Hansard, Tuesday, 5 October 2021

1 Dr Tan Wu Meng asked the Prime Minister regarding the report by MAS that bank customers in Singapore suffered fraudulent credit card transactions following malicious actors' diversion of SMS One-time Passwords (OTPs), whether a retrospective review will be conducted to establish whether additional customers prior to September 2020 may have been affected.

Mr Speaker, Sir, aside from Dr Tan's Parliamentary Question (PQ), Member Ms Joan Pereira had filed similar PQ yesterday and Mr Gerald Giam1 had also filed a PQ on this matter.

So, with your permission, may I take all these PQs related to the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS') recent announcement on the SMS one-time password (OTP) fraud, at the same time.

Yes, please.

Sir, MAS, the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and the Singapore Police Force (SPF) announced on 15 September that malicious actors overseas had diverted and used SMS OTPs to perform fraudulent credit card transactions between September 2020 and December 2020. Seventy-five bank customers in Singapore had been affected. Banks have reached out to all the affected customers to waive the unauthorised transactions, amounting to approximately S$500,000.

There have been no confirmed cases of SMS OTP diversion in Singapore prior to September 2020. Banks are reviewing all card dispute cases reported to them from September 2020, to identify if there may be other fraudulent transactions that were enabled by SMS OTP diversion. Banks will similarly investigate any new reports by customers, including any such transactions before September 2020. Bank customers will not have to bear any unauthorised charges in cases which are confirmed to have been enabled by SMS OTP diversion, as long as customers had taken care to protect their card information and authentication credentials. So, bank customers will not have to bear any such unauthorised charges so long as they had taken care to protect their card information and authentication credentials.

Sir, this attack has shown us that the fight against scams and fraud requires collective effort.

Banks have a responsibility to secure their IT systems, put in place robust measures to authenticate customer transactions and conduct active surveillance to detect unusual transactions patterns. They are required to institute robust security controls to safeguard customers’ account information and transaction data from unauthorised access and misuse.

Likewise, bank customers too have a responsibility – to protect their online banking and payment credentials for authentication such as passwords and OTPs, by inputting them only on official websites or mobile applications. These should never be disclosed over the phone, via text message or email.

Mr Giam had asked about the measures taken by banks and telecommunication companies to safeguard against the SMS OTP diversion attack. While banks’ systems were secure and not the cause of these incidents, banks have further enhanced their fraud surveillance measures. This includes rejecting card payments made to common merchants linked to the unauthorised transactions. Banks will continue to closely monitor the evolving cybersecurity landscape, and regularly review authentication mechanisms and other security measures put in place to address risks posed to customers using online financial services.

As for the local telecommunication networks, IMDA, in consultation with the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA), has required telco operators to put in place specialised firewalls and system safeguards to monitor and block suspicious diversions of SMS.

As Ms Pereira highlighted, consumers need to also take action to protect themselves. Allow me to share a few actions which consumers can focus on.

First, consumers must assume that criminals will try to obtain their online banking credentials. Criminals typically do this by tricking consumers into installing malware on their devices or disclosing their online banking username and passwords through phone calls or fake websites. When in doubt, consumers should call the banks’ official hotlines to verify the legitimacy of requests for online banking and card credentials.

Banks work with SPF, National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) and MoneySense, our national financial education programme, to regularly alert consumers to new methods adopted by scammers and to educate consumers on how they can protect themselves.

Consumers must also develop a healthy scepticism about websites, unsolicited phone calls, messages and emails. When making online purchases, they only should use established and reputable online services. If there is any doubt about a merchant’s legitimacy, do not proceed with the transaction. And be wary of any deal or offer that sounds too good to be true.

Second, consumers should set transaction notification thresholds at low levels so that unauthorised transactions are detected early. Banks work closely with SPF and Anti-Scam Centre to exchange intelligence on emerging scam trends, so that they can take prompt action. The sooner a report is made, the higher the likelihood that the funds can be recovered.

Where bank customers suffer financial losses from fraudulent transactions, they are protected as long as they have acted responsibly. Banks are expected to consider whether the customers could have taken reasonable steps to prevent the occurrence of the fraudulent transactions. Bank customers will not have to incur any losses which arise from the banks’ non-compliance with MAS’ rules.

Let me reiterate: fighting fraud is a collective effort. As criminals will continue to perpetuate new and more sophisticated methods to defraud consumers, banks, consumers and the authorities need to remain vigilant in preventing as well as detecting fraudulent transactions. MAS will continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure that e-payments remain safe and secure.

Dr Tan Wu Meng.

I thank the Minister for his answer. Sir, these are serious revelations. A Clementi resident told me that when he disputed a credit card transaction with his bank, he was told because there was an OTP record in his phone number's name, the transaction must be genuine and therefore, cannot be challenged. He appealed a number of times; the case was resolved. But how many more consumers would have given up before attaining a resolution?

Sir, I have got three supplementary questions for the Minister. First, prior to September 2020, how many reports were there of fraudulent card transactions in recent years where the victim said they did not perform the transaction nor receive the SMS OTP? Has the trend been going up, prior to the latest findings?

Second, will MAS consider looking into these earlier cases too? Cases, which based on earlier assumptions, might have been deemed clear-cut open and shut, but given the latest revelations, might warrant repeat scrutiny?

And thirdly, can MAS reassure the public, including our Clementi residents, that agencies will continue keeping an open mind when a customer is concerned about cyber fraud affecting their credit card, involving the SMS OTP?

Mr Speaker, as I mentioned in my reply just now, we have not seen any confirmed cases of SMS OTP diversion. I emphasise, we are talking about SMS OTP diversion fraud cases. We have not seen any confirmed cases up to now, prior to September. But the banks, as I mentioned just now, are investigating any further reports by consumers and customers, and these will include transactions that occurred before September 2020, taking into consideration this new revelation or this new finding that some of these SMS OTPs could have been diverted and we would take that into consideration in resolving these cases.

Certainly, if any subsequent report were to be made and found to be linked to SMS OTP diversion, the cases would be resolved as with the 75 cases that I highlighted, which means that for affected customers, the banks will waive the unauthorised transactions, so long as the customers have taken the necessary care to protect their card information and authentication credentials.

