Mr Deputy Speaker,
This is my first Budget as an MP from the Labour Movement. In the previous debates, I have spoken up on mental health, education and lifelong learning, in support of our educators and healthcare worker — causes that remain close to my heart.
Stepping into this new role has made something clearer to me — it all converges. At the heart of all these issues, lies work. The dignity of work, the stability that employment provides, and the confidence to navigate change. Whether as an educator or healthcare worker adapting to new technologies, or mid-career worker confronting AI driven transformation, transitions affect everyone.
And today, I wish to focus on how we can better support workers, through transitions in the age of AI. From the past months, through my engagements at NTUC, I have observed that transitions are not one-size-fits-all. Different workers experience transitions differently. Let me briefly outline four groups.
First, our youth. For young people entering the workforce, the transition is from education to employment. Many wonder whether the skills that they are learning today will still be relevant to them in the future. They are thinking about more than just their first job. They are thinking about independence, stability and of course, building a future. They need clearer exposure to industry realities, earlier signals of growth sectors, stronger alignment between education and employment, and of course, meaningful mentorship.
Second, are mid-career workers. This group have financial commitments: housing loans, caregiving responsibilities, and children in school. When industries transform, they not only ask “What should I learn?” but also “Do I have time to learn” and “Can I afford to make this move?”
I therefore thank the Government for announcing increased support for aged care, preschool childcare and student care, and committing holistically to review the student care sector to better meet the caregiving needs of families with primary school-aged children. This would ease some of our burdens of our mid-career workers and help them to juggle work, upskilling and caregiving more effectively.
The third group, our senior workers. Many have spent a large part of their lives working, and take great pride in their jobs, careers, and the knowledge they have built up. They are living longer and healthier lives and would like more options to continue contributing such as flexible work arrangements, part-time and community-based work.
For them, it is not just about the job redesign, but also ageism and social stigma, and presumptions that they are less productive and slower to adapt. Our seniors want to feel accepted and valued in the workplace after a lifetime of contributing to Singapore’s economic development. They have undergone many rounds of technological change, and they believe they can adapt and acquire AI skills.
The fourth group are displaced workers. When retrenchment occurs, anxiety is immediate. It can paralyse decision-making. In such moments, clarity and coordinated support matter greatly.
These groups face different friction points. But whether young or senior, mid-career or displaced, their concerns converge around three Pillars: Clarity, Early and trusted engagement, and Confidence.
Let me begin with the first pillar: Transitions require clarity.
Transitions Require Clarity
At last year’s debate, I spoke about workers’ uncertainty regarding the returns from upskilling. Many were willing to learn, but unsure whether courses would translate into real employment outcomes.
I am very encouraged that this year’s Budget strengthens the system-level alignment by merging SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore. This structural reform improves coordination between training, career guidance and most importantly, job matching.
It begins to address the fragmentation I raised previously. I met a mid-career worker who completed multiple courses over three years. She showed me her certificates proudly. Yet she asked whether she had upgraded in the right direction. Her wages had not shifted significantly. Her pathway remained unclear.
So, effort without direction creates frustration. Effort with direction builds confidence. Clarity must mean that workers understand: What skills are in demand? Which sectors are growing? What roles can they realistically move into? And what progression looks like over time. This is particularly important in the age of AI, where the change is faster, and signals can be very much blurred.
For our young people, clarity must begin even before they graduate. This is why early career exposure and structured mentorship matter. Through platforms such as NTUC Youth, young members receive career guidance and industry exposure to help them navigate this first transition with greater confidence.
Clarity must also translate into action at the company level. Transformation is ultimately about process redesign, tool redesign and of course, job redesign. I therefore call on more businesses to take a worker-centred perspective when implementing transformation.
NTUC’s Company Training Committee Grant supports companies in doing precisely this by funding structured transformation initiatives that directly translate into better worker outcomes.
When workers see how their roles are redesigned, rather than removed, clarity becomes tangible. Clarity turns the transition from something feared into something navigable.
Transitions Require Early and Trusted Engagement
Sir,
Second, transitions require early and trusted engagement. No worker should have to navigate transition alone. Recently, I was involved in a retrenchment exercise. It gave me a deeper appreciation of how important early engagement is. Not just as a concept, but as a lived, practical mechanism of support.
When union leaders were engaged early, even before formal announcements, preparations could begin quietly. Career advisory support was coordinated. Alternative employment options could be identified in advance to minimise the period of uncertainty for the worker.
In contrast, when information flows to the union too late, workers feel blindsided. And of course, anxiety multiplies. Support becomes reactive instead of proactive. The difference between being informed before and after an announcement can be profound.
This experience reinforced something I have spoken about in previous debates. Strong industrial relations are built over time. They are built on trust, regular dialogue, and mutual respect, long before disruption occurs.
As transitions accelerate in the age of AI, restructuring may become more frequent across many sectors. The strength of our system will depend not only on economic agility, but on relational trust.
The Prime Minister reaffirmed in his Budget Speech that the Government will continue working closely with NTUC and unions to support workers through change. To strengthen this commitment, we should review and reinforce norms around early engagement and consultation where feasible.
This does not mean adversarial industrial relations. It means building clearer expectations. It means earlier dialogue. Greater transparency. Shared responsibility in transition planning.
Other jurisdictions have formalised advance notice mechanisms. Our approach need not replicate theirs. But we can continue strengthening norms that encourage responsible employer conduct and early partnership.
Because trust cannot be built at the point of retrenchment. It must be built before disruption happens. This is the second pillar. Transitions require early and trusted engagement.
Transitions Require Confidence
Sir,
Third, transitions require confidence. This confidence comes from two sources – external assurance of clear pathways from education and training into work, and internal resilience. I thank the Prime Minister for acknowledging that anxieties surrounding AI are real.
