Mr Speaker, this Bill is about bringing skills, career and employment functions under one agency. But that itself is only the means, it is not the end. The real question is pretty simple: will this make life easier and clearer for Singaporeans trying to find their way in a changing economy?
In my Budget speech, I spoke about transitions and the need to have greater clarity. And I think that is exactly the issue here that we are addressing. For many students, fresh graduates, and workers today, the problem is not just whether support exists.
The problem is whether the way forward is clear – whether there is clarity in:
a) What jobs are growing?
b) What skills really matter?
c) Which pathway is worth taking?
d) And who can help me get there?
This is why this Bill matters. This bill gives SWDA a broad remit across career, employment and training matters. It is meant to support students preparing for entry into the labour market, Singaporeans seeking employment or re-employment, and employees seeking to develop their careers and remain in productive employment.
Sir, I want to speak from two vantage points that I have seen firsthand as an educator: pre-employment training students and continuing education and training learners. These are different groups. They have different pressures. But both are really asking the same question: where does this path lead to? And that, to me, is where SWDA comes in.
In fact, if I may put it very bluntly and simply, SWDA must be the bridge between learning and work.
Pre-Employment Training Students
Let me start with Pre-Employment Training (PET) students. As a former educator, I have seen many students do everything right. They study hard. They complete their courses. They submit their work, mostly. They try to make good decisions.
But as graduation approaches, many still become quite anxious. Not because they do not want to start work. Not because they are lazy. But because they are not sure how to turn what they have learnt into a real first job.
They ask:
a) Fundamentally, does this qualification still matter?
b) Will employers value me for what I can do?
c) Do I still need more training?
d) Do I need experience before I can get experience?
This is what I call the first-job gap. It is the gap between finishing a formative stage of life and seeing a real route towards meaningful work. And it is in that gap that confidence can disappear very quickly.
I have seen capable, hardworking and promising students lose their footing at exactly the moment they should have been stepping forward with confidence.
Some took temporary work while trying to find their footing. Some drifted into jobs beyond what they have been trained for, not because they chose that path confidently, but because they could not see a way into something better.
What they lacked was not willingness. What they lacked was a clear bridge into work. And many parents are asking the same things in their own way: After all the effort, after all these years of study, is there a real pathway to a real job?
Sir, I acknowledge that the Government has already taken steps to support fresh graduates.
The GRit (GRaduate Industry Traineeships) programme, is one such measure. It helps graduates gain experience and skills through structured traineeships. And I find it very useful. But it’s still largely help that comes at a point after graduation. And this issue is now even more urgent.
The newly announced Tripartite Jobs Council reflects that reality that workers and businesses are already facing disruption from AI and economic change.
If one part of that is to help young people and fresh graduates find their footing, then that only reinforces the point that we cannot wait until the end of the journey to intervene.
So we must shape the pathways earlier.
So when we talk about workforce development, we cannot wait until the end of the journey and then say: here are some portals, here are some schemes, good luck.
That is not a pathway. That is a scavenger hunt.
So SWDA must move upstream. That means better career guidance earlier in the student’s journey. It means clearer signals on which jobs are growing and which skills matter. It means making internships, attachments and industry projects more normal, not something enjoyed mainly by those who already have the right networks. And it means making the school-to-work transition less dependent on luck.
Our young people don’t just need more options; they need better direction.
Continuing Education and Training Learners
Sir, there is another group I have also worked closely with over the years and these are the CET learners. Recently some of them just graduated from their polytechnics and they messaged me on how happy they were to finish that line. They shared over time that their challenge is really different.
For a CET learner, going back to class is rarely a small decision. Many are already working and they have family responsibilities. Some are under financial pressure. Some have not studied for many years. Some are trying to recover from retrenchment, stagnation or simply a loss of confidence.
So when a CET learner signs up for a course, normally, it is not casual. It is often an act of hope.
