Ministry of Manpower COS 2026: The Ministry outlines various measures to help Singaporeans build good careers, promote inclusive workplaces

At the Ministry of Manpower’s Committee of Supply Debate on 3 March 2026, the ministry highlighted various worker-centric measures announced in Budget 2026.

Considering an AI-transformed workplace and economic volatility, the Ministry introduced new and updated initiatives to help Singaporeans build meaningful careers, promote inclusive workplaces, and enable companies to provide quality jobs.

“MOM will continue to walk with workers and businesses, so that every worker matters, and every worker can realise their potential, achieve their career aspirations, and every business can thrive by bringing out the best in their people,” Dr Tan said.

Six NTUC Members of Parliament discussed ways to enhance the lives of diverse worker groups, including caregivers, young workers, seniors, PMEs, lower-wage workers, and migrant workers.

More training and career support for workers

Improving workers’ AI skills for future jobs

To help workers planning to boost AI skills, Manpower Minister Tan See Leng said MOM will provide a free six-month subscription to premium AI tools for those taking up selected SkillsFuture AI courses.

Improving training support for more workers to upgrade

Training support will also be enhanced. From July 2026, the training allowance for self-sponsored trainees under Workfare Skills Support will increase from $6 to $10.50 per hour to encourage more workers to upgrade their skills.

Integrating career and employment services for workers

As announced at Budget 2026, SkillsFuture Singapore and Workforce Singapore will merge to form Workforce and Skills Singapore, a new statutory board providing integrated career support.

“It means a single portal to access training, career guidance, and job opportunities, without navigating multiple agencies.

“By combining career and skills data, we can give you a clearer picture of where opportunities are, enabling better-informed career and training decisions,” Dr Tan elaborated.

He was answering NTUC Secretary-General Ng Chee Meng’s question on how the new statutory board will benefit workers, including PMEs, throughout their careers.

Dr Tan said MOM will also enhance career and employment services by launching nine pilot services for different workforce segments, including fresh graduates, mid-level PMEs, caregivers and seniors, under the Alliance for Action on Advancing Career and Employment Services (AfA-ACES).

MOM will also enhance its Careers and Skills Passport online tool to provide jobseekers with access to five job portals, up from two.

Enhancing worker protections to guard against uncertainty

Updates on the Employment Act review to ensure relevant worker protection

The ministry is also reviewing the Employment Act with tripartite partners to ensure worker protections remain relevant.

Dr Tan noted that feedback from over 2,000 stakeholders highlighted the importance of overtime pay and time-based protections for lower-wage workers, while also emphasising that employers need flexibility to manage costs and redesign jobs. Many stakeholders, including PMEs, lower-wage workers, employers, and HR practitioners, also called for the law to be simplified for better clarity and compliance.

“What we heard from workers and employers was clear: different groups need different forms of protection and flexibility,” he said.

MOM will publish the Employment Act review findings in the second half of 2026.

Dr Tan was responding to NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Patrick Tay, who asked about the progress of the Employment Act review.

Updates on retrenchment notification to protect more workers

Dr Tan acknowledged the merits of requiring companies to give advance notice of retrenchment. He explained that such a move may push companies to finalise retrenchments more quickly and discourage negotiations to save as many jobs as possible.

“Businesses have also expressed concerns over the potential leakage of confidential, market-sensitive information,” he added.

MOM is currently in talks with the tripartite partners on this topic and will update when ready.

Dr Tan was responding to Mr Ng and Mr Tay, who called for mandatory advance retrenchment notifications to offer more timely support to affected workers.

Updates on the Jobseeker Support Scheme to help more PMEs

To help involuntarily unemployed individuals, Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon said that the Jobseeker Support Scheme has helped over 3,500 jobseekers as of October 2025. The ministry estimates that more than 1,600 people have found new roles.

Dr Koh said that once the ministry has a better understanding of the scheme’s key parameters, a review will be conducted to assess if the qualifying income remains effective and sustainable.

He was responding to Mr Ng and Mr Tay’s calls to increase the income cap to support more middle-income PMEs.