Going forward, for future cases, whether it is due to SMS OTP diversion or other fraudulent methods, I have mentioned before in this House that we have a Payments Council. They are reviewing guidelines and responsibilities for customers as well as financial institutions to clarify responsibilities and liabilities.

Ultimately, everyone needs to play their part: financial institutions will have to do so, customers will have to do so. If we clarify what the responsibilities and guidelines are, then, hopefully, we can continue collectively to do more to guard against such fraudulent transactions.

Mr Gerald Giam.

I thank the Minister for answering my PQ. Given that SMS OTP diversion is something that takes place overseas where MAS has no jurisdiction, how are the banks going to prevent this from happening to their customers again? For example, are banks or IMDA going to work with these overseas telcos to close these loopholes?

Secondly, will MAS be directing banks to move their multi-factor authentication methods away from SMS to, for example, more secure app-based authentication methods? If so, how will they ensure that the less tech-savvy customers will not be left out?

Lastly, can MAS also require banks to allow existing customers to disable SMS multi-factor authentication for their own accounts and then use app-based authentication instead, because they are more secured?

Sir, let me just take these three questions in turn. First, as I mentioned in my reply, IMDA is putting in place some safeguards with regard to how the telcos operate. In this instance where it comes to SMS OTP diversion, the perpetrators needed to do several things.

One, they would have obtained the victim's personal and financial information and mobile phone number already. That would have been compromised already, through malware, through phishing, whatever methods they would have gotten that information.

Second, the perpetrators would have gained access to a few overseas telco networks to compromise their system. Then, they would fraudulently modify the location details of the targeted victims as though these victims were overseas. Then, you make a transaction and the bank sends an SMS OTP through this overseas network. And that is how, with the compromised credit card credentials, the fraudulent transaction is made.

And so, as I mentioned just now, telcos are already putting in place additional safeguards, for example, specialised firewalls and other system safeguards to monitor and block suspicious diversions of SMS. This would include, for example, knowing where an individual's location is, and if you suddenly see the change in location, a red flag may be triggered, and then, the telco would then have safeguards in place to prevent the SMS from being diverted. These system safeguards are being worked on by telcos.

On the second question, can you please repeat the second question?

Asking the banks to use other forms of authentication besides SMS.

Thank you. Other forms of authentication and whether you can allow customers to opt out. MAS does not prescribe. The financial institutions are required to implement multi-factor authentication mechanisms. It can include SMS OTP but they can include other forms of multi-factor authentication. Each one will potentially be susceptible to perpetrators trying to take advantage of any possible weakness. It is a continuous process where the financial institutions have to review the type of authentication mechanisms which they would like to use, commensurate with the risk level of the financial transaction and the sensitivity of the data involved.

As for allowing options for customers, it is something that MAS can engage the banks on, to see if the banks will be prepared to give more options for customers who feel they would prefer something more secure.

But I must say whatever you put in place, the perpetrators will always be looking out for new ways to identify vulnerabilities and weaknesses. So, this has to be a continuous effort to make sure that our systems remain secure and it requires continued vigilance by regulator, financial institutions and customers, importantly.

2 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for National Development in view of the constant start/stop in construction works with the surge in number of COVID-19 cases (a) whether the previous estimated timelines of HDB BTO project completions are expected to be lengthened; and (b) if so, whether further help will be given to the affected flat owners.

3 Mr Seah Kian Peng asked the Minister for National Development given the continued high demand for BTO flats coupled with the delay in completion of various ongoing BTO projects, whether the Ministry will consider bringing forward various planned BTO projects or consider building more BTO flats than currently planned.

Mr Speaker, Members have shared concerns about the impact of the ongoing pandemic on our Housing and Development Board (HDB) Build-to-Order (BTO) supply, the progress of construction work and waiting times for ongoing projects. Let me address these concerns and set out what we are doing to keep our HDB BTO programme on track and to support affected homebuyers.

Minister, you are taking Question Nos 2 and 3 together?

Yes, Mr Speaker, my apologies. If I may have your permission to take Question Nos 2 and 3 together?

Yes, please.

Thank you. First, Mr Seah Kian Peng had asked if HDB will build more BTO flats or advance planned projects in view of demand. We recognise that demand for public housing has remained strong and that is why we had adjusted our supply. We had launched 14,600 flats in 2019. We increased that to 16,800 in 2020. We are on track to launch 17,000 BTO flats this year in 2021. Next year, we will increase the BTO flat supply even further and launch more than 17,000 flats. We are finalising the details and will announce our plans for 2022 when ready.

Second, there have been concerns over the waiting times for BTO flats, as raised by Miss Cheryl Chan. Some have said that waiting times have risen to six to seven years. That is not the case. Let me start with ongoing BTO projects. The average waiting time for ongoing BTO projects, including delays brought about by the pandemic, has remained between four and five years. Thus far, Government’s support and assistance measures have helped to keep the pandemic-induced delays to our BTO projects to a year or less, except for one project which had already experienced project difficulties unrelated to the pandemic. The total wait time for any given project has been kept under six years.

For BTO projects launched last year and this year, the estimated waiting times range from three to five and a half years. For example, Hougang Citrine launched in August is expected to be completed in three years. Alkaff Breeze in Bidadari launched in February has a wait time of just over three years. And Garden Court @ Tengah, launched last November, has a waiting time of about three and a half years.

There are some projects that will take longer, such as Queen’s Arc – launched in August this year – expected to take longer at about five and a half years. There are a few projects like Queen’s Arc, where the waiting times are longer. This is because the conditions of the site are difficult, and construction will take longer, or these are projects with very high storey-heights, very tall blocks, which require more construction time. These have caused some people to worry that all new BTOs will take six to seven years. But these are in the minority. By and large, barring further unexpected developments, most flat buyers can expect to move into their flats within four to five years after booking their flats.

Third, the recent news on Greatearth’s insolvency may have added to the anxieties of home buyers waiting for their flats to be completed and some are concerned whether this puts the completion of their homes at risk. To try to minimise the impact on home buyers, HDB has brought new contractors on board, within a month, to take over Greatearth’s affected projects. Unfortunately, this will still add a further two to three months' delay to affected projects, but we are working closely with the new contractors to bring the projects back on track. We are watching the progress of all BTO projects closely and have stepped up efforts to detect emerging issues earlier and resolve them.

