SINGAPORE — To woo employers to consider hiring older Singaporean professionals, managers and executives (PMEs), the Government will foot part of the payroll of these workers for one year, under a pilot that will run for two years, starting October.

The move is among several initiatives the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) will introduce to boost the job prospects of Singaporean PMEs — a fast-growing group that is projected to make up two-thirds of the local workforce by 2030, but which is currently bearing the brunt of restructuring.

Employers will be eligible for the wage subsidy if they hire white-collar Singaporeans who are at least 40 years old and jobless for the preceding six months. These workers must be offered at least S$4,000 gross monthly salary.

There will be two sets of subsidy rates, catering respectively to those in the 40-50 age group, and others older than that. More generous subsidies will be given for the older workers.

For example, for a Singaporean PME who is 50, the Government will pay 40 per cent of his salary for the first six months, and 20 per cent for the remaining half-year. The rates are halved for those aged from 40 to 49.

More eligibility details, such as whether part-time work counts as unemployment, will be announced later.

To be eligible for this Career Support Programme, the worker must be registered with career centres run by the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA) or with e2i. On the employers part, they must commit to providing on-the-job training or external training for these employees, in return for the wage subsidies.

WDA will also start giving incentives to private search and placement agencies in October to help mature Singaporean PMEs access more job opportunities.

Manpower Minister Lee Swee Say, who announced the measures today (July 8), noted that compared to global counterparts, Singapore is not faring too badly in terms of handling PME employment. For instance, the MOM said unemployment rate for local PMEs is 2.7 per cent last year, while long-term unemployment rate for this group was 0.8 per cent — the proportion of those who are out of jobs for at least six months out of the whole labour force.

But this cannot be taken for granted, warned the minister.

“We want to make sure that Singapore will always be a place where there is not only enough jobs but also enough good jobs to ensure that Singaporeans can really realise their full potential. At the same time, we will also spare no effort to prepare (and) to upgrade our workers ... to make sure that they can keep up with pace of change in the economy,” said Mr Lim.

According to the labour market report for the first quarter of the year, PMETs made up nearly three-quarters of retrenchments during the period, 50 per cent higher than what it was last year. And more than half of them did not find new jobs within six months.

Employer associations said companies will be more open to take on mature PMEs as the wage subsidies will offset the relatively high wages for this group of workers.

Describing the move as timely, Association of Small and Medium Enterprises president Kurt Wee said employers are currently cautious about hiring. Along with the SkillsFuture initiatives to upgrade workers’ skills, the Career Support Programme will act as a “catalyst” to sustain hiring momentum, he added.

National Trades Union Congress Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay said the scheme will allow companies and workers to size up each other for suitability for the job.

On whether companies might cut or freeze wages once the government subsidies end, Mr Tay said the current tight labour market conditions will guard against that.

Singapore Business Federation chief operating officer Victor Tay added that companies have no reason to cut wages, which are benchmarked to market rates, if performance is up to scratch.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, the MOM said it will “monitor the persistence of the employees’ wages as well as other indicators” and review them at the end of the pilot.

But by requiring these PMEs to be sent for training, they will be able to contribute more effectively, added the ministry. “Employers should offer wages that are commensurate with the employee’s skills and contributions to the company.”

Mr Calvin Wee, 48, who has been in and out of jobs for the last two years, said that although this programme might spur employers to hire mature PMEs, a bond period would offer greater job security.

SUBSIDIES FOR OLDER WORKERS

• For PMEs between 40 and 50, the WDA will be subsidising 20 per cent of the gross monthly salary, capped at S$1,400, for the first half of the year. For the next six months, WDA will be subsidising 10 per cent of the gross monthly salary, capped at S$700 a month.

• For older PMEs aged 50 and above, the WDA will be subsidising 40 per cent of the gross monthly salary, capped at S$2,800 per month, for the first half of the year. It will then be a 20 per cent subsidy of the gross monthly salary, capped at S$1,400 a month, for the next six months.