~ For two decades, NTUC has worked to strengthen protections for senior workers. ~
~ As artificial intelligence transforms work, NTUC remains committed to support
senior workers continue contributing meaningfully to the workforce. ~
The Labour Movement has long championed the interests of senior workers, advocating for them to have the choice, assurance and dignity to continue working if they choose to, while helping them keep their skills relevant, access fair opportunities to remain in the workforce and build greater retirement adequacy.
Over the years, NTUC has engaged senior workers to understand their needs and advocated for their interests in Parliament and through tripartite discussions. Then NTUC Deputy Secretary-General Heng Chee How was a longstanding advocate for senior workers, championing stronger retirement and re-employment protections, financial security, flexible work arrangements, job security, and equitable access to training through mechanisms such as NTUC Company Training Committee. Today, NTUC Deputy Secretary-General (DSG) Desmond Tan continues this advocacy by calling for age-inclusive hiring, job redesign, and stronger support for employers to train and retain senior workers as artificial intelligence reshapes jobs. NTUC’s advocacy for senior workers can be found in Annex A.
Beyond advocacy, NTUC provides practical support for senior workers across its ecosystem. NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute) offers career guidance, training and job matching support; NTUC LearningHub provides skills training; and Company Training Committees (CTCs) enable companies to undertake transformation in tandem with skills training to support its workers.
Supporting senior workers’ careers through the 5Rs: Regroup, Reposition, Reskill & Pivot, Reconnect and Re-enter
Supporting workers through NTUC’s e2i
For senior workers and experienced PMEs, NTUC’s e2i provides support across different stages of their career journey, from taking stock of their career options and repositioning their experience, to building relevant skills and navigating their next employment opportunity.
e2i’s Senior PMET Career Support brings this support together through the 5Rs: Regroup, Reposition, Reskill and Pivot, Reconnect and Re-enter. The 5Rs recognise that senior workers may be at different stages of their careers and therefore require different forms of support:
Regroup – Get clarity about your next chapter. Workers can take stock of where they are in their careers, consider their priorities and identify possible next steps. This provides a clearer starting point before deciding whether to remain in a similar role, explore a career change or pursue a different employment pathway.
Reposition – Position your experience for your next move. Senior workers may have accumulated extensive skills and experience over their careers. Career support can help them identify their strengths and better position that experience when exploring different roles and opportunities.
Reskill and Pivot – Build the capabilities for your next role. Where workers are looking to transition into a new or redesigned role, they can be supported in identifying relevant training and building the capabilities needed for their next move.
Reconnect – Build networks and access opportunities. Senior workers can receive support to broaden their job search and reconnect with employment opportunities as they navigate their career transition.
Re-enter – Turn opportunities into employment. For workers ready to return to employment or take on their next role, support is available to help them navigate this next stage of their career transition.
The 5Rs provide senior workers with support tailored to their career needs that reflects where they are in their career journey. More information on e2i's Senior PMET Career Support can be found in Annex B.
Supporting skills development through NTUC LearningHub
NTUC LearningHub, the training and continuing education arm of NTUC, offers a wide range of courses with varying content and depth to cater to diverse learner profiles, including senior workers. This complements NTUC’s broader efforts to support workers in building relevant skills throughout their careers.
Working with employers through CTCs
Through CTCs, NTUC and its unions work with employers on workforce and business transformation, pairing skills upgrading and job redesign with technology adoption and productivity improvements. Companies can tap on the CTC Grant to support these efforts, while drawing on NTUC’s ecosystem to support their hiring needs and training needs.
NTUC has called on employers to support age-friendly job redesign through CTCs. Together with skills upgrading, this can help senior workers build relevant skills, move into redesigned roles and remain relevant as work evolves, while employers can retain their experience and capabilities. Examples of positive outcomes for senior workers and employers are provided in Annex C.
Taken together, NTUC’s continued advocacy and practical support complement the latest Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment (TWG-SE) recommendations. NTUC will continue working with tripartite partners to help senior workers remain employable, access meaningful opportunities and continue contributing if they choose to, while partnering employers to build workplaces that support their evolving needs.