Fourth, existing home buyers may be concerned about further delays to ongoing projects given the impact of COVID-19 on the construction industry. With tightened border controls over foreign workers, disruptions in the supply of building materials and stringent worksite public health measures, there have been manpower and material shortages and a slowdown in work, which have affected public and private construction projects.

To try to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on our public housing programme, HDB has rolled out extensive assistance to help contractors complete ongoing projects in a timely manner.

To tackle manpower shortages, HDB has worked with firms to safely recruit workers from various countries and co-shared the increase in manpower costs. HDB has also worked with contractors to explore ways to speed up construction without affecting safety and quality. To minimise work stoppages due to COVID-19 transmission, we have implemented Antigen Rapid Testing, or ART, on top of Rostered Routine Testing (RRT) at worksites. This allows members of the construction workforce who have been infected to be picked up and treated early, and close contacts quarantined swiftly. Worksites can then continue operating as long as workers are on the ART regime.

To help with the higher cost of materials, HDB has extended the period of protection against steel price fluctuation and supplied contractors with more concreting materials at protected prices. This is in addition to the extensive Government support provided through the Job Support Scheme (JSS), construction restart grants, legislative interventions, advance payments, sharing of prolongation costs and manpower cost increases, and foreign worker levy rebates.

While the pandemic has inevitably caused delays to both private and public sector construction projects, including BTO projects, we will continue to do our best to minimise the extent of the delays.

HDB has also taken steps to support affected home buyers. We have helped some flat buyers secure interim accommodation and will be increasing the supply of flats under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) by 800 units over the next two years. For low-income households with no family support and no other housing options, HDB will consider offering Interim Rental Housing, or IRH on a case-by-case basis. Flat buyers who face delays that exceed their Delivery Possession Date, or DPD, will be compensated at the amount and for the period as set out in the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act, or COTMA, which applies to all developers. We will also consider waiving flat booking forfeitures and the one-year wait-out period based on the flat buyers’ circumstances, such as for flat buyers who choose to cancel their BTO flats due to BTO delays and buy a resale flat to meet urgent housing needs.

Even amidst the ongoing pandemic, we are committed to delivering public housing to Singaporeans. With these measures, we will press on to keep our BTO programme on track and support buyers who may be affected by the delays.

Miss Cheryl Chan. No more than two supplementary questions, please.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, just one. I want to thank the Minister for detailing all the measures that are put in place to ensure the BTO projects will continue in construction, and also to clarify the dates because I have heard a lot of feedback on this aspect.

The question I want to ask the Minister is, just now he mentioned that progressively there will be more BTOs that will be pushed out, even beyond 17,000 over time. Given the fact that there is also a very vibrant resale market currently, how is the Ministry going to balance between the resale market, just to make sure that the prices are still healthy, and also the future BTO flats in place?

I thank the Member for the question. We continue to keep a close eye on the property market in general, both the private sector as well as the HDB resale market. There are a range of reasons why demand for housing is high.

First, of course, this is the Echo Boomer generation, family formation rates, marriage and the desire for housing and their own homes, is one.

Second, the pressures of the pandemic, work from home, changes that we have to adapt and adjust to, have caused people to want more space, in general. And so, both first-timers as well as even second-timers wanting a bigger place.

Thirdly, interest rates, being as low as they are, have enabled people to be able to consider housing options.

Then, the stresses and strains on the construction sector, the delays in both BTO as well as private housing projects, have caused some people who need homes to consider the resale market, both in the HDB resale as well as the private resale market for private properties.

And the social trends that have been taking place over the years and decades: the desire for more space for more privacy, for more nuclearised families, rather than three-generation families, more singles desiring their own homes and own spaces. These, of course, add on to the desire by people to have homes and exacerbated by this pandemic.

So, for the first-time home buyers, we will be pushing out even more BTO flats next year and in future years, to ensure that their housing needs are met. As I have said earlier, we will push out more than 17,000 flats next year, more than what we have launched or are going to launch this year.

At the same time, for the resale market, we have provided significant grants to help people afford homes in the resale market, if they need to. And for those who cannot wait longer for the BTO flats to move to a resale flat because of urgent family needs, we will consider their appeals for waiver of forfeiture for their BTO flats on a case-by-case basis and be sympathetic to their housing needs.

Mr Seah Kian Peng.

Sir, first I want to thank the Minister for the mitigating measures that will be introduced. I also welcome the news that there will be more flats that will be built in the coming years; the Minister mentioned more than 17,000. I am quite sure I am not alone in this House but many of us, each week, we continue to receive many requests and appeals from residents, telling us that they just cannot get their flat early enough; they cannot even have a chance of getting a flat.

I believe that the desired outcomes for all of us must be that we want to give couples their first flat as early as possible. So, we need to continue to shorten the waiting time. Four, five years – can it be shorter? Because there is really a lot of pent-up demand.

So, 17,000 now; my first request is, what is the maximum that we could go up to, in order to meet the pent-up demand? Because demand clearly outstrips supply right now. How can we shorten the waiting time?

There are also concerns by residents that whilst waiting for their flat, some of them, their income ceilings may exceed the limits and, therefore, they are disqualified. How do we deal with this?

Finally, again, another concern is that as they wait for the flat, the price of the flat will start to also go up. Their affordability level could be in question. So, my plea to the Minister is that – I do not have the figures obviously, but I am quite sure demand far outstrips supply – let us increase the supply as much as possible to reduce the waiting time and fulfil residents and couples' desire for a flat earlier rather than later.

Indeed, the Member's points are well taken. As I said earlier, we will increase the supply of BTO flats next year, a number larger than the 17,000 we have launched this year. We have been increasing the BTO flats' supply for some years already. For example, in 2019, it was 14,600. Last year, it was 16,800. This year, 17,000. Next year, it will be more than that.

We balance that against the supply in the resale market. As I said, the demand is high for a whole variety of reasons. But we have to keep an eye on the overall ecosystem of housing, both public and private, BTOs and resale, to ensure that the overall housing ecosystem remain stable while meeting the aspirations of Singaporeans.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Thank you, Sir. Sir, the Minister in his reply mentioned about the PPHS earlier on, that young couples who are still waiting for the flats may want to consider PPHS. But from my indications, from the appeals that we have received, it seems that rental flats under PPHS are not so forthcoming and there is still some amount of waiting there as well. So, can I ask the Minister what is the availability of the rental flats under the PPHS scheme and whether there is enough to meet the demands or requests from new home buyers?

