposeful balance between work and mental wellness over traditional aggregators of success, this issue is one Generation COVID feels strongly for.
The Pandemic has normalised hybrid workplaces and work-from-home culture. While the changing face of the workplace has afforded more flexibility, it has also blurred the boundaries between work and personal lives. New entrants to the workforce have a much harder time adapting to the hybrid work model without the benefit of an established support network. Thus, they are more exposed to stressors that were never present before the proliferation of hybrid workplaces.
I believe we can spark more conversations on mental health on the national level, normalising mental health issues across the nation and also within workplaces. Key stakeholders, such as employers, must remain sensitive and understanding towards persons struggling with mental health issues.
The labour movement will work closely with our tripartite partners to champion mental health within the workplace. We can consider establishing a code of practices for WFH and increasing peer-to-peer support as an avenue to advance mental wellness. Peer support is a crucial part of primary care at the workplace. It is not meant to replace professionals, but instead, is a vital link to get people to seek help. NTUC has launched a WSQ on peer-to-peer support and endeavours to work with all stakeholders to advance mental well-being.
Mr Speaker Sir, despite the uncertainties, the future is shining bright for our younger people with Budget 2022’s commitment to investing in new capabilities and opportunities for our economy and our people.
We must ensure that Generation COVID is well-prepared to face the uncertainties of the global economy and even the next pandemic. In NTUC, we will champion the aspirations and needs of our younger Singaporeans. We will chart this journey together alongside Generation COVID, working with them to emerge even stronger from the pandemic.
Notwithstanding my suggestions, I support the Motion.
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