OLDER WORKERS

The following Question stood in the name of Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong -

Ms Irene Ng Phek Hoong: To ask the Minister for Manpower (a) what is the success rate of job-matching for workers aged above 40; (b) how many older workers have been employed under the People for Jobs Traineeship Programme since it was introduced and (c) whether his Ministry has received complaints of age discrimination in the job market and, if so, how does it address this concern of older workers.

Mr Seng Han Thong (Ang Mo Kio): Question No. 7, Sir.

The Minister for Manpower (Dr Lee Boon Yang): Mr Speaker, Sir, over the past months, my Ministry has been working closely with our partners, including NTUC, Community Development Councils and self-help groups, to provide workers with job matching and training assistance. These efforts include job referral services at my Ministry and our partners, job fairs and traineeship programmes for the unemployed.

On average, 1,200 unemployed Singaporeans, including 600 aged 40 and above are successfully placed each month. At my Ministry's career centre, for example, about 60% to 70% of the job seekers would receive referrals for job interviews with prospective employers. Close to 15% would successfully find jobs through our referral services. However, for job seekers aged 40 years and above, the placement rate (that is, the rate at which they obtain their jobs through our direct assistance) is significantly lower; it is only 8%. This shows that older unemployed workers face greater challenges in their job search.

We also encourage unemployed workers to explore other avenues in their job search and not just wait for us to find them a job. Hence, some job seekers who come to us initially would subsequently find jobs through their own efforts. Overall, 59% of Singaporeans aged 40 and above retrenched in the first 9 months of 2001 were re-employed by the end of 2001. This is lower than the national average of 65% and the average of 70% for Singaporeans aged below 40. Again, these numbers indicate the greater difficulties faced by older workers.

The problem faced by older workers is a multi-faceted one. Some reasons commonly cited include higher wage cost resulting from our seniority-based wage system, lack of skills to meet the needs of new jobs and employers' preference for younger workers who are perceived to be more trainable and adaptable.

My Ministry has put in extra efforts to assist older workers. To help them pick up new skills, we have provided higher level of funding support for the training of older workers. Last year, we also introduced the People for Jobs Traineeship Programme to redeploy unemployed workers aged 40 years and above to different industries or jobs. To date, close to 2,000 older unemployed Singaporeans have found jobs under this programme.

The Ministry had received a few complaints from older workers regarding age discrimination. In 2000 and 2001, there were 4 and 5 complaints respectively. These complaints were investigated and where there were discriminatory practices, the employers concerned were warned and advised to refrain from adopting such practices.