The PPHS provides home buyers with an option if they wish to stay on their own before their flats are ready; these are for married couples especially with children. The demand for PPHS has grown significantly because of the pandemic arising from the BTO delays as well as the desire for more privacy and, therefore, while waiting for their flats, they want to get PPHS.

To make sure that we target the PPHS supply to those who need such housing because of their limited housing options, we made some moves in August this year to target such support to those with household income of below $7,000 and prioritising those with children. So, that way we hope to ensure that those with more urgent housing needs while waiting for their BTO flats can get support. For those with no family support and no housing options, we have other alternatives such as Interim Rental Housing (IRH). We continue to see how better we can support families who have been impacted by the delays during this period.

Mr Seah Kian Peng mentioned earlier, if I can take this opportunity to address him, he did ask a question that I omitted to reply, which is with regard to the income ceiling as well as those who may feel that with a longer wait for housing, the risk of them busting the income ceiling is there. We have made some changes to income ceiling in the last few years and continue to review the household incomes of home applicants to ensure that it meets the needs of Singaporeans.

And when people apply for the flats, they book their flats, they get the Housing Loan Eligibility (HLE) as well as their grant eligibility at the point of application. Therefore, the delays in waiting for flats that they have already booked, there will be less impact on that front.

4 Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for Manpower what enforcement actions can the Ministry take against errant employers found to have practised workplace discrimination especially on grounds of age and race.

Sir, the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) and the Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) takes a serious view of workplace discrimination, including the use of age or race as a selection criterion. Other than requiring employers to attend corrective workshops conducted by TAFEP, employers can be advised to rectify lapses in their HR processes. MOM will not hesitate to take enforcement actions against discriminatory employers such as curtailing their work pass privileges in more serious cases. We urge employee who experience any workplace discrimination to approach MOM or TAFEP for assistance.

Mr Edward Chia.

Thank you, Speaker. I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State a supplementary question. Can the Ministry actually do more in the area of greater awareness of fair employment best practises among employers, such as adopting similar like BizSafe framework, where senior executives of firms undergo structured training. And further to that, making it a requirement to attend such training first before one can participate in Government tenders, so that firms are clearly motivated to deepen knowledge in this particular area of fair best practices.

Sir, indeed, one approach that we want to emphasise is education of both employers and employees on what constitutes workplace discrimination. So, we will take the Member's suggestions and study how we can better do this at workplaces by actively correcting stereotypes and changing employers' mindsets through more promotional efforts.

Mr Sharael Taha.

Thank you, Mr Speaker, Sir. I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply.

With regard to the Senior Minister of State's reply on workplace discrimination, can the Minister consider naming these errant employers who are found to have practised workplace discrimination, with the intent that by naming them, both the company and the employees in the company will be motivated to adopt fair employment practices as soon as possible?

Can the Ministry also consider that given that SMEs account for more than two-thirds of employment in Singapore, can such training for SMEs before they can recruit or hire individuals be made compulsory?

Sir, I thank the Member for his idea to actually name and shame some of these employers who may have adopted discriminatory practices. Currently, firms that may have some degree of discriminatory practices may be put on a Fair Consideration Framework, or FCF, watch list. Firms that are on this watch list, technically, they have not flouted any rules yet but, perhaps, some of their practices may be veering on the grey margins. It is through putting them on the watch list that we use it as a way to engage the firms and signal to them that their practices have to be improved. In most instances, employers who are on this FCF watch list have been responsive to TAFEP's engagement efforts and expanded the employment of local employees. In this instance, such engagement is also an educational effort for companies or firms that may not be aware, upfront, of the nuancing of the guidelines on fair employment.

I think we want to take a very educational approach because not every firm that may on prima facie seems to have infringed on some of the regulations, could be doing it in a very deliberate way. Sometimes, through these efforts, firms do change their practices for the better.

Naming firms, sometimes, could also end up having a negative consequence because it would then frustrate their efforts to recruit and hire people. It may then have the negative consequence of impeding some of the business functions that these firms have as well. We would want to probably go on the more educational approach.

As I said, for firms that, despite our efforts to engage them, refuse or have persisted in their discriminatory actions, we will take enforcement actions against them.

Mr Patrick Tay.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for the sharing. I have one supplementary question. Essentially, the Labour Movement, together with Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF), has been engaging more than 10,000 professionals, managers and executives (PMEs) in the past year.

One important observation, as the Senior Minister of State rightly pointed out, education is important. But the HR community as well as the employment agents and agency community are two communities which, we feel very strongly, need to be better educated, be given knowledge and awareness of some of these advisories, guidelines, including legislation, particularly, as many of them are from multinational companies and across the globe.

So, can I suggest to the Senior Minister of State to pay particular attention to these two groups?

Sir, I thank the Member for his comments. Indeed, HR practitioners and employment agencies are areas of engagement that MOM would want to focus on because they form the link between the employers and the hiring practices of the companies. So, we will increase our engagement with these intermediaries such as HR practitioners.

5 Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo asked the Minister for Manpower what protection against retaliation and dismissal is currently in place for employees who file complaints on workplace discrimination.

Sir, the law protects employees against dismissals without just cause or excuse. This covers situations in which a person is dismissed because he or she reported workplace discrimination.

The Tripartite Guidelines on Fair Employment Practices (TGFEP) also require employers to treat all employees based on merit at all phases of employment. Hence, if an employee reported discrimination and is subsequently treated differently by their employer, they can approach TAFEP for advice and assistance.

As previously announced, the Tripartite Committee on Workplace Fairness is examining the scope of possible legislation. The Committee will also examine the issue of protection for whistle-blowers. I hope we will give the Committee some time to deliberate on this and we will share more information when the deliberations are completed.

Ms Jessica Tan.

I thank the Senior Minister of State for his reply. Can I just ask two supplementary questions? I understand that there is deliberation in terms of improving the whistle-blowing protection. But, currently, what can be done if employers do not provide that safe environment for employees to speak up? What actions can be taken against employers who victimised employees and not just for dismissal but, usually, different treatment.

The second one is, what recourse do employees have, if they do face retaliation for reporting discrimination? Because it is somewhat an unequal relationship.

