Introduction
Mr Speaker, as we double down on efforts to boost our status as a global aviation, maritime, and logistics hub, let us also pay equal attention to how these efforts will reshape jobs and impact our workers.
Up to 30% of aviation jobs may be redesigned within the next five years — mostly in ground handling1, and more preparations are required as Terminal 5 is being constructed.
In logistics, new, higher-paying roles will be created in PME jobs, including data analysis, supply chain management and software development. At the same time, some roles will undergo displacement — including operators, storekeepers, and in sales and customer services functions.2
At our container terminals at Tuas, Pasir Panjang, and cargo terminals at Jurong Port, usage of more automated vehicles and cranes will improve productivity and create more higher value jobs.3
As we build this future, we must also ask: how are we preparing our people for it?
Mr Speaker, I recently had the opportunity to visit China with Senior Minister Lee, and, your good self, where we saw ports, logistics facilities, and aviation-related operations.
What struck me most was how rapidly technology is changing transport systems around the world. Across countries and industries, there is a growing push towards automation, digitalisation and new operating models.
The lesson I took away was that it reinforced the need for Singapore to continue adapting, innovating and investing in our people if we are to maintain our position as a leading global transportation hub.
Because ultimately, technology can be bought. Infrastructure can be built.
But it is our workers — their skills, their adaptability and professionalism — that will continue to differentiate Singapore.
And that brings us back to the central question: how are we preparing Singaporeans for the future?
In my roles as a Labour MP and in my work in M3 under Focus Area 4 (FA4) where we look into employment and employability, the question that our Singaporean workers are most concerned about is: will I have a good job in Singapore’s future?
So, when we adopt more automation, robotics and AI in our transport sector, let us also ask:
How can these technologies help create better jobs for our seafarers, our technicians, our aviation, logistics and maritime workers, and new roles in transport cybersecurity as our sectors becomes more digitalised?
As our rail network expands — with projects like the Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS Link — how can we create ladders to help our rail technicians progress further?
And as we develop the low-altitude economy, including deploying more drones, and also unmanned vessels for surveys, how are we creating more career pathways for Singaporeans?
The future of transport must also be a future of career progression – where our workers have opportunities to become more skilled, more productive, with better wages and better work prospects than before.
Today, I would like to speak about how we can create a better future for: our young graduates; and our existing rank-and-file workers and technicians.
First, our young graduates. In my work as an educator, I have watched many of my young students drawn to delivery and gig work — for their flexibility, and the chance to earn extra income.
I understand the appeal, but the job has its downsides:
There is a higher risk of injury – According to MOM’s Workplace Safety and Health Report, platform workers suffered fatal and major injuries at a rate of 84.6 per 100,000 last year4, nearly five times higher than the rate for the workforce as a whole.
There is also limited progression in the long run. Our young delivery riders risk becoming entrenched in these jobs.
And there are signs of potential disruption too. Drone deliveries have been on trials for a few years now, over our waters and more recently across the Kallang River.5
So, as we anchor good jobs through the development of our transport industries, we must also adjust our training curriculum, leverage the new Tripartite Jobs Council and create pathways that attract our young graduates into these new exciting roles.
Let us match our young graduates' interests and aptitudes early, while they are still in school — to career ramps available in aviation, logistics and maritime.
And let us ensure that the work conditions and prospects – particularly at the entry level – can genuinely attract and retain our younger workers.
Many of them need to see their future potential – beyond the internship and the traineeship period. That if they work hard, there are real prospects of progression – to move into higher value roles, with better Wages, Welfare and Work Prospects.
Let us double down on our efforts so that we can see more young Singaporeans grow and flourish alongside the development of the transport sector.
In this regard, I would like to ask the Ministry of Transport on how it intends to work through the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA), the Tripartite Jobs Council, NTUC, and our Unions to develop clearer “school-to-sector" pathways into these future transport careers, supported by internships, apprenticeships, structured traineeships and career guidance.
Second, our existing rank-and-file workers and technicians. Many of them will see their daily tasks change with technology.
We must identify at-risk roles early. Map them to adjacent opportunities and build structured career pathways. If we get this right, transformation becomes a story of renewal and growth — not about replacement.
We must also redesign jobs alongside our workers, to help them see how technology can help them to get their jobs done better.
And we must provide our workers the necessary support and training pathways to help them move to higher-value, better jobs.