What I have observed is that this anxiety often stems not from the resistance to change, but from uncertainty about identity and value. Workers ask themselves: Am I still relevant? Do my skills still matter? Is there still space for me in this economy? These are deeply human questions.
In one conversation, a senior professional shared that his greatest fear was not unemployment, but irrelevance. He had spent decades building expertise. As digital systems were introduced, he worried whether that expertise would still be recognised. In another case, a displaced worker delayed updating his resume for weeks, not because he lacked ability, but because he felt uncertain about how to position himself in a fastly changed market.
Transitions, therefore, are not merely about skills transfer. They are about identity transition. They are about dignity. As we strengthen workforce systems, we should be intentionally ensuring that our students and workers have the confidence to navigate.
This means that as we design transition support frameworks, whether for youth entering the workforce, mid-career switchers, or displaced workers, structured activation and confidence-building components should sit alongside skills upgrading and job matching.
Career guidance should not only provide listings of available roles. It should help workers reframe their value. Transition programmes should not only provide technical certification. They should help individuals rebuild momentum and self-belief.
We have seen through structured activation and resilience interventions that when workers regain clarity and confidence, follow-through, interview rates, and transition outcomes improve. Confidence, therefore, is not abstract. It is measurable and actionable.
I therefore suggest that confidence-building and structured activation support be intentionally embedded within our transition frameworks, alongside skills upgrading and job matching. This could include integrating structured coaching and activation components into career conversion programmes and transition support services, so that workers receive not only technical training but guided momentum towards re-employment.
If we deliberately embed confidence-building into transition support, we strengthen not only individual workers but also the resilience of our workforce as a whole. Resilience determines whether change feels like an opportunity or a threat and gives individuals the confidence to take decisive steps to embrace the future of work. This is the third pillar. Transitions require confidence.
Sir, I will now speak in Malay.
FA4 dan Usaha Memperkukuh Pekerjaan
Tuan,
Dalam ucapan saya tadi, saya telah menyentuh tentang peralihan pekerjaan dan kesan AI terhadap tenaga kerja kita. Izinkan saya kini memberi tumpuan secara khusus kepada peranan Focus Area 4 (FA4) di bawah M3, dalam bidang Pekerjaan and Daya Kerja.
FA4 akan memastikan masyarakat Melayu-Islam bersedia dan berdaya saing dalam ekonomi yang sedang berubah. Dalam bulan Ramanda dan dengan Hari Raya yang bakal menjelang, saya tahu ramai penduduk di kawasan saya menjalankan perniagaan dari rumah: menjual kuih-muih, pakaian dan pelbagai produk secara dalam talian.
AI juga boleh dimanfaatkan oleh mereka. Mereka boleh menggunakan alat AI untuk membentuk poster dan gambar produk yang lebih menarik, menulis kapsyen pemasaran yang lebih berkesan, menjawab pertanyaan pelanggan secara automatik, malah mengurus tempahan dan rekod kewangan dengan lebih tersusun. Teknologi ini bukan hanya untuk syarikat besar. Ia juga untuk peniaga kecil yang mahu berkembang.
AI juga bukan sekadar relevan dalam perniagaan. Sebagai seorang bapa, saya sendiri melihat bagaimana teknologi ini boleh digunakan secara bertanggungjawab dalam pembelajaran. Anak saya mengalami disleksia, seperti saya, dan beliau menduduki PSLE tahun lalu. Kita semua tahu soalan PSLE kadangkala agak “menarik”. Dengan menggunakan alat AI dalam mod pembelajaran yang sesuai, iaitu Study and Learn, ia tidak memberikan jawapan secara langsung.
Sebaliknya, ia membimbing langkah demi langkah, membantu memahami cara berfikir dan pendekatan menyelesaikan soalan. Ia menjadi alat sokongan, bukan pengganti usaha. Saya dapat duduk bersama beliau dan melalui soalan-soalan tersebut dengan lebih yakin — seolah-olah menjadi seorang ayah yang pro untuk seketika.
Pengalaman itu menunjukkan kepada saya bahawa jika digunakan dengan betul, AI boleh membina keyakinan dan memperkukuhkan pembelajaran. Jika dalam pendidikan dan perniagaan kecil kita boleh memanfaatkan AI secara bijak, maka dalam pekerjaan dan peningkatan kemahiran juga kita harus berani melakukan perkara yang sama.
Dalam aspek pekerjaan dan daya kerja, FA4 boleh terus memperkukuhkan hubungan dengan majikan dan rakan industri supaya lebih banyak peluang latihan, internship dan penempatan kerja diwujudkan dalam sektor pertumbuhan.
Di pihak NTUC, melalui inisiatif seperti AI-Ready SG, kami akan terus menyokong para pelajar, pekerja dan usahawan kecil dalam menghadapi perubahan ini. Perincian lanjut akan saya huraikan dalam perbahasan Committee of Supply nanti.
Akhirnya, AI bukan sekadar soal teknologi. Ia soal bagaimana kita memilih untuk menggunakannya. Jika kita menggunakannya dengan bijak, perubahan ini bukan satu ancaman. Ia peluang untuk masyarakat kita terus maju dengan yakin.
Conclusion
Sir,
In closing, as transitions become more frequent in the age of AI, our responsibility is clear. We must strengthen clarity, so workers see real pathways forward. We must deepen early, trusted engagement so no one feels blindsided by change.
And we must intentionally build confidence, so that workers are equipped not only with skills, but with the self-assurance and resilience to move forward. If we get these three foundations right, transition will not weaken our workforce. It will only strengthen it.
And Singapore will continue to move ahead with our workers, not ahead of them.
Sir, I support the Budget.