Sir, let me assure and reassure the Member that the Employment Act today protects employees against dismissals without just cause or excuse. If the employee does feel discriminated against because of whistle-blowing, then the employee should approach MOM or TAFEP for guidance and we can render any assistance that is needed to further investigate the allegations of such issues against whistle-blowing. And we will take into consideration when we take any enforcement action against the employer for targeting the employee for whistle-blowing.

To reassure the Member as well, TAFEP, in their experience in dealing with such cases, these incidences are actually very rare and far in between. But having said that, anyone who feels that they have been targeted because of whistle-blowing, please let MOM and TAFEP know.

Mr Patrick Tay.

One supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. On this point on retaliation which the Member brought up, I think it also borders on the issue of workplace harassment. Currently, we have an advisory on managing workplace harassment. I hope the Senior Minister of State, as part of the whole review team, will also look at this topic of workplace harassment to revise and of course update this advisory in light of what is happening in the various workplaces and given the uncertain and uneven outlook.

I thank the Member. I think this is well taken. The committee will take into consideration all these suggestions and points that have been raised. We will come up with a set of guidelines. Hopefully, with legislation, they will protect the employees better.

6 Ms Jessica Tan Soon Neo asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the trend of senior re-employment in 2020 and 2021 has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and (b) if so, what further support can be given to companies to enable them to continue to offer re-employment for their senior employees who are eligible for re-employment.

7 Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many seniors aged 55 years and above have benefited from the Senior Worker Support Package introduced in 2020; and (b) whether the Government will be looking into extending this support or other ways of promoting senior employability.

Mr Speaker, Sir, may I take Question Nos 6 and 7 together?

Yes, please.

Before I start my response, with your permission, Mr Speaker, may I ask the Clerks to distribute a handout on Senior Worker Support Package.

Yes, please. [A handout was distributed to hon Members. Please refer to Annex 1.]

In line with the 2019 recommendations by the Tripartite Workgroup on Older Workers, the retirement age and re-employment age will be increased to 63 and 68 respectively, and this will take effect from 1 July 2022. CPF contribution rates for senior workers aged above 55 to 70 will also be raised by up to two percentage points with effect from 1 January 2022.

The Senior Worker Support Package was introduced in 2020 to support employers in implementing these and other key recommendations made by the Workgroup, and it consists of four schemes. Members can refer to it in the handout that was just distributed.

First, the Senior Employment Credit provides employers wage offsets of up to 8% for hiring senior workers aged 55 and above. The Senior Employment Credit started from 1 January 2021. Thus far, close to $150 million have been disbursed to 86,000 employers, benefiting 482,000 senior workers.

Secondly, the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant encourages employers to implement a higher internal retirement age and re-employment age, above the statutory minimum. From 1 July 2020 to 31 August 2021, 21,000 senior workers working in 2,800 companies have benefited from the grant.

Thirdly, the Part-time Re-employment Grant supports employers who commit to a part-time re-employment policy whenever eligible senior workers request for it. From 1 July 2020 to 31 August 2021, more than 19,000 senior workers working in close to 2,000 companies have benefited from the grant.

With the healthy take-up rates, the Government topped up over $200 million for both the Senior Worker Early Adopter Grant and the Part-time Re-employment Grant in February this year. This was on top of $100 million committed to these grants in 2020.

Finally, the CPF Transition Offset will provide employers with transitionary wage offset equivalent to 50% of the increase in employer CPF contribution rates that will take effect in 2022.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the employment rate of those aged 55 to 64 held steady at over 67%, while the employment rate of those aged 65 and above has increased from 27.6% in 2019 to 28.5% in 2020. This is comparable to the average of the top three OECD countries. The re-employment offer rates among eligible private sector resident employees who wished to continue working have also remained high, at well over 90% in 2020.

Senior worker employment rates have held up and the Government has allocated S$1.5 billion through the Senior Worker Support Package over three years. In addition, last year, the Government introduced the SkillsFuture Mid-Career Support Package to help mature and senior workers stay employable and enter new jobs or new roles. We have also provided additional support for employers who are expanding local hiring amidst the current economic and labour market uncertainty.

The Jobs Growth Incentive, or JGI, provides wage support to eligible firms that hire new local jobseekers, with higher support for new local hires aged 40 and above, including older workers. We had recently announced an extension by another six months till March 2022 with tapered support levels, to support employers to continue expanding local hiring. JGI-eligible firms that hire mature local hires from October 2021 to March 2022 – the cut-off age is 40 – JGI-eligible firms that continue to hire will receive up to $36,000 per hire.

With employers continuing to reskill their senior workers and making every effort to retain and hire them, with society supporting their choice to remain active in work, our seniors can continue to participate actively in all spheres of life.

Ms Jessica Tan.

I thank the Minister for his reply and it is very heartening to hear that senior employment has stayed stable despite the COVID-19 situation. Could I just ask one supplementary question of the Minister? While re-employment has stayed steady, is there any data to share whether the kind of roles and the jobs are also similar or have they had to take a cut or part-time employment?

I thank the hon Member for her question. Indeed, the majority of the roles, I can share the exact data later on, but the roles that we have placed in the JGI, the majority of them are in roles that were the same or better – in terms of their draw of the salary levels. This is the majority of the hires that we placed under the JGI scheme. If my memory does not fail me, I think the percentage is more than 60%. I need to confirm that and revert.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling.

Thank you. COVID-19 has been devastating for many families and my residents have told me that in coping with COVID-19, many of them have depleted their intended retirement savings, or that maybe even retrenchments have caused them no choice but to dip into their retirement nest eggs. As such, I was very heartened to hear that the Ministry is looking at more training programmes for our seniors, but I would like to ask if there will be more of such training programmes, especially place-and-train programmes for our seniors.

Also, given that most seniors may have to push back the retirement due to the challenges to their livelihoods because of COVID-19, would the Ministry also give us an update on the preparations for the retirement age to be extended to 70 years old, or its plan for the end of the decade?

I thank the Member of Parliament, Ms Yeo Wan Ling, for her question. Some parts of her question, I think I will address in my answer to Question Nos 8 to 16 later. For her second Supplementary Question with regard to the planning for retirement, up to 70 years and beyond, we are working closely with MOH in terms of an overall broader construct, in terms of studying how to ensure the healthy ageing, together with healthy productivity, is maintained.

