Budget 2016: Singaporeans’ Top Concerns

Singapore’s slowing economy and its impact on the job market have emerged as the top concerns for Singaporeans who gave their feedback to REACH in this year’s Pre-Budget Feedback Exercise.  

Many are also aware that skills upgrading is important so that Singaporeans can stay relevant in a changing economy. These areas made up one third of 3,600 feedback inputs shared by Singaporeans in the annual feedback exercise, jointly organised by REACH and the Ministry of Finance, to gather views on areas that should be looked into for this year’s Budget. The feedback exercise ran from 1 to 26 February on REACH’s online platforms and face-to-face engagement sessions. About 86% of feedback was received via face-to-face platforms while online channels gathered 14%.

Economy and Employment: Impact of the Economy on Jobs  

Singaporeans who gave their feedback to REACH felt that the country’s economy is slowing down, and wanted to know more about government measures to stabilise the economy. They also shared their concerns on whether there would be job security, both for the young and old, in the future. Mid-career workers recognised that it would be difficult for them to crossover to an unrelated sector without the relevant skillsets. They called for schemes to help affected workers cope financially, re-skill and re-enter the workforce. Suggestions include providing Singaporeans with guidance on the types of training courses to take up to improve employability, incentivising companies to embark on “place and train” schemes with funding and support from the Government, and providing short-term financial assistance to help mid-career professionals switch industries.

Some also called for more stable employment conditions in Singapore especially for those wanting to work beyond the retirement age. Older workers, those in their late 40s to 50s, also expressed concern about income stagnation and the lack of job opportunities available to them.

Skills Training and Lifelong Learning   

Many who provided feedback recognised that skills upgrading is a necessity for Singaporeans to stay relevant. They were appreciative of the SkillsFuture initiative to prepare the workforce for the future economy and called for more to be done to raise awareness and usage of the scheme. There were suggestions to provide more regular top-ups to the SkillsFuture credit as well as allow students to use the credit for school modules. To encourage employers to invest in staff training, contributors felt they should be allowed to claim SkillsFuture credit for company-initiated training.

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