1 in 2 Singaporean silver workers are positive about being retained at work

Opportunities will keep growing in the next 5 years, they said.

Amidst an uninspiring global economic outlook, more than half of mature Singaporean workers remains optimistic about their employment and are convinced that their companies have plans to keep them occupied despite being well advanced in years.

According to Randstad Workmonitor, 54% of Singaporeans either strongly agreed or agreed their companies have active policies set in place to retain employees in their age bracket. It’s the same percentage in Hong Kong but higher than in Malaysia at 52%, and the global average of 44%.

Mature workers also believe that employment opportunities for them over the next five years are expanding with Singapore tailing Hong Kong by only 2ppt at 66%. It is still better than Malaysia’s score at 63% and the global average of 44%.

59% of those surveyed in Singapore also said companies entrust their success in mature workers while 41% find it easy to acquire new skills, thanks to training initiatives provided by the government.

“Governments in the region have recognised the impact that mature workers could have on the workforce, as well as the economic value they could bring to businesses and the society at large. Past research has shown that hiring mature workers brings many benefits, which include the ability to leverage greater experience and knowledge, higher loyalty and commitment and a stronger work ethic,” Randstad explained.

Mature workers form a critical percentage of the local talent pool in Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. In Singapore, businesses are being incentivized to re-employ mature workers through subsidies in the form of wage support for professionals, managers and executives in certain age brackets. The city-state’s WorkPro scheme also offers a number of support programs and incentives to retrain and retain mature age workers, Randstad said.

With good young talent being hard to find, companies turn to mature workers with strong experience and skillsets, Randstad added.