At this particular point in time, I think it is premature for me to comment. Today, we have a very clear sustained path to raise the retirement age, eventually to 65, and the re-employment age to 70. I think that will be the first phase. We are also talking to other OECD countries where we are looking at beyond a certain age, work, and retirement ages and re-employment ages could be adjusted according to the healthy life expectancy of the population at that point in time. And they adopted a very dynamic model, but we are still studying it.

Mr Sharael Taha.

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I thank the Minister for sharing the Senior Workers Support Package. Despite all this, many aged 40 and above still struggle to seek re-employment. Can I ask the Minister how many companies have taken up JGI and taken full use of this incentive? What more can we do to get companies to consider senior employment or get companies to look at job redesign, so that we can hire more of these workers?

Mr Speaker, Sir, I would like to thank the hon Member of Parliament, Mr Sharael Taha, for his question. But may I request for your permission to proceed if there are no further supplementary questions on the first two Parliamentary Questions (PQs) filed, so that I can take them all in a more holistic manner with Question Nos 8 to 16. And if I cannot address in my subsequent answer, then perhaps I could request for the Member to raise the supplementary question again.

8 Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for Manpower what are the employability support given to help workers manage structural changes like digital disruption.

9 Ms Hany Soh asked the Minister for Manpower in respect of job vacancies being at an all-time high of 92,100 in June 2021 (a) how many of these vacancies are not filled after six months; and (b) how can the Ministry help Singaporeans fill these vacancies for firms as soon as possible.

10 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) what kinds of employment and training assistance are given to workers to cope with the structural changes in the economy such as the digital disruption; (b) how many workers have been given such employment assistance; and (c) which sectors do these workers predominantly work in.

11 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Manpower (a) how many seniors aged 60 years and above are getting the Ministry's assistance to help them hold on to their jobs; (b) what are the forms of assistance rendered to these senior workers; (c) how many of them need to pivot to jobs in other industries; and (d) what are the main hurdles that they have to overcome.

12 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for Manpower as Singapore transits to an endemic COVID-19 economy, what are the plans to help our workforce as well as Singapore companies to shift their plans and strategies to meet the changes when the economy opens up gradually.

13 Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for Manpower what is the Ministry’s assessment on the effectiveness of job placement and training support that are currently provided to assist unemployed and under-employed workers, especially those who are in distressed sectors and those who are facing headwinds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

14 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry can provide an update on the progress of the various career conversion and job matching efforts for mid-career PMETs; (b) whether the schemes have achieved the intended outcomes; (c) what are the frictions; and (d) what are the other upcoming support and initiatives.

15 Dr Tan Yia Swam asked the Minister for Manpower whether the Ministry intends to introduce additional measures to support workers who have lost their jobs as a result of prevailing national guidelines especially for industries such as the food and beverage and the construction sectors.

16 Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether studies have been done by the Ministry to understand the digital preparedness of our workers aged 40 to 60 years; and (b) what are the support measures put in place to enable digitally-disadvantaged workers to take on job roles which have pivoted into the digital space.

Mr Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I will respond to the Question Nos 8 to 16.

Yes, please.

On employment outcomes and support for workers, I hope to give a more holistic reply.

I thank all the Members for the concern for our jobseekers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. On the whole, the labour market continued its gradual recovery in the first half of 2021. Although the ratio of job vacancies to unemployed persons reached a high of 1.63 in June 2021 – we have got very, very high job vacancies relative to unemployed persons – however, many of these openings were in the construction sector where the shortage has been due to public health border measures. There were also pockets of recovery in other sectors. Hence, resident employment grew and unemployment continued to ease.

However, the labour market has clearly not fully recovered. Therefore, we must remain vigilant, maintain our support measures for affected workers and we will continue to leave no stone unturned in helping all locals who need our support.

In particular, the $2.2 billion SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package has helped to cushion the impact of COVID-19 on the labour market since its launch in April last year. Thanks to the effort of our tripartite partners and the National Jobs Council, around 128,000 local jobseekers have been placed into jobs and skills opportunities as at end-July 2021.

The supported jobseekers reflect the profile of our workforce. Close to six in 10 placements into jobs and skills opportunities went to mid-career PMETs. Workforce Singapore (WSG) saw a large increase in placements through Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs) with more than 14,000 locals supported. WSG and NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) expanded their service touch points, with 24 new SGUnited Jobs and Skills Centres established islandwide, in every HDB town.

We have also appointed Adecco as the first SGUnited Placement Partner, to offer another avenue for mature workers aged 40 and above, long-term unemployed jobseekers, or persons with disabilities, to access professional career matching services. Close to 44,000 jobseekers found jobs through these career matching services.

Members have asked about specific worker segments. Let me address these questions.

Dr Tan Yia Swam, Mr Edward Chia and Mr Sharael Taha were concerned about workers being displaced from distressed sectors. We are supporting such workers through a variety of ways.

The first and most important priority is to save jobs. The Jobs Support Scheme has disbursed more than $27.6 billion as of September 2021, with most support going towards the hardest-hit sectors. This is helping companies preserve their workforce's skills and competencies. We are continually recalibrating our support based on each sector's specific needs and recovery trajectory.

The most-affected sectors such as F&B services, retail and hotels have rolled out Job Redesign Reskilling programmes with WSG's assistance. They are using the downtime to train and to upskill existing workers to take on redesigned and enhanced job roles as part of their industry transformation. We have reskilled and redeployed close to 9,000 workers through these programmes.

Second, we stand ready to support some of the workers who may have to leave their jobs.

The number of retrenchments rose to about 26,000 in 2020, although the incidence of retrenchment remained lower than past recessionary years. Retrenchment numbers have improved since the fourth quarter of 2020 and have decreased to 2,340 in the second quarter of 2021. This is comparable to levels seen in 2018 and 2019.

Notwithstanding Phase Two (Heightened Alert) earlier this year, affected sectors such as F&B services, retail trade and arts, entertainment and recreation did not see elevated retrenchments as more employers put workers on short work-week or temporary lay-offs instead.

We are closely monitoring post-retrenchment outcomes. Amongst all retrenched residents, the six-month re-entry rate was 64.4% in the second quarter of 2021. This is an improvement from 61.6% in 2020. This is also comparable to pre-COVID-19 re-entry rates in 2018 and 2019.