Promoting safer and healthier workplaces for workers

MOM is also stepping up efforts to improve workplace safety through the launch of the Alliance for Action on Safety and Health for Employment Longevity (AfA-SHEL) in the second half of this year to develop ground-up solutions to common workplace safety and health risks.

He was replying to NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Melvin Yong’s call to pay stronger attention to common workplace injuries and occupational diseases. Mr Yong also emphasised upstream efforts to make workplaces safer.

Enabling workers with different needs to thrive at work and in life

Helping young workers secure good first jobs

Giving an update on Graduate Industry Traineeships (GRIT) and GRIT@Gov, Mr Tan revealed that nearly 400 graduates have received help to pursue new opportunities. Currently available to 2025 graduates, the programme will be extended to the 2026 cohort of graduates.

MOM will also expand the Overseas Markets Immersion Programme to provide young workers with earlier access to international experience. This scheme will enhance young PMEs’ portfolios and boost their employers’ competitive edge.

Supporting caregivers with enhanced flexible work arrangements

Senior Parliamentary Secretary Shawn Huang said that the ministry plans to enhance support for flexi-load arrangements.

“Flexi-load arrangements like part-time work, job sharing and fractional roles may be suitable for caregivers who need to work at a reduced load to fulfil their caregiving duties,” he explained.

However, less than half of employees who required such a flexible work arrangement were provided with it in 2024, compared with over 70 per cent of employees who had time- and location-based arrangements.

Given the success of the part-time re-employment grant in benefiting over 66,000 seniors with reduced loads, the ministry has extended it to the end of 2027 to continue supporting employers.

He said MOM is looking at enhancing the grant to provide flexi-load jobs to more workers, including caregivers.

Mr Huang was responding to Mr Ng’s call for increased support for caregivers in balancing work and caregiving responsibilities.

Strengthening senior employment and retirement adequacy needs

• Supporting seniors who want to continue working

Senior Minister of State for Manpower Koh Poh Koon said that the ministry will raise the retirement age to 64 and the re-employment age to 69, aiming for 65 and 70 by 2030.

MOM will also extend the Senior Employment Credit for one more year until the end of 2027 to help employers defray hiring costs.

He added that the move to increase the retirement age has increased the number of seniors working in Singapore.

Dr Koh was responding to Labour Nominated MP Sanjeev Kumar Tiwari’s question on how the ministry ensures senior employment is not affected by today’s competitive environment, especially for those aged 55 to 64.

“Over the past five years, labour force participation among residents in their 60s has edged up from around 58 per cent to nearly 60 per cent. Among those in their 50s, it rose from 79 per cent to 82 per cent,” he revealed.

• Improving retirement adequacy for seniors

To better support seniors’ retirement needs, CPF contribution rates for workers aged 55 to 60 will increase by 1.5 percentage points. Meanwhile, those aged 60 to 65 will see their CPF contribution rates rise by 1 percentage point.

With the higher CPF rates for senior workers, the CPF Transition Offset scheme will also be extended for another year to help employers manage the higher costs.

Additionally, seniors aged 50 and above with lower CPF balances will receive a one-off CPF top-up of $1,500 to boost their retirement savings.

• Making workplaces more age-friendly for senior workers

Dr Koh also updated that the Tripartite Workgroup on Senior Employment will take a more holistic approach to career longevity, including designing age-friendly jobs and multi-generational teams.

He also shared that the Alliance for Action on Empowering Multi-Stage Careers for Mature Workers is currently partnering with firms to test age-friendly models, giving employers more confidence to act.

Helping low-wage workers level up

Dr Tan said the Local Qualifying Salary will increase from $1,600 to $1,800 starting July 2026, benefiting more lower-wage workers.

The ministry will also extend the Progressive Wage Credit Scheme (PWCS) to 2028, with Government co-funding for wage increases rising to 30 per cent in 2026 to help businesses manage higher wage costs.

Dr Tan added that the PWCS will be continually reviewed to make it easier for lower-wage workers to upskill into new roles, thereby limiting their risk of displacement.