They are saying: I am willing to learn again. I am willing to put in the effort. But I need to know this leads to somewhere.
This is the transition gap. It is the gap between returning to learn and actually improving one’s job prospects, income, confidence and long-term mobility. And this is where the frustrations can bite hard. Because many adult learners are not looking for enrichment. They are looking for improvement. They do not want a certificate that just sits in a folder.
They want to know:
a) Will this help me pivot?
b) Will this improve my employability?
c) Will this get me a role with prospects?
d) Will these skills that I learn be recognised?
I have taught adult learners who came to class after work, carrying family responsibilities and financial pressure, like mentioned earlier. They were serious, they were disciplined, and they were not there to collect papers.
Their question was always practical: If I invest my evenings, my weekends, and my energy into this, will it really lead to a better job, better wages, and a more secure future?
That is a fair question. In fact, that is the right question.
So if SWDA is to succeed, it must not only support participation in CET. It must ensure CET is much more closely connected to job transitions, employer recognition, and actual labour market demand. Otherwise, we are asking people to invest time, effort and money into learning without giving them a clearer route forward. And that would be deeply unfair.
Moving from Learning to Work with Confidence
Sir, when we look at PET students and CET learners together, the lesson is clear. The issue in Singapore today is not just whether we have courses. It is not just whether we have job vacancies. It is whether people can move from learning to work with greater confidence and less guesswork.
This is why the merger matters. If SWDA works well, it can make that journey clearer, more practical and certainly more credible. And this is where the merger is in the right direction.
It talks about moving beyond fragmented support towards upstream guidance, better triaging, stronger service integration, and support that comes before crisis, not after.
Sir, I hope SWDA will focus on four practical shifts.
First, make jobs-and-skills information far more usable. A student should be able to understand what jobs are growing, what adjacent roles exist, and what skills employers value. An adult learner should be able to understand whether a course is likely to help with employability, a job move, or a proper pivot.
Second, strengthen work-integrated learning and applied exposure. Internships, attachments, project work and structured pathways into first jobs should not be left to chance. They should become more systematic, especially for those who do not already start with advantages.
Third, make skills-based matching real. Workers should be able to see what skills they already have, what roles they may be suited for, what gaps remain, and what support can help them close that gap. And employers should be encouraged to hire with a clearer view of skills and potential, not just relying on pedigree shortcuts.
This is also where I think we can learn from what is already happening on the ground. Today, Singaporeans already have Government tools such as MyCareersFuture and the Careers and Skills Passport to support job search and career planning. At the same time, e2i’s NTUC AI Career Coach is trying to make career support more integrated and easier to use.
The issue is not which platform exists or which platform is better. The issue is whether SWDA can make an overall experience more joined-up, so that workers do not feel like they are moving across separate islands of support.
Fourth, support must arrive before the crisis, not after. Too often, help comes after someone has already lost confidence, lost their momentum, or lost income. We need a system that can identify risk earlier and support people while they still have time and options. That is smarter policy. And frankly, that is a more humane policy.
Sir, a central agency is useful. But an agency alone does not place workers. A good system does.
That is why strong tripartite coordination remains essential, including how SWDA works alongside the newly announced Tripartite Jobs Council so that training, transformation and job transitions reinforce one another.
Because people do not experience policy in neat categories. They experience it much more simply.
a) Either: I got help in time.
b) Or: I was left to figure it out by myself.
Now, that is the real test.
Sir, we should also be careful about how we define success. It is not enough to count how many people joined a particular programme, attended a course or received support.
I think the real question is:
a) Did they get a job?
b) Was it a suitable job?
c) Did they stay?
d) Did they progress?
e) Did their wages improve?
Workers should be able to land, stay and progress. If SWDA is bringing skills and employment together, then it should also bring measurements together. Otherwise, we may end up celebrating activity without knowing whether lives are actually improving.
Sir, this also matters deeply for communities working hard to turn aspiration into mobility.