The tripartite Retrenchment Taskforce follows up with every notified retrenchment by proactively reaching out to the affected workers and offering them employment assistance. This includes providing information kits on career resources, briefings on available employment facilitation and one-on-one coaching by WSG and NTUC-e2i's career coaches.

Third, we encourage companies who need workers to create jobs. We provide the Jobs Growth Incentive (JGI) to support employers expand local hiring. From September 2020 to May 2021, we supported 58,000 businesses to hire more than 400,000 locals. Four in 10 were in growth sectors such as wholesale trade, professional services and information and communications, while one in five were in the recovering F&B services and retail sectors.

Encouragingly, half of the JGI-supported hires were not employed at the point of hire and six in 10 – I think this is in reference to the hon Member of Parliament Jessica Tan's earlier question – earned the same or higher pay compared to their last drawn.

I also recently announced the extension of the JGI to March 2022 to secure the labour market recovery and to support our local jobseekers.

JGI provides additional support when employers hire mature workers, persons with disabilities as well as ex-offenders. Each of such hires could attract up to $36,000 of JGI support. I strongly encourage and urge all of our companies looking to recruit to not delay their plans and bring forward their hires.

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked about support for senior workers to stay in their current jobs or to pivot to new jobs in other industries.

We should be encouraged by the resilience of our senior workers. Notwithstanding the recession, the employment rate of those aged 60 and above increased slightly from 38.5% in 2019 to 39% in 2020.

As mentioned in my response to Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Ms Jessica Tan just now, the Government has introduced the Senior Worker Support Package in 2020 with a budget of $1.5 billion to support employers in hiring and retaining senior workers over three years. I will not go over the details a second time. I think all of you would have gotten the handout earlier as well.

Mr Yip Hon Weng also asked about platform workers. Platform workers are a diverse group and we are very committed to supporting them in their plans. Many, in a feedback survey to us, tell us that they prefer such work because of the flexibility and the autonomy it affords. For them, we have recently established an Advisory Committee on Platform Workers. This committee will consult widely and examine, get feedback from the industry to see how they can be better supported.

For those looking to transit to regular employment, WSG and NTUC's e2i offer career matching services, including career coaching, employability workshops and job fairs.

For example, in 2021, NTUC's e2i conducted several career re-invention workshops in collaboration with the National Private Hire Vehicles Association and NTUC LearningHub to help platform drivers explore new career pathways.

In addition, digital services like the MyCareersFuture (MCF) portal can be accessed at all hours of the day. The whole range of SGUnited Jobs and Skills Package support is also available to them.

We know that it is challenging for platform workers to transit to regular employment but WSG will continue to put in its best effort to support them in their job search.

Ms Hany Soh, Mr Yip Hon Weng and Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked about how jobseekers are matched to job vacancies.

Mr Speaker, our labour market exists in a constant state of dynamic flux and creative tension. It would not be possible to match all job vacancies with jobseekers perfectly. We understand and we appreciate this and more so especially when we or our loved ones are looking for a job. It always helps to have as wide an option base as possible and to choose the best option that is available.

But if vacancies are accumulating and they are left unfilled, it also indicates that the labour market is having difficulty in accessing and finding the right talent to fill these vacancies, and businesses have to continue to run.

Our latest available data from 2020 show that about 27% of job vacancies were unfilled for six months or more. This is actually down slightly from the pre-COVID-19 situation.

In September, I set up the Jobs Taskforce to coordinate efforts across key Government agencies to enable more locals to take up in-demand jobs with good wages and prospects in key sectors of our economy such as financial services and info-communications and technology. The Jobs Taskforce will work with tripartite partners and employers to make and enable the labour market to function even better.

Some vacancies take longer to fill because the wage or working conditions may not be as attractive as other options available to jobseekers. If they remain persistently unfilled, businesses may have to redesign the job roles. They may even have to review their strategies.

WSG offers job redesign support under the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG-JR), which was launched in December 2020. Through PSG-JR, enterprises can receive support to work with pre-approved job redesign consultants to redesign their work processes, their tasks and their responsibilities. We welcome all enterprises to come on board to troubleshoot any difficulties they may face in hiring new workers and grow their businesses, especially in our Singapore Core.

Other vacancies may persist because the employer is hoping to get someone who is already fully trained and ready to jump straight into the job from day one. We are helping employers to go beyond the "plug-and-play" mindset and approach by supporting Career Conversion Programmes (CCPs).

Employers who have adopted this approach have found that people recruited through CCPs are a good fit. About nine in 10 of the people placed through CCPs remained employed after 24 months and about seven in 10 earned more than their last drawn salaries.

Finally, some vacancies persist because of a shortage of skills in the workforce and among jobseekers.

Our industries are digitalising rapidly and as pointed out by Mr Yip Hon Weng, Ms Yeo Wan Ling and Mr Edward Chia, digital competencies are very highly sought after.

Mr Yip Hon Weng has asked about the number of workers who have been given employment assistance to cope with digital disruption.

As digitalisation accelerates, it has affected jobs to varying degrees.

First, many jobs would require workers to acquire basic digital literacy skills such as learning how to use digital communication platforms to market a product.

Second, some jobs will require workers to learn how to implement digital technology such as robotic process automation to automate processes or to perform more complex analysis.

Third, there will be growing demand for deep technology skills, which will bring us into the next bound of digital transformation.

Many workers in the first category will make this transition seamlessly. However, some will need additional support. Hence, we work with unions, Trade Associations and Chambers (TACs), companies and education institutions to scaffold their learning.

Under the SME Digital Reboot programme, Ngee Ann Polytechnic and NTUC LearningHub will work with 500 SMEs to provide workers with training in areas such as digital marketing and digital communication. Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) also drives digital adoption among vulnerable segments under the SG Digital Office while the National Library Board runs a range of digital readiness programmes on digital work skills, competencies and emerging technologies.

Moving on to the second category, where we will see more workers becoming implementers of digital technology. This is already happening rapidly in sectors such as logistics and manufacturing, where digital technology is embedded in the physical world, or what we term as Industry 4.0.