He was responding to NTUC Assistant Secretary-General Yeo Wan Ling, who had asked the ministry to enhance PWCS to support lower-wage workers in SMEs with career development and wage increases.

Enhanced Progressive Wage Model salaries to benefit more lower-wage workers

Minister of State for Manpower Shawn Huang said Progressive Wage Model sectors will be negotiating their next round of wage schedules this year to uplift more workers.

“We will build our efforts across each of these areas to further uplift and upskill our lower-wage workers and broaden the range of good jobs across our economy as recommended by the Economic Strategy Review,” he said.

Mr Huang was responding to Mr Yong, who asked whether lower-wage workers’ salaries would continue to rise as Singapore advances.

Improving protections for platform workers

Mr Huang shared that the ministry will be announcing new efforts to protect platform workers later this month.

He was responding to Ms Yeo’s call to the ministry to work with NTUC’s Platform Work Associations to strengthen platform worker safety and livelihood resilience.

More pathways for workers to pursue specialist trades

Dr Tan announced that MOM has inked an agreement with the Specialists Trade Alliance of Singapore to develop trades such as electricians by introducing apprenticeships and career progression opportunities for locals.

The new partnership to develop skilled trade careers in Singapore follows NTUC’s proposal three years ago for a career progression model aimed at improving work prospects and wages for tradespeople, including electricians.

Improving migrant workers’ living environment

Mr Huang announced a new Recreation Hub model that will expand the recreation and lifestyle offerings for migrant workers in Singapore.

The new model will build on existing migrant worker recreation centres, starting with the redevelopment of the Soon Lee centre into a Recreation Hub.

“In 2030, migrant workers can look forward to a Soon Lee Recreation Hub that is two to three times larger with upgraded facilities and more offerings,” he said.

Mr Huang was responding to calls by NTUC Assistant Secretaries-General Yeo Wan Ling and Melvin Yong, who called for the ministry to improve migrant workers’ living environment to enhance their well-being and social integration.

Supporting employment and protections for persons with disabilities

Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Manpower Dinesh Vasu Dash announced that the ministry is strengthening protections for persons with disabilities by expanding the Matched Retirement Savings Scheme to include Singaporeans with disabilities of all ages.

Additionally, a new Tripartite Advisory on Reasonable Accommodations will be introduced to offer practical guidance on implementing such practices in the workplace.

Empowering businesses to help with job transformation

Equipping employers for workforce transformation

Dr Tan said that the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package will be updated to ensure that businesses adopt AI through training and redesigning jobs.

As part of the refreshed package, MOM will roll out the SkillsFuture Workforce Development Grant (Job Redesign) (WDG(JR+)) in March 2026. Employers can tap into the grant to receive funding of up to 70 per cent for job redesign projects, capped at $150,000 per company.

Additionally, the redesigned SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit (SFEC) will be implemented in December 2026 for businesses to defray the out-of-pocket costs of workforce transformation.

Dr Tan was responding to NTUC e2i’s Stakeholder Management Director Wan Rizal’s question about enhancing the Enterprise Workforce Transformation Package.

Supporting companies with better foreign manpower

Dr Tan said MOM will be simplifying the levy framework for businesses to access higher-quality work permit holders to augment their workforce.

To complement this move, levies for Basic-skilled (R2) work permit holders in the Marine Shipyard and Process industries will be raised by $100 and $150, respectively. Additionally, the levy tiers in the Services and Manufacturing sectors will be simplified from three to two.

Helping firms improve workforce mix to strengthen the Singaporean core

To keep pace with local wages, the ministry will raise the qualifying salaries for Employment Pass and S Pass from 1 January for new applications. All pass renewals will be affected starting from 1 January 2028.

The minimum qualifying salary for the Employment Pass will increase from $5,600 to $6,000.

For S Pass applications, the minimum qualifying salary will be raised from $3,300 to $3,600. By 2030, the S Pass minimum salary is expected to be around $4,000 to $5,000.

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