[Video] Desmond Choo on Improving Social Safety Nets

During the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Parliament on 17 April 2023, NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Desmond Choo shared that the economic outlook globally is more volatile and uncertain, and with many changes, such as shorter transformation cycles and skills becoming obsolete faster, some segments of the workforce are in greater danger.

He highlighted the need to concentrate on improving social safety nets, especially for Singaporeans born in the 1960s and 1970s, self-employed persons (SEPs) and older workers. He suggested two areas of focus to help Singaporeans bounce back: in pre-loss of jobs, and post-loss of jobs. For pre-loss of jobs, he suggests reskilling and absentee payroll funding. For post-loss of jobs, he suggests unemployment support and enhancing the Career Conversion Programmes, especially for SEPs.