The National Jobs Council has convened its first meeting on 3 June 2020 to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the outlook for jobs, and the design and implementation of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package.
The council is chaired by Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. It also includes other political office holders and leaders from NTUC and the industries, with Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat as its advisor.
At its first meeting, the National Jobs Council confirmed three terms of reference.
First, it will help identify and develop job opportunities for Singaporeans amidst COVID-19 and its aftermath.
Second, the council will rally and mobilise tripartite partners and training providers to establish a sizeable bank of SGUnited Jobs and Skills opportunities, catering to various sectors and every skill level.
And third, it will look to enable Singaporeans to take full advantage of the scaled-up opportunities, through tight coordination across Government and tripartite partners and effective implementation of job creation and matching; attachments and training for re-skilling; and job redesign in support of enterprise transformation.
The council will mobilise the tripartite partners’ networks and schemes to maximise support for jobseekers. It will also align its work and implementation strategies with that of the Future Economy Council and the Emerging Stronger Taskforce.
The council will also oversee the design and implementation of the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package announced at the Fortitude Budget. It aims to support close to 100,000 jobseekers through the SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package over the next 12 months.
Mr Tharman said: “We must work together as a national team to grow jobs and training opportunities in the coming months, on a scale well beyond any past experience. It is a challenging task, but achievable with tight coordination, and the tripartite partners going beyond established ways. We will use every way possible to create these opportunities, in both the public and private sectors, and pay special attention to our middle-aged and older workers.”
NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng has also given his full support to the council.
He said: “NTUC fully supports the National Jobs Council to secure our workers’ livelihoods and enhance their long-term employability. NTUC previously surfaced our unions’ feedback and recommendations to help workers and jobseekers.
“I am glad that the Government has considered our feedback, recommendations and introduced the National Jobs Council. We are committed to continue working closely with our tripartite partners and do our best to support this whole-of-nation approach to job preservation, job matching, job advocacy as well as job creation and training.”
Similarly, Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) President Robert Yap said that SNEFis fully on board with the national effort to support employees. He added that SNEF members will look at how they can provide opportunities for new and existing employees to upskill in order to safeguard their livelihoods in both the short- and long-term.
