Singapore to help mature workers

It will be part of its national effort amid the COVID-19 threat.

"Our labour force is much older today than in the late 60s when the British began pulling out, and in the mid-80s recession," said Senior Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam at a ministerial broadcast series entitled "A Stronger And More Cohesive Society" here today.

"In those times, less than 30 per cent of our labour force was 40 years or older. Today, the proportion is 60 per cent, double what it was before. And many of today's workers are in fact 50 years or older," said Tharman, who is also the Coordinating Minister for Social Policies.

"Most of those in their 50s and 60s did not go beyond secondary school. They had much fewer educational opportunities than today's younger generation.

"But they are a hard-working and vigorous generation, who have accumulated valuable skills and experience over the years, and still have many good years ahead of them," he said.

Tharman noted that the government will spare no effort to help them carry on with their careers in the most productive jobs they can do.

According to him, the government will give employers extra support when they hire middle-aged and older Singaporeans.

"This is, and must be, a national effort," he said, adding that "it needs new thinking among employers, to give middle-aged and mature Singaporean workers a fair chance to prove themselves."