NTUC’s first job security chief has two worries: fresh graduates and older PMEs

Job Security in the Age of AI

Caryn Lim, NTUC's first Chief Job Security, has been in the role for about a year. Her focus has been on supporting two groups of workers: fresh graduates and older professionals, managers, and executives (PMEs). For young people starting their careers, Lim is worried that they will become discouraged and lose hope in work. For workers over 50, particularly PMEs, Lim is concerned about their ability to bounce back from retrenchment, or to find jobs that match their previous salaries.

To help them, NTUC needs to beef up its support at the individual level, said Lim. This includes doing more with its industry training officers – who work with companies to develop and implement jobs, skills and capability upgrading in line with business and industry transformation. But the labour movement also needs to do more with technology like artificial intelligence to reach more workers, and to this end it is revamping its AI career coach, she said.

At the company level, the unions are also working to scale up company training committees (CTCs), said Lim, who is also NTUC assistant secretary-general. These committees bring together the company’s management, workers and union representatives to figure out what skills employees need as businesses evolve, and can apply for an NTUC grant to fund such projects. The labour movement is looking at how to broaden them from delivering projects in individual companies to doing so across sectors, she said.

The Changing Profile of Singapore’s Workforce

The profile of Singapore’s workforce is changing, and there are more PMEs compared to the past where there were more rank and file employees, Lim said. More on this topic Parliament: MPs call for stronger support for workers, debate retrenchment and skills training More retrenched white-collar workers in Singapore seeking unions’ help PMEs and technicians formed 64.2 per cent of Singapore’s workforce in 2025, up from about 53 per cent in 2015. It is comparatively easier for a rank and file worker to find another job if they are retrenched, Lim said, as the skill sets in demand do not vary much between roles. But the nature of PME jobs has changed over time and more rapidly. Raising the example of the information and communication technology sector, Lim said there are many jobs still available but those that have been retrenched could have skill sets that may no longer be as relevant.

Supporting Young Workers

Lim is also concerned about younger workers looking for their first job. Youth unemployment has come to the fore in recent years amid concern that AI is replacing work junior employees once did. Statistics from the Ministry of Manpower said younger workers below 30 saw their unemployment rate rise from 5.8 per cent in December 2025 to 6.2 per cent in March 2026. MOM said the increase among youth aged below 25 likely reflects more frequent moves between short-term vacation jobs rather than a broad-based lack of job opportunities. Being discouraged at a young age does not bode well for one’s future, said Lim.