To help workers and companies ride on the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0 to transform and digitalise, WSG has partnered with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) to launch the Industry 4.0 Human Capital Initiative (IHCI) to encourage companies in these sectors to trial and adopt Industry 4.0 technologies early while developing their workforce's digital competencies to ensure that workers can grow alongside their companies.

Thus far, close to 90 companies have come on board the IHCI, with an additional 210 expected to do so by September 2022. So, we hope that by the third quarter, we will have 300 companies onboarding the IHCI.

Parallel to this effort, the unions and employers have also established more than 600 company training committees (CTCs) where they work closely together to drive business and workforce transformation, including in digital competencies.

The third category of jobs, where deep technology skills are required, is also where we see some of the highest demand across the economy. IMDA's TechSkills Accelerator (or TeSA) initiative serves to meet this demand, having placed and trained more than 10,000 locals in good tech jobs since 2016, with 2,500 placed last year in 2020. Locals placed through TeSA have taken on jobs, such as Systems Analysts or Data Scientists, across sectors including Information and Communications, Financial Services, Professional Services, Manufacturing and Wholesale Trade and Retail.

I know that business and workforce transformation can be daunting. That is why we have set aside close to $10 million to develop Jobs Transformation Maps (JTMs). The JTMs are detailed sectoral manpower studies that map out the impact of technology and digitalisation on individual jobs over the medium term. They serve as a useful compass for employers, in particular our SMEs, and workers to prepare themselves for future jobs and skills. We have already launched three JTMs: Human Resources, Logistics and Financial Services. Twelve more are in progress.

In conclusion, Mr Speaker, Sir, the road ahead will continue to be uneven and bumpy. However, I am confident that with the Government and tripartite partners continuing to work closely and just as importantly, with your concerns, with your collective efforts, we will be able to help our businesses and workers to emerge stronger together.

Mr Yip Hon Weng.

Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank the Minister for his reply. I have two supplementary questions.

The first pertains to Question No 10. It is important that our workforce is equipped with the necessary skillsets to deal with the structural changes in our economy, post-COVID-19. How does the Ministry check whether these training and employment assistance are fit for purpose, ensuring that there are right workers equipped with the right skills in the right sectors? And what will be the KPIs for tracking outcomes for success?

My second supplementary question pertains to Question No 12. In terms of plans and strategies for our workforce and companies, can the Ministry share in greater details: (a) what is insufficient today and what must change; (b) what must our workforce and companies aspire to do; and (c) when these plans must be firmed up to prepare for the opening of our economy?

I thank Mr Yip for his questions. To his first question, as part of the Industry Transformation Map (ITM) planning, MOM and MOE work very closely with the different sector agencies to identify emerging and in-demand skills for jobs in the various sectors. This will then enable the training providers and the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs) to refine their course offerings to make them more relevant, to make them more targeted and more specific for the industry needs.

Doing so will help to ensure that our workers have the necessary skillsets to take on good jobs. In addition, under my other portfolio in MTI, through EDB, through ESG, we have got various market readiness grants. There is also the global innovation alliance network, with the global connect network that we work very closely with SBF, to try to see the needs, the industry trends in many of the developed countries all over the world and to see how we can continue to keep our local workforce abreast of changes to keep them ahead and to keep them competitively sharp. I hope that answers the Member's first question.

To the Member's second point about plans and strategies for our workforce and companies, indeed, this pandemic has accelerated disruption and transformation. It has highlighted very clearly the need for businesses to strengthen their resilience as well as to have to constantly think about the disruptive changes that will come and to diversify. This would not just apply to business transformation but also to the workforce transformation as well, to keep our workers adept, to keep them agile and nimble. So, emerging trends today that we can see, such as automation and digitalisation, have radically transformed and changed the way we work, with remote work becoming more prevalent across many workplaces.

To retain our competitive advantage, to find good sustainable jobs for Singaporeans, our efforts to continue to transform and innovate our economy must continue so that we can strengthen, fortify our business environment and we can ensure that Singapore always remains the preferred hub, the preferred location for trade, for investment, particularly in new emerging growth areas, for instance, like additive manufacturing in Fintech. The anchoring of global companies which meet our desired profile and the aspirations of Singaporeans will help to preserve, spur the creation of good jobs, strengthen our Singapore Core.

I think that point that we debated so long yesterday adds to the fact that we must continue to reinforce trust, reinforce the credibility, our reputation that other economies have, the faith and trust, in us through the years and, hopefully, through the decades ahead.

We must also sustain efforts to help Singaporeans build skills which are relevant to the global talent marketplace. We have started the SkillsFuture movement. We have complemented it with a more nuanced, targeted Career Conversion Programme and these programmes have helped many Singaporeans take up new jobs in growth areas. At the same time, we are also looking to build up our CET pipeline ahead of demand in key growth areas in the green economy. Many of these initiatives come, they converge, we distill them and we develop a very targeted approach to help our fellow Singaporeans.

Ms Yeo Wan Ling.

Many of my middle-aged residents have faced difficulties traversing the new digital normal. And many have admitted they are left behind in Singapore's drive to be digital. Many are unable to use with confidence online applications, even such as simple ones like Singpass online or even download an e-copy of their CPF, much less so becoming overnight digital marketeers or social media influences.

My residents have told me their frustrations after taking classes and courses, their employers have told them that those classes are irrelevant to the job roles that they are seeking.

Will the Ministry consider working with companies then on identifying key digital skills and the appropriate courses, perhaps across the many different skillsets, on the SkillsFuture platform, that will allow our less digitally inclined workers to be on a level playing field with digital natives in the hiring process and in future in job promotions?

Thank you, Ms Yeo. I think these are very pertinent points. For the training part, in terms of the elderly residents, we do have SG Digital Ambassadors to go around to teach them. And for those, even with the literacy skills, the National Library Board (NLB) also has a whole slew of programmes to help them transform as well.

But I think what the Member has hit on is a key issue which is really making sure that when companies and the workforce innovate, when they digitalise and so on, they must be relevant to the needs of the company. To that end, that is really a huge drive by WSG to develop these Career Conversion Programmes, because they are working with the company.

On top of that, NTUC has the CTCs, again working with the companies to understand the needs and to see how we can help to redesign, if the jobs need to be redesigned, or to help to train our local workforce, our Singaporean Core to be adept and to be able to fit into the expectations of the company.