Enhancing the employability of Singapore's older workers

Workplace discrimination in Singapore still exists. Some employers still judge job applicants by their age. Most employers, however, as pragmatic business people, have welcomed all employees in a tight labour market.

This was not always the case. A decade or so ago we needed to convince and incentivise employers to continue to employ older workers. More than ever, employers need to be open to opportunities created by changing demographics to maximise success.

Equally, employees need to be adaptable and flexible like never before. Where do we go from here?

First, we need to stop categorising employees by age because this encourages people to self-limit their potential for growth and learning. It also perpetuates stereotypes which are discriminatory and out of place in the 21st century and in a labour market as tight as ours.

Second, we need to start categorising all workers by their skills, competencies, and potential. We need to ditch the con of different treatment for different generations advocated by some consultants.

It does not make sense to stand a business on its head merely to accommodate what are supposedly Gen-Y or Millennial needs. Instead, we need to treat all workers equally with the exception of jobs requiring manual labour. These latter jobs can be redesigned or reassigned depending which makes sense for business.

Third, we need life-long learning to be embraced by employers and employees. Singapore is championing and facilitating this by means of SkillsFuture. This is not only a good thing in itself. It is also a necessity.

Traditional notions of jobs lasting from school or graduation to retirement are now irrelevant - as is the notion of retirement itself. It will take time for people to understand and practise. Mindset shifts are always the most difficult to achieve, but Singapore is leading the way in preparing workers for the new normal.

In recent years the hardest hit employees are those PMETs who have been retrenched. Many have made the mistake of defining themselves by their job – the more so if they have worked for a company for a long time.

Many are unwilling for face reasons to contemplate a lower paid job or a job in a different sector. This is because the focus is wrongly centred on the job rather than the individual's skills, competencies, and potential.

Again, too many recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers are biased against older workers. They see them as "too old," "too expensive," and "too fixed in their ways."

Too many employers are transfixed on hiring people who have done the exact same job as their last job. Again, the stress is wrongly on the job rather than on the candidate's skills set, competencies, and potential.

The end result of these factors is that we have a lot of talent that is going to waste instead of being exploited for the good of the individuals concerned, for our businesses, and for our economy.

It is clear that employers and their strategic and support staff need to change their mindset as much as PMETs over 40 have to change theirs. 

The Singapore International Chamber of Commerce supports the efforts of the Tripartite Committee on Employability of Older Workers (Tricom).