Beyond Wages and Work Prospects, it is also important to ensure that jobs in the transport sector also provide better welfare and better working conditions for our workers.
Worker welfare must also include safety, especially for workers whose duties expose them to heat, thunderstorms and other adverse weather conditions. This matters in transport, where aviation, maritime, logistics and port workers continue to keep operations running on the ground, at our terminals, at sea and on the tarmac.
For example, MSE and NEA launched a Heat Stress Advisory in 2023, while MSE is working with agencies such as MPA and MOM to better manage weather-related challenges.
As we transform our transport sector, we should apply these technologies more directly to protect our workers.
Let us leverage technology to support efforts to plan rostering, shifts, and rest hours more thoughtfully – especially to support round-the-clock operations in our transport sector.
As we build world-class infrastructure, let us also ensure that we plan for adequate amenities for our workers who have to work on-site - affordable food, good rest facilities, and quiet rooms for long shifts.
Recently, SBS Transit opened Singapore’s first dedicated accommodation for bus drivers next to Sengkang West Depot – with rooms, kitchens, and even a dedicated floor for female drivers.6
I hope to see more of such amenities provided for our workers who work hard on-site.
Let us also leverage technology to reduce commute times for our transport workers who travel more extensively to both ends of Singapore. For example, by deploying AVs to enable first and last-mile connections to Changi, Tuas, our ferry terminals and our industrial estates. These work sites generally have less access to public transportation, especially in the early and late hours.
Mr Speaker, as we build these pathways, we must also track whether they are delivering real outcomes. We should know who is entering these new roles and whether our young graduates, rank-and-file workers and technicians are benefiting. Such tracking can help monitor worker composition, training outcomes, wage progression and career mobility so that transformation remains accountable to our workers.
An aspect of welfare for our workers that we tend to forget – respect.
Mr Speaker, let me briefly share with you a dialogue I had with rail technicians recently.
They told me something quite striking. Every time there is a rail breakdown, public frustration is immediate and often directed at them.
But what many of us do not see is their reality: working through the night, managing complex systems, carrying the responsibility of keeping millions of commuters safe.
This reminds us that strengthening our transport hub is not just about better systems. It is about valuing the people behind them.
If we want the next generation to join such jobs, the jobs must be stable and well-paying. But at the end of the day, respect is important.
Malay Segment
Tuan Speaker, izinkan saya menyentuh sedikit dalam Bahasa Melayu.
Apabila kita bercakap tentang masa depan pengangkutan, ini bukan sekadar soal teknologi atau kecekapan.
Ini juga soal sama ada pekerja kita — pekerja muda mahupun pekerja berpengalaman — dapat merebut peluang baharu yang akan muncul.
Ini amat berkait dengan usaha Jawatankuasa Daya Ekonomi, yang saya bersama-sama pengerusikan dengan Encik Saktiandi Supaat.
Tugas kami adalah membantu menterjemahkan saranan Economic Strategy Review kepada laluan praktikal — terutamanya untuk belia, pekerja pertengahan kerjaya, dan pekerja bergaji rendah.
Dalam sektor pengangkutan, peluang baharu pasti akan muncul.
Tetapi peluang ini tidak akan menjadi kenyataan jika maklumat tidak jelas, latihan tidak berkait dengan pekerjaan sebenar, dan sokongan tidak sampai lebih awal.
Sebab itu, kita perlu membina jambatan kerjaya. Bukan sekadar kursus — tetapi sesuatu laluan yang menghubungkan kemahiran kepada pekerjaan, dan pekerjaan kepada kemajuan hidup.
Conclusion
Mr Speaker, allow me to conclude with three calls.
First, build career bridges early. Support workers before disruption happens — not after.
Second, redesign jobs for better outcomes. Better Wages, Better Welfare and Better Work Prospects.
Third, make growth sectors accessible. So every Singaporean – our youth, and our rank-and-file workers – can see, enter, and progress in these opportunities.
Mr Speaker, our ambition is not just to remain a global transport hub.
Our ambition must be to become a people-centred transport hub, where growth creates good jobs, technology uplifts our workers, and every Singaporean has a pathway forward.
Because in the end, a hub is only as strong as its people. Airports do not connect themselves. Ports do not run themselves too. Logistics networks do not move themselves either.
Behind every successful transport hub are workers whose skills, commitment and professionalism keep Singapore moving. And when our workers move forward with confidence, Singapore will continue to move forward too.
Thank you.