Sir, in Malay, please.
Dalam usaha saya bersama M Kuasa Tiga Fokus Area ke-empat, dan kini sebagai pengerusi bersama Jawatankuasa Daya Ekonomi dengan Encik Saktiandi yang baharu, saya mendengar dengan jelas bahawa ramai belia, pekerja dan keluarga Melayu/Islam bukan meminta simpati.
Mereka mahukan kejelasan. Mereka mahukan sokongan yang praktikal. Mereka mahukan akses yang adil kepada pekerjaan yang baik serta peluang kemajuan yang nyata.
Dan ini penting kerana setiap kumpulan memerlukan bentuk sokongan yang berbeza:
a) belia yang baru melangkah ke alam pekerjaan;
b) graduan baharu yang sedang mencari peluang pertama;
c) pekerja pertengahan kerjaya yang sedang menyesuaikan diri;
d) golongan profesional yang mahu terus kekal relevan;
e) dan para usahawan yang mahu terus maju.
Dalam usaha saya bersama M Kuasa Tiga Fokus Area ke-empat, melihat isu ini bukan hanya di peringkat dasar, tetapi dalam usaha sebenar membantu para pencari kerja dan pekerja yang sedang cuba menyesuaikan diri, meningkatkan kemahiran dan mendapatkan semula pijakkan mereka.
Dalam usaha seperti langkah digital yang kita telah lancarkan juga menunjukkan bahawa kumpulan yang berbeza memerlukan sokongan yang berbeza. Belia sebagai pengguna awal, keluarga sebagai pengguna yang dibimbing, tenaga kerja sebagai pengguna praktikal, dan warga emas sebagai pengguna yang perlu diyakinkan. Yang penting sekarang ialah memastikan keyakinan ini diterjemahkan kepada pekerjaan yang baik, kemajuan kerjaya dan daya tahan ekonomi.
Kita telah membuat kemajuan dalam pendidikan dan latihan. Tetapi bagi ramai keluarga Melayu Islam, persoalannya sebenarnya adalah adakah laluan itu jelas kepada mereka. Jelas daripada sekolah ke pekerjaan, jelas daripada latihan ke pekerjaan, jelas daripada pekerjaan yang tidak stabil kepada pekerjaan yang lebih baik. Di sinilah peranan SWDA mesti benar-benar dirasai di lapangan.
Sebagai sebahagian daripada usaha FA4 dan juga Jawatankuasa Daya Ekonomi, saya berharap kita dapat bekerjasama rapat dengan SWDA supaya sokongan yang diberikan benar-benar sesuai dengan keperluan kumpulan yang berbeza: belia, graduan baharu, pekerja pertengahan kerjaya, para profesional dan juga usahawan.
Ini termasuk mengenal pasti sektor pertumbuhan yang mempunyai potensi kukuh, menghubungkan masyarakat kita kepada peluang tersebut, dan membina laluan yang benar-benar boleh diterjemahkan kepada pekerjaan yang baik, kemajuan kerjaya dan daya tahan ekonomi jangka panjang.
Bagi saya, ini bukan sekadar soal akses. Ini soal mobiliti.
Conclusion
Sir, if SWDA succeds, our PET students will step into work with greater confidence. Our CET learners will have greater assurance that learning and lead to progress. And our workers will move faster into suitable roles with less confusion and less anxiety.
Sir, in supporting this bill, I hope the Government can clarify three practical points.
First, how will SWDA move upstream to close both the first-job gap for students and the transition gap for adult learners, so that pathways become clearer much earlier?
Second, how will SWDA measure success beyond participation numbers, including whether people are placed into suitable jobs, whether they stay, whether they progress, and whether their wages improve over time?
Third, what concrete service experience should Singaporeans feel within the next one or two years in guidance, in matching and transition support that will show this merger is actually making the pathway much clearer?
With those clarifications, I support the bill.
