Introduction
Madam Deputy Speaker. Thank you for the opportunity to join in the Budget Debate.
This year's Budget is one that truly uplifts all Singaporeans.
• It places workers' interests at its heart, with particular emphasis on supporting households and families.
In this 14th term of Parliament, our Government has consistently kept young workers at the center of our national policies.
• We have seen the Youth Panels supported by the National Youth Council give our young people a voice in national discourse.
• We have witnessed the ITE Progression Award providing graduates under 30 with both career opportunities and financial stability.
• And we have made significant strides toward becoming a more equitable society, with enhancements to the Workfare Skills Support Scheme enabling lower-wage workers to advance their skills earlier
Today, I want to focus specifically on how we can better support our youths and young workers.
Our young Singaporeans are entering the workforce with promising futures ahead.
• By many measures, Singapore's economy stands strong.
• We grew by 4% last year. The forecast for this year is 2-3% growth.
• And a recent IPSOS global study ranked our youth development as the highest in the world.
• Our young people are capable, dynamic, and engaged. That is something to be proud of.
• It speaks to the hard work and dedication of the Singaporean people, and the investments this nation has made in its future.
But behind these statistics, there's another reality we must confront.
• We have listened to young Singaporeans.
• More than 10,000 of them shared their hopes and fears with NTUC's Youth Taskforce.
• Careers are a top concern. And there's good reason for this concern, especially in 2024 and 2025.
The Joint Autonomous Universities Graduate Employment Survey revealed 79.5% of university graduates found employment within six months last year – down from 84% one year ago and nearly 88% just two years ago.
• For our polytechnic graduates, full-time employment has fallen from 60% to 54.6%.
By no means, these numbers are bad – compared to anywhere internationally, we are still in a good position.
But these are not just statistics. The anxieties are real, these are real lives, real dreams, real futures coloured by worries.
Indeed, our youths know and must embrace adaptability and resourcefulness in an increasingly competitive job market.
• Trends like AI and sustainability will continue to displace existing jobs while creating new ones.
• Our younger Singaporeans must continuously improve their existing skillsets, even beyond formal education, and learn new ones to keep pace with market trends.
To ensure our younger Singaporeans thrive in this dynamic environment, we must help them to build a mindset that prioritises lifelong learning and adaptability.
• As the saying goes, "The future belongs to those who learn more skills and combine them in creative ways."
That's why I want to focus on some specific steps we can take to support our young Singaporeans.
Take Wen Qi as an example – a young woman who studied business analytics.
• She shared how she had completed her required internship, but watched as her friends took on two, three, sometimes four internships just to compete for that first job.
• The anxiety she felt was real – wondering if doing what was expected would still be enough in a world that constantly demands more.
• Fortunately, Wen Qi found an employer who valued quality over quantity. She is doing well now. But not everyone is so lucky.
Youths' internship experiences vary widely, depending on the company’s resources and day-to-day experience with their internship supervisors.
These trends illustrate two key issues in the internship space:
• The availability of internships in the market; and
• The quality of internships that our youths undertake.
So today, I'm proposing two pathways toward a more hopeful future for our young people.
• We need not just more internships, but also better ones.
Over the years, our system have evolved into one whereby students feel compelled to stack internship upon internship, often delaying their graduation, sometimes working without pay, all in the hope of securing that first job.
Internships matter and are important.
• They open doors. They build skills. They create connections. They allow young Singaporeans to be ready for the workplace.
• But the measure of an internship cannot just be that it happened.
• The measure must be what our young people learned, how they grew, what doors it actually opened.
So, we will need our industry partners to help even more.
• Create meaningful opportunities for our young people.
• We must also support companies that do right by our students.
• The Government could boost funding support for Singapore companies to expose young Singaporeans to quality internships, either locally or abroad.
• These initiatives can build on existing programs like Enterprise Singapore’s Global Ready Talent Programme.
• The Government could also relax the 30% local shareholding requirement to include more MNCs as host companies to increase the number of internships.
• We can also look to successful models like Europe's Erasmus+ Programme, which does not just place young people in jobs and internships – it financially supports them while they learn.
Next, we need to establish clear standards for these internships.
• Standards that protect our young people from exploitation or meaningless work and ensure they are building real skills for real careers.
Currently, various IHLs prescribe their own guidelines for students who undertake internships or industry attachments.
• These include issuing interns a contract of service which lays out key employment terms.
• Beyond current workplace protections, establishing standards for internship quality will raise quality across the board and provide interns with a structured learning experience.
A national internship standard can:
• Define clear internship scopes to ensure structured learning.
• Establish measurable learning outcomes for both hard and soft skills.
• Promote best practices in supervision, mentorship, and performance appraisals.
• We can take inspiration from France, Belgium, and Luxembourg’s "Convention de Stage," which requires internships to have a tripartite agreement between the intern, employer, and school.
NTUC is here for youths, and we are ready to work with tripartite partners to establish these standards.
Lifelong Learning for a Changing World
My second proposal addresses an urgent reality: the days of a single career for life are probably over.
• Our young workers will navigate multiple transitions throughout their working lives.
• Even young professionals are not spared from retrenchments, as seen in the tech sector in 2023 and 2024.
• Surveys by NTUC and IPS found that younger workers expect to switch careers multiple times but feel only moderately prepared for it.
• That means that our young people need to be prepared to adapt, to learn new skills, and to reinvent themselves throughout their careers.
NTUC is committed to equipping young workers with the skills they need to thrive in a rapidly-changing employment landscape.
Next month, Young NTUC and Mentoring SG will launch a Sustainability Mentorship programme to help youths entering this growing field.
However, we need broader systemic support for young professionals facing job disruptions.
• Early-career professionals must be given the opportunity to explore new career interests and take calculated risks, such as switching industries before it becomes too late.
For example, Luke – a 37-year-old career mentor I met who embodies what's possible when we embrace change rather than fear it.
• After university, Luke didn't stop learning.
• He used his SkillsFuture credits to earn a graduate diploma in Anti-Money Laundering that helped him secure a promotion.
• Then, seeing the changing landscape, he took courses in data analytics to transition to a new role.
• Now he's planning to master AI and machine learning.
• Luke didn't just adapt to change – he got ahead of it. And in doing so, he wrote his own future.
But here's the thing: Luke shouldn't be the exception. He should be the rule.
I have previously called for government subsidies for a second degree or diploma.
• I am encouraged by the SkillsFuture Level-Up Programme, which now subsidises diplomas and training allowances for mid-career workers. But more can be done for young professionals.
That's why I'm proposing we expand the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Training Allowance to workers under 40.
• We should broaden course offerings for Career Conversion Programmes to match growth sectors like AI and sustainability.
• We should lower the SkillsFuture credit eligibility age for the current 25.
• We should expand the use of these credits beyond courses to include career coaching and skills profiling.
We need to help those who would otherwise be on the wrong side of the growth curve, no matter how young or old they are.
Conclusion
Our young Singaporeans are the architects of our future. As we celebrate 60 years of independence, let us recognise that their contributions will define Singapore’s next chapter.
Young NTUC, marking its 20th anniversary this year, is committed to deeper engagement with our youth.
Let us provide our younger Singaporeans with policies, resources, and mentorship. The success of our youth is the success of Singapore.
Madam Deputy Speaker, I support the Budget.
