Singapore to retrain retail, aerospace workers

The Singapore National Employers Federation is preparing to develop an intensive retraining program for workers from the pandemic-disrupted retail and aerospace sectors, so that they can find alternative employment until their original industries recover from the COVID-19 recession. Together, the two industries employ an estimated 180,000 people in Singapore, although the numbers are likely to continue decreasing as companies lay more people off or simply close their doors.

According to SNEF president Robert Yap, the program is planned to have workers from the two industries employed for 6-12 months under a structured curriculum that will help them gain job-relevant skills. Their salaries will be subsidized by the government. After the curriculum ends, they may continue in their current position or seek employment elsewhere.

The program will be rolled out within the next 12 months, suggesting that the long-term prognosis for the two industries is poor. Aerospace is already projected to continue in a slump for at least the next few years, with IATA predicting that demand for air travel will not recover to pre-COVID levels until 2024. Retail, which in Singapore has a high tourist demand component, will probably take almost as long.

Yap also observed that not all businesses will be "salvageable" after the crisis, particularly if their business models are not relevant. Hence, a long-term solution will be needed for those working in industries that either have a long projected recovery or a low chance of recovery at all. The Singapore government has aggressively pushed reskilling or upskilling as one such solution over the past months, with many workers also reaching for it as a lifeline.